As the Tampa Bay Buccaneers prepare to begin the playoff stretch drive on Sunday with a game against the rival Atlanta Falcons at Raymond James Stadium, they do so with an offense more advanced than any they've ever fielded in team history. These are not your father's Buccaneers; this team has leapt fully into the high-powered NFL world of the 2010s.
Fans who attend Buccaneer games at Raymond James Stadium are treated to this explosive offensive display. Fittingly, they also find themselves in a viewing environment that is as advanced as any in the world of professional sports. Utilizing both the latest technology and an increased dedication to customer service, the Buccaneers are striving to make attending their games as easy, fun and rewarding as possible.
Most recently, the Buccaneers have added new ways for fans to get their tickets and get into the stadium as simply and quickly as possible.
At the start of the 2012 preseason, the Buccaneers began using Ticketmaster's mobile ticketing application for scanning virtual tickets. The app, available for all smartphones and devices, enables fans to purchase tickets, and Tampa Bay is the first NFL team to utilize the app's paperless ticketing capability, which allows fans to pull up their tickets on their smartphones and have them scanned upon entry to the stadium.
By Week Six of the regular season, the Buccaneers had also become the first NFL team to use Apple's "Passbook" app. Passbook – a new feature on Apple's iO6 operating system – serves as a "mobile wallet," allowing users to store and sort all virtual cards, tickets, and offers. Fans using Passbook can purchase Buccaneers tickets from Ticketmaster and then store them in their Passbook accounts for easy access. Passbook tickets use Quick Response (QR) Code rather than a traditional barcode, and the scanners at Raymond James Stadium have been updated to accept QR-style code.
While tickets can be purchased right outside the stadium this way, fans who wish to spend more advance time choosing the perfect seats can do so easily through the Buccaneers' "Virtual Venue" by IOMEDIA. This tool allows potential ticket-buyers to scan the stadium and compare the views and other details of any seat in the stadium against other seats. The Virtual Venue also allows visitors to look into luxury suites and see the various options for this type of seating.
The Passbook App was just the latest innovation introduced by the Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium this season. The team has also introduced free stadium-wide Wi-Fi, increased rewards for using the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Official Mobile App, brought in a new in-game production company and improved customer service.
Free Wi-Fi in the stadium has been particularly popular among Buccaneer fans on game days, as it allows them to use their various devices to add to how they take in information about the game on the field and to keep abreast of all the action around the NFL. Fans can fully immerse themselves in the experience at Raymond James Stadium without ever unplugging from their own networks.
No fees or passwords are required to access the stadium Wi-Fi on game days, so fans in attendance can access scores from around the league, watch their fantasy matchups develop and gather information about the action taking place on the field in front of them. The best way to do this, of course, is through the Buccaneers' Official Mobile App, a tablet and smartphone application that is offered for Apple, Android, Blackberry and Windows devices. The Buccaneers App features stats, rosters, news updates and much more…and on game day, those in the stadium will be able to unlock special features associated with the stadium experience.
Speaking of that experience, the Buccaneers have partnered with the group that has produced the past 18 Super Bowls to greatly enhance the added entertainment within the stadium. That includes providing more and better instant replays, something Buccaneer fans had noted as a priority. A brand-new replay system has provided several new cameras for additional angles; fans now have the chance to go "Under the Hood," as the stadium BucVision boards display the same replays that the field officials view on sideline monitors.
To augment all of these new features and make sure fans are getting the full benefit of them, the team has made customer service on game day a top priority. Dozens of additional trained Buccaneers staff have been posted around the stadium in 2012 to provide help before, during and after each game. Quads A and C feature new Guest and Member Relations Headquarters, staffed by employees ready to aid fans with any questions or issues.
