The Buccaneers will conduct their 2009 training camp at the world-class headquarters they opened in 2006
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are going camping again this summer, but this time with all the comforts of home.
For the first time since 1986, the Buccaneers will use their own facilities to conduct training camp, although this time around the surroundings will be much more impressive. The team moved into its new headquarters in 2006 and has since enjoyed all the advantages of the NFL's most state-of-the-art home. All of those advantages will now also apply to the formative three weeks that make up the team's annual training camp.
"The Buccaneers organization is excited to bring training camp home to Tampa in 2009," said Buccaneers Vice President of Business Administration Brian Ford. "Our goal is to provide access to our fans here in Tampa during our preparation for the season while further utilizing our world-class facility. The Buccaneers would also like to thank Disney's Wide World of Sports and the Celebration Hotel for their tremendous support and assistance over the past seven years."
The Buccaneers held training camp at the original One Buccaneer Place from the franchise's inaugural season of 1976 through the summer of 1986. In 1987, camp was moved downtown to the University of Tampa, which remained the team's summer home through 2001. For the past seven years, the Bucs have conducted camp at Wide World of Sports in Lake Buena Vista, Florida and housed the team at the nearby Celebration Hotel in Celebration, Florida.
And indeed, the Buccaneers had an overwhelmingly positive series of camps at the Disney facilities; still, they are thrilled to be moving the proceedings back home in 2009. The team remains committed to connecting with its fans throughout the Central Florida corridor but also views camp at One Buccaneer Place as an opportunity to enhance the year-round experience for Bay area fans.
The team's current headquarters site on Martin Luther King Boulevard, just to the east of Raymond James Stadium, is currently not zoned to allow a crowd of fans to attend practices. However, the Buccaneers are working with the city of Tampa in an attempt to change the zoning parameters and open all practices to fans. Under the team's current development approval, it is permitted to hold training camp at the facility but must seek an amendment to that approval for the public to attend.
The Buccaneers' state-of-the-art training facility opened for business in August 2006 and the 136,320-square-foot complex has every conceivable advancement related to the game of football. The facility is already being touted as the standard by which all future sports facilities will be measured.
One Buccaneer Place features full-sized practice fields; a 9,353-square-foot weight room in a separate building; a sprawling training area with the most modern tools for the team's medical staff; a 2,400-square-foot team auditorium fronted by an enormous video screen; a video control room; dozens of wired meeting rooms; a dedicated draft room, spacious coaches offices; a fully-contained kitchen and dining area; a locker room more than double the size of its predecessor and much, much more. The facility also houses all of the front office departments.
The new One Buc Place has served the team marvelously for the last three years. Now it will also be the perfect place to go camping.
