Winning football in Tampa isn’t going to cure the ticket woes the Buccaneers have this season.
Not in 2010, anyway.
Off to a 3-1 start, ahead of the defending champion New Orleans Saints and trailing the Atlanta Falcons by just a half-game in the NFC South, the Bucs are bracing for local television blackouts for the remainder of the season.
Not only are the Bucs not expected to sell out Sunday’s showdown with the Saints at Raymond James Stadium, they do not anticipate selling out the five home games that follow either, according to the St. Petersburg Times.
If the Bucs’ resurgence under young quarterback Josh Freeman continues and the locals don’t see it, will it really happen? Of course, but apparently the public that so supported the franchise in its rise to excellence in the late 90’s doesn’t care that much right now. Perhaps it's a reaction to how the owners, the Glazer family, has operated the club in the last five-plus years, limiting spending. The youth movement with young general manager Mark Dominik has been impressive to this early point in the season, though, and certainly Sunday's last-minute victory at Cincinnati was a building block.
The Bucs have already blacked out two home games and both preseason games. Per league rules, home games that are blacked out may not be shown within a 75-mile radius of the stadium.
The stadium seats 65,000 or so fans and the report states the Bucs may have sold as few as 40,000 season tickets.
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Brad Biggs covers the Bears for the Chicago Tribune
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