BUCS

About Raymond James Stadium

BucVision: Welcome to the 21st century. The two Daktronics scoreboards above each end zone have the most advanced videoboard technology in the NFL.

Operated by 30 people, they can display enormous video replays, or up to six different messages simultaneously. Replays, statistics and messages can be seen clearly from any angle in the stadium thanks to high-definition television (HDTV) technology and size (92 feet wide, 24 feet high).

All the speakers at the stadium are above the scoreboard in the south end zone and are pointed straight out for better acoustical quality and to avoid disturbing the neighborhood east of the stadium. There also are four matrix message boards on the upper level facing the sidelines that will display NFL scores and game statistics.

Buccaneer Cove: The north end zone likely will become the stadium's showpiece, thanks to Buccaneer Cove and its pirate ship. The 20,000-square-foot area has a two-story early 1800s seaside village and a 340-foot boardwalk and dock. The 103-foot ship, which cost $3 million, is a replica of an authentic pirate ship from the early 1800s.

A massive skull with glowing red eyes, a smoke-breathing mouth and crossed swords faces the field from the front of the ship. Eight cannons will celebrate Bucs touchdowns with fire and smoke and by shooting confetti and soft footballs into the stands. The ship has working rigging and a crew to raise and lower its 32-by-50 foot sails.

Restrooms: Potty parity is alive and well at the stadium. For every two men's toilets there are three women's toilets, meeting the state's potty parity ratio. There are 60 restroom locations with a total of 788 fixtures. The ratio of fixtures to people is 1 to 81, a marked improvement over Houlihan's Stadium, which had a 1 to 129 ratio.

Concessions: Remember the days of waiting in line for a hot dog and soft drink and missing the start of the second half? Thanks to the stadium's 572 points of sale and wide concourses, the lines should be shorter and and less congested.

A wide variety of concessions are available and, more importantly, there are plenty of televisions around the stands so you don't have to miss that second-half kickoff.

Escalators: There always has been a Tampa Bay marathon, as everyone who ever walked up the concourses at Houlihan's Stadium can attest. Those days are history. Raymond James Stadium has 20 escalators to zip fans up to their seats. Banks of four escalators are at each corner ramp and an additional four are in the club lounge.

General seating: Forget those aluminum bench seats that put you a lot closer to your neighbor than you wanted to be. There are 51,432 general armchair seats on the lower and upper levels and end zones at Raymond James Stadium. They measure 19 inches wide and are 32 to 33 inches from one seat back to the seat back in the next row.

Each seat, painted in Tampa Bay Buccaneers red, features a cup holder. There are also 600 spaces available for disabled seating - 300 for the disabled and 300 for their companions - that can be expanded to 712 disabled and 712 companion seats.

Club seats: There are several differences between the 12,332 club seats and the 51,432 general seats. Where the red general seats are 19 inches wide and not padded, the club seats, painted in Tampa Bay Buccaneers pewter, are 21 inches wide and padded. The club seats also feature prime sideline locations and have waiter service. They allow access to air-conditioned lounges that feature two specialty restaurants, sports bars, video walls and restrooms.

Luxury suites: This is the most expensive and pampered way to view games at Raymond James Stadium. Only 155 of the 164 suites were put on sale; they sold out by August. The others were reserved for team use. The air-conditioned suites take up two midlevel floors (65 to 78 feet from the field), have retractable glass windows, private bars, restrooms and five televisions that can be tuned to the Buccaneers game as well as others from around the National Football League. Suite holders also can enter the club-level lounges. Access to the suites is by private elevators.

Retractable seating: The seating in the south end zone can be recessed beneath the promenade above, creating an area for setting up stages for concerts, rallies and community events.