The Bucs store at Enterprise Village is loaded with merchandise and made to resemble the stadium on game day
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' merchandise store at Enterprise Village recently received a brand new look, courtesy of the Glazer Family Foundation. Enterprise Village, an interactive marketplace for fifth-graders located at the Gus A. Stavros Institute, provides a hands-on environment where children can learn about the workings of the free enterprise system.
During each school year, every fifth grader in the Pinellas County school system spends a day at Enterprise Village. The Village is just that – a model community that teaches students about the free enterprise system by applying economic and personal financial concepts in a business simulation. The visiting students work for a newspaper, run a radio station and work at businesses such as an electric company, a fast food restaurant and a drug store. Workers earn wages that are used to open a bank account, and basic utility bills must be paid before luxury items can be purchased.
The Buccaneers store is one of the most popular at the Village, as students can purchase team merchandise such as cups, hats, posters and yearbooks with their earned wages. Opened in 2003, the Buccaneers store is sponsored by the Glazer Family Foundation through monetary grants and donation of team goods.
This year, it was determined that the Buccaneers store needed a face lift to coincide with the brand new facility the team now calls home. The store received green carpet to resemble field turf and new wall coverings that depict the stadium on game day, as well as the signature pirate ship in the end zone of Raymond James Stadium. The walls are now adorned with autographed memorabilia that adds to the authenticity of the team store. When students visit the Buccaneers store this season, the workers there will be wearing Buccaneers jerseys, and they will find a whole new supply of Buccaneers items to take home.
"The newly refurbished Buccaneer store is amazing," said Valerie White, Director of the Stavros Institute. "Being in the store gives you the feeling of actually experiencing Raymond James Stadium. When the students begin coming to Enterprise Village later this month, they will be filled with team spirit as they experience the newly remodeled Buccaneer store."
Each year more than 17,000 students participate in the real-life learning experience of Enterprise Village. A program of the Pinellas Education Foundation, the Village has become a prototype for similar programs around the world. The Buccaneers are thrilled to be a part of this innovative program and are committed to keeping their corner of the Village as updated and realistic as possible.
