Tampa Stadium Tampa Stadium ( officially known as Houlihan ' s Stadium from 1996 to 1999 , and nicknamed " The Big Sombrero " due to its shape ) was a sports venue located at 4201 North Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa , Florida , USA . The stadium is most closely associated with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers National Football League franchise , which played all of their home games in the stadium from 1976 through 1997 . It was demolished in 1999 following the construction of Raymond James Stadium , which is sometimes referred to as " The New Sombrero " in memory of its predecessor in spite of its unsombrero - like design Origin and design . Pre - history and construction . The land on which Tampa Stadium was situated had been the perimeter of Drew Field , a World War II - era airfield which was the precursor to Tampa International Airport . In 1949 , the city of Tampa bought a 720 acre grassy parcel between the airport and West Tampa from the federal government with the idea of eventually building a community sports complex . Al Lopez Field was the first phase of the project , opening in 1955 . By the early 1960s , Tampa ' s civic leaders were interested in attracting a National Football League team to the area . Several well - attended NFL exhibition games were held at Phillips Field near downtown , but the venue was too small to support a professional football franchise . So with the encouragement of NFL officials , the city decided to build a larger facility which could be used by the University of Tampa ’ s football team in the short term and could be expanded for use by a theoretical pro team in the future . Construction of Tampa Stadium began in the fall of 1966 directly adjacent to Al Lopez Field , which was by then the home of the Tampa Tarpons of the Florida State League and the spring training home of the Cincinnati Reds . Even though it contained separate football and baseball venues plus the Reds ' training grounds , the lot purchased in 1949 was still large enough to allow for ample parking in the open land surrounding both facilities . Original design . When it opened in 1967 , Tampa Stadium consisted of a matching pair of large arch - shaped concrete grandstand s built along the sides of a natural grass playing surface . The seating area was accessed via short tunnels built from the rear concourse s through the grandstands at ground level and about halfway up the stadium . Long , backless aluminum benches were arranged on a single tier so that every seat had a direct and unobstructed view of the action . Capacity was 46 , 481 . Expansions and renovations . Tampa Stadium underwent an extensive expansion project in 1974 - 1975 after the city was awarded an NFL expansion team . Over 27 , 000 seats were added by completely enclosing the open endzone s , making the venue one of the largest in the NFL with a capacity of 71 , 908 . The resulting arena was not in the shape of a simple bowl . It was highest at the center of the two sideline grandstands and gently sloped downward to a rounded corner where it met the new sections , which were about half as tall . Much later , the stadium was dubbed " The Big Sombrero " by ESPN ' s Chris Berman for the unique undulating hat / wave shape created along the top of the stadium by the 1975 additions . The last major renovation took place in the early 1980s when , in preparation for its first Super Bowl in January 1984 , the press box atop the west grandstand was updated and a large suite of luxury box es was added atop the east grandstand . This configuration gave the facility its maximum seating capacity of 74 , 301 . For the 1990 season , large flagpoles were mounted on the upper rim of the stadium as part of a stadium update that included the addition of a JumboTron screen in the south end zone and smaller scoreboards above the field - level tunnels in two corners of the stadium . The poles were used to fly large flags for each of the NFL ' s teams until 1997 , when the Buccaneers adopted a uniform redesign featuring a red flag on their helmets . Large versions of the flag were hoisted on the stadium ' s flagpoles when the Buccaneers penetrated their opponents ' 20 - yard line . The franchise continued this practice when it moved to Raymond James Stadium next door a year later . Heat . Tampa Stadium was built almost exclusively of concrete . Throughout its existence , exterior walls were painted light tan or white or left as bare concrete , as were the flooring surfaces . Seating consisted of long aluminum benches , and there was no roof or overhang of any kind over the field or seating areas . This minimalist design in Tampa ' s subtropical climate created a very warm venue for spectators and participants alike , especially after the stadium was bowled - in for the Bucs ' 1976 inaugural season . While fans could retreat under the grandstands to the shade of the wide concourses where concessions and restrooms were located , players and personnel on the field had no such recourse . Cooling equipment was usually placed near the sideline benches , and the Buccaneers usually wore white jerseys for home games , forcing their opponents to wear darker ( and hotter ) colors . During the summer and early autumn , events in the stadium were often scheduled in the evening hours to avoid the afternoon heat and humidity . In another nod to local weather , the natural grass playing surface was highly crowned to provide rapid drainage during Tampa ' s intense thunderstorm s , with the sidelines almost 18 inches lower than the center of the field . Sporting history . First tenants . University of