With government officials in the United Kingdom taking steps to lay the groundwork for an NFL team to make London its home, there has been speculation that the Buccaneers could move to the U.K. if the NFL eventually decides it wants to put a team there full time.
The Bucs, who will face the Bears Sunday at Wembley Stadium, are playing their second game in London in three seasons, but Bucs GM Mark Dominik shot down rumors of the franchise considering a permanent move overseas.
Dominik issued a strong response to the speculation, telling the Tampa Tribune that the team would "never" relocate to London. Dominik did not, however, rule out having the Bucs become a regular in London and playing a game there each year, although he said he has not discussed that matter with the Bucs' ownership or the league. Commissioner Roger Goodell has made expanding the game's reach in the global market a high priority, but NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told PFW the league did "not have any reaction" to Dominik's comments.
NFL owners recently approved a plan to allow teams to volunteer to play at least one regular-season game in the U.K. through 2016, and Goodell is interested in adding a second game to the London schedule each season. Chris Parsons, the league's vice president of international business, has said the league feels there is a "tremendous benefit" to having one team return to the U.K. every year.
The lease for Raymond James Stadium gives the Bucs the ability to move one game per year to any location, so there are no issues keeping them from continuing to move a home game out of Tampa.
The Bucs have been blacked out on local TV three times this season because they didn't sell out their stadium, and they have had 11 blackouts in their last 12 home games. At the Bucs' home game against the division-rival Saints in Week Six, the paid attendance was 56,590. More than 9,000 tickets went unsold, but our sources in Tampa share the sentiment voiced by Goodell earlier this month — the team is struggling to sell out the stadium because of the economic challenges facing the team's fan base, and it's not due to a lack of interest in the Bucs from locals. The Bucs had sold out every home game from 1998 until the start of last season.
Source: http://www.profootballweekly.com/2011/10/22/london-trips-raise-questions-about-bucs-future
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