Bucs' home games may have empty feeling

In the new world order of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the rules of engagement are clear.

"Economic reality has hit everywhere," said Brian Ford, a team vice president. "It's a different day, and Tampa got hit very hard. The days of just giving out 10 tickets to a season-ticket holder - 'Here they are in the white envelope and we'll see you on game day' - that's not enough anymore."

Since March, when Bucs co-chairman Joel Glazer warned of the possibility of blackouts this season, a dwindling fan base has braced for the specter of a half-empty Raymond James Stadium.

A 3-13 record, a battered Florida economy and uneasiness about the direction of the franchise have silenced the Bay area buzz that traditionally heralded the start of professional football season.

"The word I would use for the fan base is 'indifferent,'" said former Bucs quarterback Shaun King, who grew up in St. Petersburg and hosts a local sports-talk radio show. "That word scares me more than anything. I'd rather have the fans more passionate, one way or the other. It seems most are in the 'I don't really care' mode."

As they enter the second year of a massive rebuilding plan, the Bucs have been forced to lower some ticket prices in an effort to generate interest.

Refillable sodas and more-affordable combination meals will be available at stadium concession stands, Ford said.

"We saw this coming," Bucs co-chairman Bryan Glazer said. "We're realistic and we understand the situation. The message we have to get out to our fans is that tickets are affordable. A youth ticket is $25, an adult ticket is $35. ... That's a very reasonable amount of money to spend if you're looking for entertainment."

'Not feeling the love'

David Keys, 48, of Brandon, had been a season-ticket holder since 1998 before calling it quits last year. Keys, whose father owned season tickets at Tampa Stadium, sat in the northeast corner of Raymond James near the pirate ship.

"I loved the seat and I enjoyed the high of going to the game every Sunday," Keys said. "The main reason I gave up my ticket was the economy, but I also didn't like the way the team was going. I got the feeling the Glazers weren't putting the same effort into the team as in the past. I wasn't feeling the love."

Since Jon Gruden led a veteran 2002 team to a Super Bowl victory, the Bucs are 48-64. Not only have the franchise's stars not aligned - they're gone.

Beloved fixtures such as Derrick Brooks, Warren Sapp, John Lynch and Mike Alstott have retired, leaving 35-year-old cornerback Ronde Barber as the only link to better days.

"I like our initiative," Barber said of the new sense of urgency at One Buc Place. "It's our obligation to connect with the community any way we can, and I think we've done a good job of that in the offseason. Our new slogan, 'Unite and conquer,' is a great tool, and we should try to thrive on that."

'People love this team'

The Bucs have rededicated themselves to community appearances by players and coaches in an effort to energize supporters. Second-year quarterback Josh Freeman and rookie defensive tackle Gerald McCoy are featured on billboards and marketed aggressively.

"People love this team," said Miray Holmes, the team's director of community relations. "It almost doesn't matter who the player is. If they're a Buccaneer, people are really thrilled to see them and appreciate what they do. The demand is still strong."

Ticket demand, however, is not. A soft market has forced Bucs executives to re-examine how they do business.

"Our No. 1 message is we're in the entertainment business and we have to exceed people's expectations," said Ford, the team vice president. "The days of saying, 'Here we are, we've got Bucs tickets and if you don't take them, the next guy will' are over. It's now the culture of this organization to get back to the grass-roots base, and that culture has been set at every level.

"We have to make sure our game day experience is second to none. Everything from the national anthem to the halftime performance, the pre-game show, the matrix board to give our fans fantasy football updates, the cheerleaders, the cannons ... it's about the experience."

Wayne Fontes, a member of John McKay's original Bucs coaching staff in 1976, lives in the Bay area and attended the club's night practice at the stadium last month.

"I think the Bucs are doing a good job of reaching out," Fontes said. "It's obvious we need our fan base back. Get a few wins and they'll be back."

Bryan Glazer agreed, saying he's confident "our seats will be full" if the club starts winning.

