Update On Indoor Facility
April 11th, 2017
Guzzling Gatorade in the heat of training camp may soon be a thing of the past.
News by way of JoeBucsFan.com prized columnist Ira Kaufman on the Bucs’ new indoor training facility.
Ira called Joe with the news after speaking to Bucs COO Brian Ford.
The Bucs’ new indoor practice facility should be ready for the 2017 season but construction will not be completed for this summer’s training camp. The Bucs plan to have the facility ready for the 2018 training camp, on site at One Buc Palace.
When opened, the Bucs plan public accessibility in it for 2018 training camp, meaning there is expected to be seating for fans.
The facility will be located where the Bucs merchandise sales tent has been during past training camps.
April 11th, 2017 at 12:35 pm
hallelujah!!! This will help both lines from wearing down so much later in the season. Can’t imagine how they stay hydrated in the summer heat. I would be interested in how many pounds of fluid the big guys lose even with all that they drink during practice?
April 11th, 2017 at 12:42 pm
Our last Buc Superbowl champs had no indoor practice facility. They thrived and practiced hard in the heat. Matter of fact, Sapp & Brooks use to say the Tampa heat was their friend on game Sundays. Just sayin, an indoor practice faciltiy guarantees nothin butt temporary cover!
April 11th, 2017 at 12:55 pm
@mike Johnson….its mainly for the rain….I was a little skeptical of dirk moving practice to the morning because I thought practicing in the blazing heat would prepare us for a long season….but i’ll admit dirk was right…..practices in the morning kept us fresh all year…we got dinged up week2 vs arz and vs the broncos but we started getting healthy mid season…its a good idea….GO BUCS!!!
April 11th, 2017 at 12:59 pm
The indoor facility will help with field temp as well. I know USF practices in the morning because if you have been on their synthetic field in the afternoon it can melt cleats.
I can understand the benefits of practicing in the outside, but it is better to have a facility and not use it than not have it at all.
April 11th, 2017 at 1:04 pm
No, mainly for the lightning.
Coaches LOVE practices in the rain and players aren’t opposed to it as it is much cooler.
April 11th, 2017 at 1:06 pm
The outside of the North Endzone perpetually looks like a construction zone and even on Game Day’s has fences to hoard in the fans along the sidewalks. It’s complete nonsense when the South Endzone has a huge concourse that includes a large stage and live music.
Also the inside of the South Endzone looks unfinished. How come we can’t have a replica fishing village there too minus the boat? It currently looks like we just said “we’re out of money, the hell with it!”
How come Glazers??
April 11th, 2017 at 1:16 pm
Prized columnist indeed….love Ira and his alter-ego Irv. He is the straw that stirs the drink.
April 11th, 2017 at 1:20 pm
right on its the lightning which shuts a practice down up to an hour with each strike within a certain distance and the way it is in the lightning capital, no good
April 11th, 2017 at 1:22 pm
Indoor facility will be a huge plus.
JTHV- great points. Ive always wondered why the Stadium does get”finished”
April 11th, 2017 at 1:25 pm
Outside of the replay screen and audio system, the Average-Joe-Buc fan who has spent a lot of hard earned money for many years to sit in the lower bowl or upper decks should feel a little bit offended by the rest of these upgrades as most will never get to experience them. The worst part is, the people who sit in the 200’s are the 1st to bounce when the Bucs aren’t playing well.
What a way to reward our fairweather fans and almost completely ignore the real ones!
April 11th, 2017 at 1:43 pm
Ray Perkins is projectile vomiting somewhere.
April 11th, 2017 at 2:23 pm
Why did it take so long to start construction when we were promised last year that this would get done? Training Camp is when we need this option the most. Once the season starts its not that big of a benefit.
Maybe Joe can get to the bottom of why this project was so late in getting construction started. Should have asked about that specifically 2 weeks ago when Joe had a Glazer in front of him answering all manner of questions…
April 11th, 2017 at 2:33 pm
that’s what I meant to say…lighting….GO BUCS!!!!
