What About the Ray Jay?

For those of you that have had the opportunity to view a game in other NFL venues, how would you rate Raymond James Stadium in comparison?  Likes?  Dislikes?  What would you like to see different?

[Rusty]

Great stadium. Too hot sometimes and way too many drunks who are argumentative. I'm origianally from Philly so I have a high tolerance for idiots at the games but i think that the tail gating and hot sun make a lot of rabid fans, well.......rabid. I don't have the right mentality to tread those waters, so I sold my season tickets a couple oy years afo and now I watch the games on my big screen. It keeps me out of the pokey.

[rocko23]

love it, i was down last year for the panthers game and will be down next week for the saints, me and my wife love it

[mjs020294]

Need more shade.

[Tampa Bay Todd]

Hey Detroit, I'm heading down for the Saints game next week too! Love Raymond James Stadium. Nice wide concourses so everyone doesn't feel like a herd of cattle walking around. Plenty of bathrooms and doesn't seem like the wait is that long, of course I try to time my visits at off peak times. Not really a bad seat in the house as far as view of the field, good selection of a variety of food and the amenities are top notch, such as in the pirate ship, Buccaneers Cove, etc. Plus, being from the Midwest, a sunny, hot day in the middle of November or December is a great treat for me.
As for others, the old Soldier Field was below average. No replay screens, the seats were far from the field, bathrooms were really nothing more than a trough and resembled a prison cell, plus the Bucs lost there a lot, so I guess that influences me. Haven't been to the new one yet, but heard it's nice. No cheerleaders, though. Boo!!
--Metrodome in Minneapolis. Prefer, you can weigh in here as well. Not much for atmosphere at all, in fact it felt kind of sterile. I will give it a ton of credit for crowd noise, though. That place was LOUD! Rows were kind of long as it seemed like you had to crawl over a ton of people to get to the aisle. Pretty crowded on the concourse and it seemed like there was a line at the bathroom all the time. Overall not much to look at, but good game day environment.
Just my thoughts.

[rocko23]

Yeah being in Detroit we went from the silver Dome to ford feild, they suck, i just cant wait to get back to RJ next week, the food was great the seating was great and close to the field.

[mjs020294]

Ray-J is a great place to spend the day.  The only downsode to a game in Tampa is it can get a little hot, but God was clever enough to give us caps, shades and beer for such occasions.  The heat contributes to the lack of clothing on the young female fans, which is an added benefit.   

[Samari28]

RayJay is the best stadium I have ever been to and I am not just saying that due to being a lifetime Bucs fan.  I have been to the Minnesota, Atlanta, Cincinatti, Chicago and Tennessee in the past and nothing compares to a hot day at RayJay.  I feel like we have the best music, great food choices, GREAT CHEERLEADERS and overall if it was not for a few stupid fans I sit next to there would be problems at all.

I've been to RayJay for 2 games, the regular season affair with Dallas that we won 16-0, and the Washington game last year, I love the stadium

[mjs020294]

I've been to RayJay for 2 games, the regular season affair with Dallas that we won 16-0,

I took a Dallas fan with with to that game....most rewarding.   

[WaldoBuc]

RayJay is great and modern. The Pirate Ship is great, lots of areas to hang out besides your seat, and decent views from most seats from what I could tell. Parking sucks, unless you like walking through the woods, but by the time you get back to your car the traffic isn't as bad.

I've been to several older stadiums including the Sombrero, Candlestick, and Oakland. The "other" Bay Area stadiums out west suck for parking, traffic, seats and fans. Well, at least the fans are entertaining.

[DanTurksGhost]

I can't think of an NFL stadium I haven't been in except those that were erected in the past two years or so. Raymond James is way, way up the list as far as stadiums go. Nothing matches Soldier Field or Lambeau Field for being purely steeped in football history and the raw feeling of being at a game, but that's best enjoyed as sort of a "once in a lifetime" thing. I wouldn't want to attend ten games a year in either of them.

As far as being a season ticket holder, I would prefer more amenities and in that regard, there are few, if any, stadiums I would rather be a season ticket holder.

[caradoc]

Well I've never attended a football game anywhere else, but my observations are:
Never feels crowded -- everything is wide open. 
Short rows as mentioned above
Every seat is good (on the west side at least)  Not a season holder, been on the list for years   so I get lotsa different seats.  I was in the nosebleeds during the playoff game (SW corner) and even there the view was good.
Don't buy pizza there, it's God-Awful

[Tampa Bay Todd]

Waldo you reminded of some things about Candelstick or whatever they're calling it these days. Went out there last year for the Bucs game at Halloween. That place is old and creaky and is out right in the middle of the 'hood! It looks like downtown Beirut, Lebanon there. It's out on this old airbase or something because their is an old control tower right in the middle of the parking lot. A friend out there drove us to the game and said whatever you do, don't wander around out here because it's not a nice neighborhood and you don't want to get lost. Wow, he wasn't kidding.

[Dominico]

I have been to Tampa, Denver, and Kansas City. Tampa has the most fun atmosphere, it seemed like a giant party. Denver has a very nice stadium, but the fans are **CENSORED**s, and their players do not show any appreciation to the fans.(NONE of the Denver players signed autographs, unlike Tampa where many players do) Kansas City has an old stadium, but it was a great time. The people are friendly, the tailgaiting is the best in the world, and the stadium is extremely loud.