Raymond James Stadium - What was it like?

[Sports_Realist]

For those who went to the Outback Bowl or who have been to Raymond James Stadium in the past for other games or events, what was the stadium like? Obviously it is first and foremost an NFL stadium, so it clearly didn't have an on campus feel to it. However, I am curious to know about some of the following things?

- What condition were the concourses in? Were they cluttered or narrow? Were they wide with room to congregate?

- How were the concession for variety and quality? Were the stands well operated with swiftly moving lines or was it a slow crawl to the counter?

- How was the leg room in the seats?

- Were you able to pass through security and the turnstiles in a quick manner or was it amateur night?

- Was the Buccaneers' pirate ship open to fans and do they still have that somewhat goofy looking pirate village around it? If ESPN showed any of this, I completely missed it.

- How were the video boards and ribbon boards for size and clarity?

- Were there any bars or restaurants within that were open to the public?

- For those who sat in in suites and club seating, how were those compared to similar seating at Twin Cities stadiums and arenas?

- Was there any signage or memorabilia for USF? They share the venue with the Bucs.

Thanks in advance to any responses. I am a big stadium and arena buff. Raymond James Stadium has interested me for a while because it opened early on in the NFL stadium building boom and, despite some recent renovations, seems like it is falling behind some other venues in the league. I am curious to see how it is standing the test of time.

 

[1983]

I would say it is a good venue. Had club seats and that area was great. Yes, USF had a plaque but they employ the banners and such for those games.

 

[Sports_Realist]

It has to be tough for USF to play there. It is off campus, the branding is for the Bucs despite the use of banners, and the capacity is far too large for their needs. At least USF didn't abandon an on campus stadium to go the NFL stadium route as we once did and as Pitt did even at a point when it was very apparent that our move to the Dome was a big mistake, although I understand why Pitt did it if not agreeing with the decision.

 

[GringaGopher]

The regular seats were comfortable and the sight lines were good. The stadium staff were extremely helpful and welcoming. I really enjoyed when they split the video board and showed the player on one half with his family members on the other half.

 

[oak_street1981]

I was very close to booking a last minute AM trip and PM return for $400 on Delta but wimped out. One of the reasons I was looking forward to it was how appealing the weather and the stadium always look on Outback Bowl TV broadcasts.

The Bucs stadium is a pretty good looking NFL venue despite being fairly old. By contrast the Citrus Bowl (1/1/2015) is an absolute dump of a stadium, despite not looking so bad on TV. They should have demolished the whole thing and started over when they "renovated" it.

My experience in Nashville also was good. I think outdoor NFL stadiums make for very good CFB - Bowl experiences relative to the old relics, with respect to sight lines, good concessions, good restrooms and professional staffing.

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

It was nice.

Older NFL stadium, but being outdoors automatically adds some character.

I liked that while the concourse can't see the field generally....it can see the outside of the stadium. Makes for a nice experience.

The club area was quite nice too with window views of the game.

The pair of enormous big screens is nice!

 

[BarnBoy]

What condition were the concourses in? Were they cluttered or narrow? Were they wide with room to congregate?

Concrete, wide and clean. Lots of openness to the outside. Very 'no frills' with painted concrete blocks as walls.

How were the concession for variety and quality? Were the stands well operated with swiftly moving lines or was it a slow crawl to the counter?

Didn't buy much but seems like a good mix of standard stadium fare with the occasional trendy cart mixed it.

How was the leg room in the seats?

Fairly decent leg room. Felt like Target Field seats. Pretty narrow though. I was sandwiched by some bigger people and it was fairly tight. We were section 107 for what it's worth, about 10 rows up.

Were you able to pass through security and the turnstiles in a quick manner or was it amateur night?

Very professional setup. Felt like every major venue I've attended.

Was the Buccaneers' pirate ship open to fans and do they still have that somewhat goofy looking pirate village around it? If ESPN showed any of this, I completely missed it.

