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It's The Intersection Of Traffic, USF Football

Tampa Tribune file photo

University of South Florida fan Nate Hopkins of Oldsmar cheers on the Bulls as the team takes the field to play West Virginia on Sept. 28 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

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By RICH SHOPES | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 12, 2007

TAMPA - The Bulls crowd is getting Buccaneers-size.

Parking and traffic around Raymond James Stadium is taking on NFL proportions now that the University of South Florida football program is attracting national attention and tens of thousands of Bulls fans.

The team's popularity has police and traffic officials prepping for game day as though it were a Sunday with 60,000-plus Bucs ticketholders poised to stream into Raymond James.

At least the matchup against University of Central Florida is happening on a Saturday. The sold-out West Virginia game occurred on a Friday after rush hour.

"The West Virginia game was the perfect storm," said Sgt. Jimmy Meier, who oversees traffic enforcement at Raymond James.

Bulls fans sold out the stadium. Tailgaters streamed into parking lots hours ahead of the 8 p.m. kickoff, tying up commuters. As game time neared, thousands more fans – many of whom had never attended a Bulls game – started arriving and wondering where to park.

On southbound Dale Mabry Highway, approaching Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, "that left lane was backed up all the way to Hillsborough Avenue," said city traffic engineer Debbie Herrington.

MLK was similarly choked as westbound drivers met a throng turning east from Dale Mabry. They converged at the same parking lot, causing a bottleneck, even though plenty more parking was available off Tampa Bay Boulevard and off Columbus Drive.

"At most games there are 30,000 people, 40,000 tops, but all of a sudden now you've got double the crowd," said Meier, noting that many fans didn't know where to turn.

Police coped by doubling the traffic detail to 50 officers.

The same amount is expected for Saturday's Bulls-Golden Knights game.

Police and those in charge of managing the traffic grid are trying to be proactive by making sure more people are aware of the best options for getting to the stadium and finding parking once they get there.

Saturday, electronic signs on Interstate 275 will direct fans to Dale Mabry.

And Herrington advises motorists to consider exiting at Howard Avenue and taking Columbus west, or exiting at Lois Avenue and going east on Boy Scout Boulevard. Traffic officials want drivers to avoid MLK because of the backups that can result near the stadium.

Fans should get there as much as 90 minutes before the kickoff, she said.

Tom Gerberding, Class of 1971, is only too happy to oblige, given the exploding enthusiasm for the fifth-ranked Bulls.

"Everybody's got the flags, the Bulls paraphernalia," said Gerberding, who lives in Seminole Heights. "Before it was almost like going to a movie. Now you get excited about going. It's kind of contagious."

He's been attending USF football games since they started more than a decade ago. Until recently, Gerberding could leave his home and find a stadium parking space in 15 minutes.

"For the West Virginia game we thought we better leave a little earlier. We left an hour ahead of time," he said. "It took an hour. It was crazy."

Like that West Virginia game, Saturday's USF-UCF game is sold out.

Reporter Rich Shopes can be reached at (813) 259-7633 or at rshopes@tampatrib.com.

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