Bucs seek $1 billion Raymond James Stadium renovation with sun shade

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are seeking a $1 billion renovation to Raymond James Stadium, according to two officials with the Tampa Sports Authority.

With a January deadline approaching to negotiate the lease agreement, Bucs brass has held private talks about a five-year extension. Sports Authority officials told the Tampa Bay Times that half of that renovation amount would go toward sun coverage over the team's home stadium. The Bucs have floated paying one-third of the cost, with the public covering the other two-thirds.

Concerns are growing among the Tampa Sports Authority's board members about how much public money would be available for the Bucs as Tampa and Hillsborough County put together documents governing a $2.3 billion stadium deal for the Tampa Bay Rays. They lamented that the public's tab for the Rays stadium will be higher than what has been publicly discussed.

"I think most of us have talked to the Buccaneers at this point, and we're going to be writing a very large check in the very near future for Raymond James Stadium," board member Tony Muniz said at a meeting Tuesday. "And that's our priority. We have to always remember that. I think that we need to take care of Raymond James before we go out and try to convince the Rays to stay in Tampa Bay."

Muniz said he asked the Hillsborough County Commission to look "very hard" at what the county would use from the Community Investment Tax for the Bucs before revenues that exceed initial estimates go toward the Rays.

"When you calculate what we're talking about for the Rays, what's left after that for the Bucs? That's the big question," said board member Luciano Prida.

Board member Andy Scaglione said that, using two appraisals of Tropicana Fieldas a comparison, the 113 acres that would be used for the Rays' stadium and mixed-use development at Hillsborough College could be worth around $600 million. He saidthat if you include the land with the other requested investments, the public is subsidizing 81.5% of the stadium cost.

Tampa Sports Authority President and CEO Eric Hart said he expected the Bucs to request somewhere between $700 millionand $1.3 billion in renovations to Raymond James Stadium. Hart said he based that figure on other renovation projects done by the Bucs' NFL competitors. He said the Bucs have requested another meeting, with a definitive timeframe pending.

The Bucs had no comment Tuesday.

The Tampa Sports Authority already has budgeted $58 million for projects at Raymond James. Hart said that while some of the renovations are for maintenance, the Sports Authority and the team share a common goal to do upgrades that would generate revenue.

"That's important for all of us," he said.

Hart said those projects will happen without closing the stadium. The plan is to take sections of the building offline one at a time.

"We've done this before, so we'll do it again," said Hart, referring to renovationsfrom 2015 to 2018. "I think our goal would be to not have them relocate."

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This story was originally published May 26, 2026 at 1:46 PM.