Not sure about open to fans. The entire north side of the stadium is the ship and, yes, goofy village stuff. Sand on the ground. Grass huts, etc. Felt a little too Disney for my taste, which is exquisite.

How were the video boards and ribbon boards for size and clarity?

The two video boards (one at each end) were excellent quality and big enough for me. They did a terrible job of showing replays, but an excellent job of showing fans and non-football happenings. Also, other than the standard fare of 'down and distance' type stats, they did not really show any comprehensive statistics (per team yards, etc.) Very frustrating.

Were there any bars or restaurants within that were open to the public?

We walked from the south, where there is a cluster of hotels. There are a few places along the way (e.g. Outback, some higher end restaurants) were you can technically get a drink, but the area around the south part of the stadium has absolutely no character. Isn't highways and industrial parks like you're out in Blaine somewhere.

Was there any signage or memorabilia for USF? They share the venue with the Bucs.

I don't remember anything for USF... thinking. Nope, if there was, it wasn't memorable. Obviously the Bucs brand screams at you everywhere.

 

[Yah-E]

It felt small but puts you right into the game. Almost zero room behind the endzones. Club lounges were nice and high tech. The pirate ship is much smaller than what I had imagine. I sat in the lower bowl Section 111, right at the 50 yard line in the second to the last row (Row BB). The view was perfect. Seat back was fine, leg room OK. Step rises are very flat. I want to say it's one of the smaller NFL stadiums, it felt like.

 

[LivinOnLove_BuyingOnRoses]

For those who went to the Outback Bowl or who have been to Raymond James Stadium in the past for other games or events, what was the stadium like? Obviously it is first and foremost an NFL stadium, so it clearly didn't have an on campus feel to it. However, I am curious to know about some of the following things?

- What condition were the concourses in? Were they cluttered or narrow? Were they wide with room to congregate?

Concrete and roomy. Nothing extra. Seemed in good shape. We were in 123, south end zone and entered from the southwest corner, so didn’t see the whole thing though. Had a decent sized plaza in south end zone.

- How were the concession for variety and quality? Were the stands well operated with swiftly moving lines or was it a slow crawl to the counter?

Depended on the time of the game. Went three times. Slow only once.

- How was the leg room in the seats?

Better than average

- Were you able to pass through security and the turnstiles in a quick manner or was it amateur night?

Like a breeze and only 25 minutes before kickoff.

- Was the Buccaneers' pirate ship open to fans and do they still have that somewhat goofy looking pirate village around it? If ESPN showed any of this, I completely missed it.

N/a

- How were the video boards and ribbon boards for size and clarity?

Good

- Were there any bars or restaurants within that were open to the public?

South of the stadium but a mile or so away. Nothing I saw right next to the stadium. They did have a lot of surface parking though that seemed convenient.

- For those who sat in in suites and club seating, how were those compared to similar seating at Twin Cities stadiums and arenas?

N/a

- Was there any signage or memorabilia for USF? They share the venue with the Bucs.

I can’t remember any.



Thanks in advance to any responses. I am a big stadium and arena buff. Raymond James Stadium has interested me for a while because it opened early on in the NFL stadium building boom and, despite some recent renovations, seems like it is falling behind some other venues in the league. I am curious to see how it is standing the test of time.

 

[Sports_Realist]

I was very close to booking a last minute AM trip and PM return for $400 on Delta but wimped out. One of the reasons I was looking forward to it was how appealing the weather and the stadium always look on Outback Bowl TV broadcasts.

The Bucs stadium is a pretty good looking NFL venue despite being fairly old. By contrast the Citrus Bowl (1/1/2015) is an absolute dump of a stadium, despite not looking so bad on TV. They should have demolished the whole thing and started over when they "renovated" it.

My experience in Nashville also was good. I think outdoor NFL stadiums make for very good CFB - Bowl experiences relative to the old relics, with respect to sight lines, good concessions, good restrooms and professional staffing.

