Bucs Getting $10 Million in Stadium Upgrades for COVID-19

Raymond James Stadium will look a bit different this year in response to COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many changes to everyday life, and the sports world is no exception.

As many professional sports begin their return to play, the NFL is still preparing as best they can to make an attempt at a full 2020 season.

To that end, NFL teams are having to make infrastructure upgrades to their stadiums, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are getting $10 million with which to make those changes to their home field, per Greg Auman of The Athletic.

Raymond James Stadium is in line to get more than $10 million in government funding, @gregauman reports, to help make it safer for Bucs and USF fans to safely attend games and lessen the risk of spreading COVID-19 this fall. https://t.co/1TfA9SGYlj
?source=twittered pic.twitter.com/ujvcZB97LG

— The Athletic Tampa Bay (@TheAthleticTB) July 13, 2020

Here are some of the details, per Auman:

Many of the proposed changes pertain to the stadium’s parking lots and entry points, limiting interaction between staff and fans as they park and enter the stadium for games. New touchless ticket scanners (costing $502,475) will “both reduce the number of staff required and the proximity of which the staff must stand to the attendees,” according to the agenda.

If football happens in 2020, it will certainly look much different than we're used to, just like the rest of life has for the last four months. Time will tell if these changes will be enough to keep all involved safe during this crisis, as sports try their best to bring back some slice of normalcy.