Until then, Bucs fans such as Michael and Annette Sajecki of Odessa, who have owned four season tickets for the past 12 years, will be asked to keep the faith.

"We'll support them," Annette Sajecki said. "We're rebuilding, and I have confidence in the coach, although it's been hard losing players like Brooks and Lynch."

Souring on suites

The Bucs may be leaving nothing to chance when it comes to the 195 high-dollar luxury suites, which can cost tens of thousands to lease. Some businesses have said the team's salesmen are more willing to deal.

Before the economy tanked, Pepin Distributing leased a 32-seat luxury suite for about $130,000 a year. Pepin also had to put up a $130,000 deposit. The Bucs eventually would return the deposit at the end of the lease, but that could be a long time to go without the cash, especially if it were a multiyear lease, said Bill Gieseking, the Anheuser-Busch distributor's marketing director.

Pepin had to drop its suite before last year's season so it could keep up its employees' wages and keep their health care costs down. It didn't sign up this year, either.

But Gieseking noticed a surprising pitch from the Bucs this season: The team dropped the requirement for a deposit.

"I thought it was very customer-friendly, but we were still in no position to renew," Gieseking said.

A spokesman for the Bucs confirmed the team isn't requiring deposits on new suite sales, similar to its policy on most general and club seating.

Blackouts possible

If the two preseason games in Tampa are any indication, home blackouts will be routine for the Bucs when the regular season begins against the Cleveland Browns next Sunday. Paid attendance for preseason games against Kansas City and Jacksonville was announced at 41,386 and 42,640, respectively, suggesting a season-ticket base in that range for the 65,000-seat stadium.

"Your fans can be as important as your players, and you can lose them in a New York second if they don't feel they are being treated right," said former San Francisco 49ers owner Ed DeBartolo, who lives in Tampa. "Those people in stadiums are paying hard-earned high dollar to see a product. That product is entertainment. You'd better entertain 'em."

Fans and marketing executives can debate the National Football League's blackout policy, which requires a game to be sold out 72 hours before kickoff to avoid being blacked out in the local TV market. The league, however, shows no sign of changing the rule, which encourages fans to buy tickets and ensures TV viewers don't see an empty stadium.

Mark Ganis, president of sports consulting firm Sports-

Corp, said the Bucs don't lose TV revenue when a game is blacked out. Football broadcast revenue goes into a central NFL pool rather than to individual teams, he said.

But the blackout could hurt in other ways. The team doesn't get the excitement that comes with a televised game. And it doesn't get what amounts to three-hour commercials for the Bucs, Ganis said.

King, the former quarterback, said the relationship between the Bucs and supporters doesn't go back generations like the NFL bonds in Pittsburgh or New York.

"Tampa's fan base is just getting to the point where Dad has kids," King said. "In retrospect, this organization wasn't prepared for the losses of Sapp, Lynch, Brooks and Alstott. Before, the organization was sound from top to bottom. Not only did the Bucs have solid front-line starters, but they drafted well. Then they got out of hand for a couple of offseasons."

In 2005, the Glazer family purchased soccer club Manchester United for $1.5 billion in a heavily leveraged transaction.

"The perception started to permeate through the community that the Glazers weren't really focused on the Bucs," King said. "Add in the factor that people are in financially tight situations and it all adds up to trouble. If people don't fully believe in something, they're not going to spend their money on it."

Bob Leffler, who runs a sports advertising agency, isn't worried about the Bucs. His agency has 45 sports clients, and he has seen teams in the doldrums roar back to life. He expects even the cellar-dwelling Baltimore Orioles of baseball - one of his clients - to turn things around.

"They regenerate. These people (the Glazers) have shown they can. ... Look what they did when they came here," said Leffler, who occasionally has worked on behalf of the Bucs.

From the comfort of the owner's suite, Bryan Glazer gazed at the empty seats during the Jacksonville game and shrugged.

"I'm not surprised," he said. "I'm not at all concerned about our fans. We are being patient and we're going to build a team that's good, year in and year out. We have done it before and we will do it again."