April 11th, 2017 at 2:35 pm
While they are at it when are we starting a frigging Dome? I pour concrete all week long last thing I want to do is bake my ass off all day Sunday! But that’s just my opinion.
April 11th, 2017 at 2:50 pm
Pickgrin- I was thinking the same thing. Training camp is when we need it most I also am skeptical but of the wording “ready for the 2017 season” not the opening of the 2017 season. That could mean the first week of Sept or the last week of Dec..
April 11th, 2017 at 2:57 pm
biff…. Ray Perkins most recently was the head football coach at Jones County Junior College in Ellisville, Mississippi from 2011 to 2013.
Fun fact.
April 11th, 2017 at 3:37 pm
Good point Buc Scotty, I live out here about 3 miles from the AZ Cardinal Stadium. I’ve tried to be a cards fan BUTT..they are like my no 4 team..Sorry. Anyways the indoor dome is cool. They play on real grass and temp is always nice and cool. A dome in Tampa would be….Super great! I’ve sat in that Sun out there……..Course the Sun here is scourching also. But we do have that dome.
April 11th, 2017 at 3:38 pm
Joe has much bigger fish to fry. Sorry, but Joe finds the whole subject of an indoor facility beyond trivial. Just a hunch getting decent bids and complying with county and city code (wouldn’t be surprised if an adjustment had to be made to zoning) would be a factor in timeframe of construction.
Not going to pester the Bucs or Team Glazer next spring as to why they didn’t break ground sooner. Practicing outdoors in August is not why the Bucs missed the playoffs.
April 11th, 2017 at 3:48 pm
@Joe
I guess what JW3 wants, JW3 almost gets!!!!!!!
April 11th, 2017 at 3:51 pm
Fair enough Joe. But if your speculations about the delays were indeed the case – would have been nice for a Glazer to come out with a short public statement on Buccaneer.com describing the manner of the delays and that they know they promised this would get done in time for this year (which its not if its not ready for TC) but the delays were unavoidable and they are 100% committed to getting the indoor facility done asap… yada yada.
The Glazers aren’t very good about communicating directly with their fan base about the manner in which the team is being run and why things do or don’t happen as fans would typically expect. Wish they were a bit more “open”.
April 11th, 2017 at 4:02 pm
Honestly, with all the lightning the team loses time during training camp an indoor facility would pay for itself eventually. It seems like every time I go to a practice during training camp there is some sort of delay due to weather.
April 11th, 2017 at 4:13 pm
Last year at the owners meeting in March they said 12-18 month was the expected completion date. Zoning on property you own is not the issue and bids, permit or codes for a project they started almost 3 years ago?
April 11th, 2017 at 5:07 pm
Not many ownership groups are going to be open about how they conduct every day business. Team Glazer has certainly never done that. So, that’s expecting a leopard to change spots.
The goal here is to build the facility, correct? And apparently that is happening, correct? So don’t see the pressing issue.
Again, Joe is of the mind this subject is totally blown out of proportion. Not being able to practice under a roof is not why the Bucs missed the playoffs.
Pretty safe bet not being able to practice under a roof is not why leaky, sleepy Josh Freeman went mental or why Ghost Johnson was invisible or why Roberto Aguayo can’t make kicks.
April 11th, 2017 at 5:24 pm
Bottom line, there’s not a single negative to adding an IPF.
April 11th, 2017 at 5:40 pm
JTHV…the lower level concessions and councourse were just overhauled two years ago…it was a huge project. And the upper concessions in the 300s are coming next year. The south end zone inside is a reminder of the fact this is a multi-use stadium. You can’t have a village there with the normal stuff because that end zone is also the main stage/structure for other non-football events.
April 11th, 2017 at 5:43 pm
Yea Joe – I know. The Glazers rarely talk openly about day to day operations to be sure. But since they were quite public in saying this would get done and that it would be ready for this year – I’m just contending it would have been appropriate in this case for them to have also followed up publicly as to why its not happening in the time frame they said it would. If there were “unavoidable”delays – then say it and everyone would understand and accept the new time table. But if there was feet dragging on the project… See that’s what the silence on why it won’t be ready in time for TC suggests short of an explanation.
