The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have reportedly reduced the seating capacity at Raymond James Stadium by removing a section it originally added last year to account for Tom Brady’s impact on ticket sales.
The “Krewe’s Nest” temporary seating section spanning 3,600 seats in the stadium’s south end zone has now been removed ahead of the 2023 season, according to PewterReport. The section had replaced a concourse in 2022 in what turned out to be Brady’s third and final season with the Buccaneers as the quarterback legend retired this offseason after 23 seasons and seven Super Bowl victories.
Tampa Bay ranked 14th last season regarding average fan attendance per home game at 68,988. But when accounting for the total capacity of Raymond James Stadium, the Buccaneers ranked third overall behind only San Francisco and Indianapolis for the percentage of the stadium filled per home game.
Brady’s presence was a business boom for the Buccaneers as in 2019, the season before he arrived in Tampa, the Bucs ranked 30th in average home game attendance as its 51,898 average crowd was only higher than two NFL teams that season.
Baker Mayfield was signed to a one-year contract to replace Brady at quarterback in Tampa this offseason. Since retiring from the NFL, Brady has acquired ownership stakes in the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders, WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces, English soccer’s Birmingham City FC, and an E1 Series electric boat racing team.
