May 17, 2011

Past Venue: Tampa Stadium

Tampa, FL
aka Houlihan’s Stadium



Year opened: 1967
Capacity: 74,301, up from 45,000 at opening

Names:
Tampa Stadium, 1967-95
Houlihan’s Stadium, 1996-98

Pro football tenants:
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (NFL), 1976-97
Tampa Bay Bandits (USFL), 1983-85

Postseason games hosted:
NFC Divisional playoff, Buccaneers 24 Eagles 17, Dec. 29, 1979
NFC Championship, Rams 9 Buccaneers 0, Jan. 6, 1980
Super Bowl XVIII, Raiders 38 Redskins 9, Jan. 22, 1984
USFL Championship, Stars 23 Wranglers 3, July 15, 1984
Super Bowl XXV, Giants 20 Bills 19, Jan. 27, 1991
NFC Wild Card playoff, Buccaneers 20 Lions 10, Dec. 28, 1997

Other tenants of note:
Univ. of Tampa (college football), 1967-74
Tampa Bay Rowdies (NASL), 1975-84
Tampa Bay Mutiny (MLS), 1996-98
Univ. of South Florida (college football), 1997

Notes: Hosted AFC/NFC Pro Bowl, Jan. 23, 1978. Hosted Can-Am Bowl, 1977-79. Hosted Hall of Fame/Outback Bowl, 1986-98. Hosted one home game of AFL Miami Dolphins in 1969. Hosted several NFL preseason games prior to the creation of the Buccaneers, beginning with Washington Redskins vs. Atlanta Falcons in Aug. 1968. A major expansion project in 1975 added 27,000 seats. Referred to as the Big Sombrero due to its distinctive shape. Renamed Houlihan’s Stadium after Malcolm Glazer, owner of the Buccaneers as well as the Houlihan’s restaurant chain, also purchased the stadium’s naming rights.

Fate: Demolished in 1999, the site is now a parking lot for Raymond James Stadium.

No comments:

Post a Comment