Thankfully, No Tarps
January 24th, 2013
Thankfully, these eyesores otherwise known as tarps, like those used at Jags games, will not desecrate the Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway any time soon.
Joe received e-mails from quite a few Bucs season ticket holders who were asked to move the location of their seats.
Said fans, and Joe, were scared. Why?
Joe was convinced Team Glazer had decided to break out those hideous-looking tarps to cover sections of seats in order for the seating capacity of the Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway to be lowered as part of a cheap stunt to help games meet TV blackout plateaus set by the NFL — selling 85 percent of non-premium seats.
Joe’s assumption, thankfully, was wrong. Jose Patino Girona, of the Tampa Tribune, spoke to Bucs officials and learned that, yes, fans are being moved, but those heinous tarps will not be used to block off any seats.
The change will impact about 400 seats. Team officials have been calling the owners of those season tickets and sent an email Tuesday to those they haven’t been able to reach.
Ford said the change is intended only to free up certain sections of the stadium to accommodate groups. The team has no plans to remove or cover seats to make it easier to sell out or reach the 85 percent attendance threshold that would avoid a blackout of home games, he said.
“In no way is this repurposing an indication that we will be removing or tarping seats,” Brian Ford, the team’s vice president of business administration, said in a prepared statement.
Thank goodness!
The first time Joe saw tarps used to block off sections was for Pirates games at the old Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. And they were a complete and total eyerake. Joe has been to a few Jags games and the tarps there are nearly as ugly.
Yes, the Rays use tarps in their upper deck. Just one of many things that makes the Fruitdome onerous.
Joe applauds Team Glazer for not stooping to this level. A quarter-full stadium with tens of thousands of empty seats looks far better than those ugly-arse tarps. Yick!
Those tarps scream “bush league.”
January 24th, 2013 at 9:12 am
I was just at a Jags game and I thought the tarps look perfectly fine. The jaguar image is pretty sharp actually.
They would be an eyesore if they had some corporate logo plastered all over them like say, Dolman Law, Tilted Kilt, or Metcalf Law. That would be an eyesore.
January 24th, 2013 at 9:19 am
Tarps and TV revenue or blackouts….. I’ll take the tarps every time.
January 24th, 2013 at 9:30 am
If it gets the games on TV here in east orlando, then bring on the tarps. Please.
January 24th, 2013 at 9:33 am
No, the tarps scream “Tropicana Field.”
I’m with Joe on this, tarps are trashy and I don’t want them at my stadium.
January 24th, 2013 at 9:38 am
Priority #1 is having the bucs on tv. Dont care what the stadium looks like
January 24th, 2013 at 10:59 am
@Meh
Couldn’t agree more
January 24th, 2013 at 11:02 am
Anybody think the team should trade for Revis?
January 24th, 2013 at 11:17 am
Tarps look horrible!!! Especially when I’m listening to the game on the radio!
January 24th, 2013 at 11:29 am
Revis would be a great signing. Outside of a franchise qb, a shutdown corner can be the biggest upgrade to a team. There’s risk of him not coming back 100% but Id take my chances for such a high upside…honestly though, I dont think he’s leaving new york. Their fans would riot
January 24th, 2013 at 11:33 am
@ Nate “Tarps look horrible!!! Especially when I’m listening to the game on the radio!”
Ha aha ahahhaha.
You are right brotha.
The tarps hardly ever get shown on TV anyway.
Get the games on TV = priority #1.
January 24th, 2013 at 11:34 am
Also, because the games are blacked out, I have to watch the Jacksonville games anyway.
What a joke to complain about tarps. In fact, they look pretty nice to me.
January 24th, 2013 at 12:10 pm
Who cares about tarps? Get the game on TV. Besides, why are you looking up at tarps? The game is played on the field. : ) GO BUCS!
January 24th, 2013 at 1:08 pm
I go to 2 games a year i watch the other home games online….like a real fan…so i would like the tarps to watch in HD but..im watch anyway
January 24th, 2013 at 2:18 pm
Tarp the whole damn stadium as long as i can watch the bucs im happy. I cant believe we are talking about the look of a stadium. I hope our next topic is if Doug Martins cleats match his socks because if they dont i wont be able to watch.
January 24th, 2013 at 2:50 pm
I dont care how ugly the tarps are, if they get the games on TV then Im all for it.
January 24th, 2013 at 2:55 pm
No thanks……10 years of mixed franchise messages……see ya !…no thanks….. Clevis/Revis……
January 24th, 2013 at 6:01 pm
Y’all shouldn’t care about the games on TV if you’d go support your team
January 24th, 2013 at 7:05 pm
Seriously Joe? Who side are you on dude? You’re concerned with esthetics, and not getting the game televised? Televising our games is the best way to advertise for the team and perhaps reinvigorated the local fan base that is jaded by the lack of effort put forth by the owners to keep the franchise winning these past few years.
For those that say if you are a true fan, you’ll just go to the game, that’s B.S…and you’re ignorant Tampa local… I’m a diehard fan, however I live 127 miles east of Tampa. This blackout rule for the Orlando market covers 6 counties! Forget getting the game on local television, I can’t go to a bar North or South of my location in less than 50 miles to watch the game on television…and the streaming sites are crap… bad bandwidth, poor quality, spyware… it’s a nightmare.
Shrink the damn stadium and lift the blackouts! If the Glazers keep spending money on the right talent, eventually those tarps will go away. Putting the home games back on television will bridge the gap.
Joe, I’m disappointed with your position on this…