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10,000 could go on sale as early as Wednesday - if Bucs beat Packers.
By ROGER MILLS
© St. Petersburg Times, published December 23, 2000
TAMPA -- About 10,000 tickets may be available to the public if the Bucs win Sunday and host a playoff game. Bucs director of ticketing Mike Newquist said Friday the team had received the returns of playoff game vouchers from its season-ticket holders and anticipated about 10,000 tickets available to the public.
The vouchers were mailed out to season-ticket holders during the season and had to be returned by Dec. 5. Raymond James Stadium has more than 65,000 seats.
Should the Bucs defeat the Packers and earn a home playoff game, Newquist said tickets will go on sale Wednesday at all Ticketmaster outlets or by calling 898-2100 in Pinellas or 287-8844 in Hillsborough, or via the Internet at http://www.Ticketmaster.com.
If the Bucs win and the Vikings lose, giving Tampa Bay a first-round bye, tickets for the second round will go on sale the Wednesday before the game.
Newquist said most Bucs season-ticket holders have received their opening round and NFC Championship Game tickets in the mail.
"It's just an estimate, but about 10,000 tickets could be there," he said. "A lot of season-ticket holders were out of town or already had made plans to go out of town. Those who usually had eight tickets only got four or six. So, that's a lot of tickets, considering the games have all been sold out."
As mandated by the league, playoff tickets are more expensive than regular-season tickets. Tickets that cost $25, $30, $45 and $60 will cost $35, $45, $60 and $80 respectively.
If the Bucs host the NFC Championship Game, Newquist said some of the extra bleachers expected for the Super Bowl could be in place, adding an additional 5,000 seats to the south end zone (opposite the Pirate Ship).