Raymond James Stadium

Raymond James Stadium , which was earlier the home ground of the MLS's Tampa Bay Mutiny , now plays home to the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the football team of the University of South Florida . The stadium has an accommodation of 66,000 and it can be expanded to 75,000 when needed. It was built mainly as a substitute for the Houlihan's Stadium and is located on the former Al Lopez Field . The stadium has a replica of a pirate-ship, 103-foot in length and 43 ton in weight, inside it. The ship throws out soft-rubber footballs and confetti when the Buccaneers perform well in a match.

The Raymond James Stadium is one of the major stadiums of the area and also the country. So it gets the chance to host a number of matches throughout the year. It usually holds a number of matches from the NFL . It had played host to the NFC Playoffs a number of times. The NFL Divisional Playoffs in the 2000 and 2003 while the NFC Wild Card Playoff in the year 2006 was held there. A Super Bowl match was also held in the stadium on 18 th January, 2001 when Baltimore Ravens defeated New York Giants in a Super Bowl XXXV match. The next Super Bowl XLIII match in the stadium is scheduled to be held on the 1 st of February, 2009.

The Raymond James Stadium owned by the Tampa Sports Authority has a surface made of Bermuda Grass. It is one of the best stadiums associated with the NFL matches and all the players feels it a privilege to play matches in this stadium.