Sure would have been nice to attend a “comfortable” training camp session for a change this year instead of melting in the makeshift stands and constantly battling thunderstorm delays. I’m sure the players who will have to endure every minute of a hot, hot, HOT training camp again this year would agree.
April 11th, 2017 at 5:45 pm
Of course, the current fan area, hot as it is, is covered…now for those bitching that it should have been done sooner and somehow the fans are screwed, no one pays a dime to see practices and no one has a dime invested in One Buc Place. All that said, I don’t see this indoor facility as being anything real huge…meaning it is not going to accomodate huge amounts of fans. It’s to let the players get inside when needed to get their work done when lightning is around…looks like fans here think this is going to be the Sundome or Trop proportions….not.
April 11th, 2017 at 5:50 pm
Just don’t see what the issue is here, over a project that is way down the food chain. So what is the alternative? Should the Bucs scrap the project? They are paying for the thing out of their own wallet.
Joe thinks Rachel Watson should be waiting in his bed when he gets home tonight. And if she isn’t, should Joe try to tackle a moving train, jump in the Gulf, hold hostages, what?
April 11th, 2017 at 7:10 pm
Yes Joe its true that the lack of an indoor facility in time for TC this year is in no way going to make or break the Bucs 2017 season. Just would have been nice for the Glazers to provide a first hand update as to why the project is not on schedule – that was my only point.
And since you brought Rachel up – isn’t it about time you updated your undying loyalty towards a CURRENT member of the Bucs cheerleading squad? Get with the times dudes.
I nominate the gorgeous redhead Michelle to be the new fixation of the Joe’s (probably unwanted) attention.
http://www.buccaneers.com/cheerleaders/bio.html?name=michelle-c
April 11th, 2017 at 9:53 pm
For those saying “Well the last Bucs SB team practiced in a dump and no indoor facility.
That is true. But the NFL was different then. I’m not saying the 2001 Bucs team was on juice, but team doctors were allot more loose back then.
Day in and day out in this Florida heat takes a toll. But players now are more limited on what they can take to recover and fatigue is a issue and it leads to injuries.
One Buc Palace is a nice facility (when they keep MRSA at bay) and a indoor practice tent will help with Free Agency.
We all know the summers here in Florida, you can set your watch for a thunderstorm to hit right around 4pm. Build the damn thing, Winston needs to work on his long ball.
April 11th, 2017 at 9:58 pm
I’m going to go ahead and guess that 80% of the practices will still be outside. Rain and walk throughs will be the only exception.
April 12th, 2017 at 12:13 am
What is it that they’re building that can be done in a few months that needs to be a fairly big structure? I’m guessing it’s just a glorified tent, would I be right there? I don’t really care if it’s an actual building or a temp structure with an anchor on it, but just wondering what the details are.
April 12th, 2017 at 1:00 am
Much more. If it is going to have seating for fans, that’s a mini-stadium. Would have to include x-amount restrooms, ect. and meet fire codes, you name it. It’s much more complex than a glorified tent.
For example, when Florida State built its indoor facility, which has no seating for fans of any sort, it took just under a year to build.
Details are still sketchy but it’s starting to sound like the Bucs indoor practice facility is a smaller version of “The Ford Center” at The Star, the Cowboys’s practice facility which doubles as a high school football stadium.
If there will be seating for fans, Joe’s going to guess it will hold around 2,000. Just a guess. Bucs have seating for roughly 3,000 in the bleachers at training camp.
April 12th, 2017 at 9:12 pm
The Bucs indoor is a pre-fab joke of a indoor that will be trucked in, then put together. It will have tops of 3500 seats, and everyone slow up on the “mini-stadium or ANY & I mean ANY comparison to the Cowboys Star or even beginning to compare One Buc to the tops of any practice facility out there it is already & can barely keep up with some of the amenities of the top SEC schools, and certainly not even slice to Clemson or Oregon’s places. It’s shiney & better the old place no doubt but even in NFL top 10.