Believe it or not, the Citrus Bowl was almost entirely demolished after the 1/1/14 Citrus Bowl game with South Carolina beating Wisconsin. The two upper most tiers on the sidelines were kept. Everything else was reduced to rubble and hauled away. The lower and middle tiers along with the suites and club seating were built from scratch, as were the concourses and access ramps servicing those areas. What Gopher Football and Missouri fans went to on 1/1/15 was effectively a new stadium.

It was built as a very basic stadium by current standards. The venue has its bowl games and things like Monster Trucks, concerts, WrestleMania every few years, local high school football, the odd neutral site college football game during the regular season, and so on. However, Orlando City of MLS and UCF have their own stadiums, so there isn't a regular tenant. The city of Orlando needed to make sure the place was good enough, but not spectacular.

The old stadium from before the 2014 rebuild was another story. I was there in 2008, knew going in that it held around 61,000, and figured it was at least of Metrodome standards for concourses and seating comfort. The reality was far different. This was truly a dump. What had started off as a tiny small college level stadium had seats, sections, and decks progressively added without any attention paid to upgrading any of the facilities. It was a mess in terms of design, layout, and upkeep.

 

[amk8930]

Believe it or not, the Citrus Bowl was almost entirely demolished after the 1/1/14 Citrus Bowl game with South Carolina beating Wisconsin. The two upper most tiers on the sidelines were kept. Everything else was reduced to rubble and hauled away. The lower and middle tiers along with the suites and club seating were built from scratch, as were the concourses and access ramps servicing those areas. What Gopher Football and Missouri fans went to on 1/1/15 was effectively a new stadium.

It was built as a very basic stadium by current standards. The venue has its bowl games and things like Monster Trucks, concerts, WrestleMania every few years, local high school football, the odd neutral site college football game during the regular season, and so on. However, Orlando City of MLS and UCF have their own stadiums, so there isn't a regular tenant. The city of Orlando needed to make sure the place was good enough, but not spectacular.

The old stadium from before the 2014 rebuild was another story. I was there in 2008, knew going in that it held around 61,000, and figured it was at least of Metrodome standards for concourses and seating comfort. The reality was far different. This was truly a dump. What had started off as a tiny small college level stadium had seats, sections, and decks progressively added without any attention paid to upgrading any of the facilities. It was a mess in terms of design, layout, and upkeep.

So was the new stadium any better?

 

[Veritas]

We sat in 214 in soft chairs with lots of room. Everything about RJS was more than good enough. Had a great time.

 

[Johnob2]

Went to the Bucs Falcons NFL game on the Sunday as a warm up for the Bowl game. Found Tampa in general and the RJS to be a great venue. All positive but the only small thing I would say is there was a significant difference between the amount of things happening during media time outs in the NFL game and the Bowl game (not including half time which was great). . The NFL game had loads of stuff happening... on the field presentations, little games throwing gifts into the crowd, funny video clips (all of the usual stuff). In our game there was very little coordinated activity in media time-outs apart from Outback Steakhouse adverts on the big screen.

I recognise there is a big difference between the desired feel for a College Game and a Pro game but it came across as though whoever put together the organisation for the wider in-stadium fan entertainment package for the Bowl game was a little short of time or funding or opportunity to arrange things. Most notable was the lack of a trophy presentation at the end.

Keen to emphasise the wider events before the Bowl were absolutely brilliant. The Beach Party on the Monday (although I didn't attend) looked great and the New Years Eve parties and parades in Ybor were so much fun (Gopher fans absolutely everywhere). Huge thanks to the Alumni Association and everyone else involved in the organisation of those.

 

[CoMn]

Was in a suite and thought they were nicer than the typical suites at TCF (the windows open for example and they have other games on TVs inside) but the suite common area is nicer at TCF. What really surprised me was that there were more gopher fans than auburn ones...about 60-40% IMHO. We were much louder. It was a ton of fun. It was my first bowl game and it certainly made me much more likely to go to a future bowl game.