Tampa Spartans . On November 4 , 1967 , the just - finished stadium hosted its first sporting event when the University of Tampa Spartans hosted the # 3 University of Tennessee Volunteers . While the Spartans lost that game 38 - 0 , they would enjoy later success in their new home , moving up to Division I football in 1971 and sending several players to the NFL , including Freddie Solomon and John Matuszak . However , attendance at the games did not meet expectations and university president B . D . Owens said the school would face bankruptcy if it continued to subsidize the sport . At the end of the 1974 season , " Tampa U " shut down its football program . Tampa Bay Rowdies . The Tampa Bay Rowdies were the stadium ' s first professional tenant , starting play in 1975 and winning their only ( outdoor ) championship in their inaugural season . ( The team also won indoor soccer championships playing at the Bayfront Center across Tampa Bay in St . Petersburg . ) The Rowdies played their home games in Tampa Stadium every summer until the disbanded in 1984 . NFL expansion . Exhibition games . Looking to showcase the city ' s new facility for the NFL , community leaders arranged for several exhibition games in Tampa Stadium in the late 1960s and early 1970s . The first such game between the Atlanta Falcons and Washington Redskins was played in August 1968 and drew a near - sellout crowd . Eleven more games were held in the following seasons with similarly enthusiastic crowds , including three featuring the Baltimore Colts in 1972 . These preseason games gave NFL owners and officials ample opportunity to assess the Tampa Bay area and the stadium , and on April 24 , 1974 , Tampa was awarded an NFL expansion team to begin play in the 1976 season . Tampa Bay Buccaneers . The Buccaneers ' first regular season home game was held on September 19 , 1976 , when the Bucs lost to the San Diego Chargers 23 - 0 . That would become a trend , as the team began their existence with an NFL - record 26 game losing streak . They would not win a game on their home field until defeating the St . Louis Cardinals on the last game of the following season , December 18 , 1977 . Jubilant fans swarmed the Tampa Stadium turf and tore down the goal posts . The Buccaneers had improved enough by the 1979 season to host the NFC Championship game , which they lost 9 - 0 to the Los Angeles Rams . The Bucs played 18 additional seasons in the facility but struggled through most of them . They would only host one more playoff game on their original home turf : a NFC Wild Card matchup with the Detroit Lions on December 28 , 1997 , which they won 20 - 10 . This would be the last game the team ever played in Tampa Stadium , as they moved next door to Raymond James Stadium in 1998 . " Houlihan ' s Stadium " . Malcolm Glazer also acquired naming rights to Tampa Stadium when he purchased the Buccaneers in 1995 . In October of that year , he had the Houlihan ' s restaurant chain , another business in his portfolio , pay the Bucs $ 10 million for those rights . This resulted in the official name of the facility being changed to " Houlihan ' s Stadium " in 1996 and in Glazer being sued by Houlihan ' s stockholders , who were not happy about purchasing stadium naming rights in an area in which the chain had no restaurants . Other tenants and events . Tampa Stadium was the home field for several additional teams and hosted a wide variety of events during its lifetime . Concerts . The stadium hosted concerts by many famous artists , including The Who , Jethro Tull , Paul McCartney , David Bowie , U2 , The Rolling Stones , Jimmy Buffett , The Eagles , Whitney Houston , Jonathan Butler , Kenny G , George Michael , Pink Floyd , the Grateful Dead , and several big acts at the same time during the 1988 Monsters of Rock Tour , among others . Two particularly memorable concerts were held there by the English rock band Led Zeppelin . On May 5 , 1973 , the band attracted 56 , 800 people , which at the time represented the largest audience for a single artist performance in history , breaking the record set by The Beatles at Shea Stadium in 1965 . On June 3 , 1977 , the band returned to the venue , but the concert was cut short due to a large thunderstorm . An audience riot followed , with police ultimately using tear gas to disperse the crowd . Local authorities banned concerts in Tampa Stadium for over a year and changed security rules before allowing shows to resume . Special events . In March 1979 , evangelist Billy Graham held a " Florida West Coast Crusade " at Tampa Stadium , drawing a combined crowd of about 175 , 000 over five consecutive days . Demolition . Upon buying the Buccaneers in 1995 , new owner Malcolm Glazer declared that Tampa Stadium was inadequate and threatened to move the franchise to another city unless a new stadium was built at taxpayer ' s expense . To accommodate these demands , Hillsborough County raised local sales tax es and built Raymond James Stadium just south of Tampa Stadium in 1997 - 98 . Demolition of Tampa Stadium proceeded soon after the Tampa Bay Mutiny ' s final home game on September 13 , 1998 . Wrecking ball s and long reach excavator s were used for much of the process . The last portion of the stadium ( the east side luxury boxes built for the stadium ' s first Super Bowl ) , was imploded on April 11 , 1999 . The land was then cleared and converted into a parking lot . Part of that demolition was featured in a 1999 " Modern Marvels " episode entitled " Demolition " . Tampa Stadium in video games . Tampa Stadium featured in a number of video games , including Madden NFL 2000 and Madden NFL 2001 .