http://duke1.tbo.com/content/2011/aug/06/MENEWSO1-bucs-fans-hoping-for-sellouts-not-blackou/news-breakingBucs, fans hoping for sellouts, not blackouts
By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune
Published: August 6, 2011
TAMPA - Jessica **CENSORED**er has been a Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan since moving to Dade City two years ago. On Friday, she bought three tickets — for her, her husband and his sister — to the Oct. 16 game against the New Orleans Saints.
"This will be our first time to attend a Bucs' game," said **CENSORED**er, 28, who pointedly noted she thought the NFL's rules on blackouts are "lame."
Bucs single-game tickets went on sale Friday, and team officials, and football fans throughout the Tampa Bay area, are hoping enough people follow **CENSORED**er's lead to sell out home games and avoid television blackouts.
That didn't happen last year; the Bucs were the only team in the league with all its home games blacked out, even as the team exceeded expectations and went 10-6.
The NFL's blackout policy requires a game to be sold out 72 hours before kickoff to air in the local market. Last year was the first time any regular-season games were blacked out since the team began playing at Raymond James Stadium.
The Bucs organization has made a concerted effort this year to get fans in the stands, aggressively marketing season tickets and dropping prices. At stake are whether seven regular-season games at Raymond James Stadium will be shown locally; an eighth "home" game is being played in London on Oct. 23 and will be televised across the country, including in the Bay area.
"We're counting on our fans to make Raymond James Stadium an electric atmosphere for our team and a hostile environment for our opponents," said Buccaneers co-chairman Bryan Glazer in a statement. "Our promising young team has an exciting slate of home games, from two prime-time matchups to rivalry games against the rest of the NFC South."
To sell out games, the team will have to attract people like Bob Serra, a retiree from St. Petersburg who attended Friday afternoon's practice with his wife. He's excited about the team's prospects but didn't go to any home games last year.
"We're not getting season tickets, but we're thinking about going to a game or two this year," Serra said.
The Bucs open the regular season at home against the Detroit Lions on Sept. 11. Tampa Bay's home schedule also includes a preseason matchup against the New England Patriots on Aug. 18, a Monday night game against the Indianapolis Colts on Oct. 3 and a Saturday night game against the Dallas Cowboys on Dec. 17.
A struggling local economy and the team's 3-13 record in 2009 contributed to dwindling ticket sales. Average paid attendance for regular-season home games in 2010 was just more than 49,000, well below the stadium's capacity of about 65,000.
"We kind of know we hit some tough times as far as the economy is concerned," said running back Earnest Graham. "We also hit tough times as an organization because we weren't playing too well. It's nice to have some excitement back around the organization.
"With the way people in the Bay area love football, we'll be back in front of a full crowd pretty soon," he said.
Tickets are available only online and by telephone. Tickets for the upper level start at $35.
To purchase tickets, fans can log onto
www.buccaneers.com or call (800) 745-3000. Tickets will not be sold at the Bucs' ticket office or the box office at Raymond James Stadium.
Reporters Anwar S. Richardson, Ira Kaufman and Roy Cummings contributed to this report.
kmorelli@tampatrib.com (813) 259-7760
