Scalpers Don't Share In Bucs' Success

A fan shows off the tickets he and his son purchased before the game.

CLIFF McBRIDE / Tribune

By STEVEN ISBITTS sisbitts@tampatrib.com

Published: Sep 7, 2005

TAMPA - With a crumpled $20 bill in his hand and one-liners ready, Joe Spagnola shopped for a Buccaneers ticket outside Raymond James Stadium on Sunday.

The time was 1:01 p.m., seconds before kickoff of the Bucs' sold-out game against the Detroit Lions.

The sun was shining. The Bucs were undefeated. But there was little demand for tickets, which surprised most who came to do some street-corner haggling.

Among a sea of sellers, Spagnola was one of few buyers.

"Come on, it's like buying Christmas trees on Dec. 26. I'm spending 20 bucks. That's it," Spagnola said to a man who offered him a $71 ticket for $40.

The man walked away but tracked Spagnola down five minutes later and sold him the fourth-row, 50-yard-line ticket for $20.

Spagnola, 53, who owns a personal watercraft rental business on Clearwater Beach, said he was pleasantly surprised by the weak demand for tickets.

"With the Bucs playing that well, I was prepared to not get in," Spagnola said, "So I'm real happy about this. Business was tough this summer for me on the beach, and I just can't pay much more right now."

More than 2 1/2 hours before kickoff Sunday, hoards of scalpers, and season ticket holders not planning to attend the game, walked the streets near the stadium and struggled to sell tickets for face value or less.

Many said they expected far greater demand because of the Bucs' undefeated record and fans' love of rookie running back Carnell "Cadillac" Williams.

"It surprised me that they were going for cheap, this early in the day," said Rich Davis, of Palm Harbor, who regularly buys tickets just before games.

Davis and friend Dan Belcher, of Tarpon Springs, drank bottles of Budweiser on Himes Avenue as they hunted a deal Sunday morning.

At 11:20 a.m., they were offered two $135 club seats for $200.

Davis wanted to buy them and relax in the stadium, but Belcher scolded his friend and talked him out of it.

"He gets froggy. He wants those tickets in his hands right away," Belcher said. "We're going to wait it out. It's way too early to buy."

About 12:30, Davis and Belcher bought a pair of $240 club seats for $200 -- then quickly resold them for $300.

"We couldn't resist," Davis said. "I never bought and sold them like that before."

At 12:45, with $100 profit in hand, they bought two 50-yard line seats for $50 each, and headed for the stadium entrance.

'Need Tickets'

Before every Bucs game, the ticket trade is in full swing on the sidewalks and street corners around Raymond James Stadium.

"Need Tickets" signs are the popular prop for those looking to buy -- and sell -- large quantities of tickets.

Only professional ticket sellers hold the signs, said Jackie Carter, who walked Himes Avenue with a laminated blue-and-yellow sign Sunday.

Florida law prohibits the sale of tickets for more than $1 above face value. But scalping on the streets is a persistent problem, said Joe Durkin, a Tampa police spokesman.

Durkin said police have undercover units at all Bucs games and at many events at the St. Pete Times Forum and Legends Field.

The department made more than 100 arrests for scalping in the past four years, but none Sunday, Tampa police said.

"Don't call us scalpers this week," Carter said. "I came from Miami to Tampa to buy and sell for the Bucs game and the boxing card" at the St. Pete Times Forum on Saturday night.

"I didn't sell a thing over face value this weekend. I don't understand why the demand isn't here. It was much better for the boxing match, but nobody really made any big money."

Bob and Cory Morris arrived at Raymond James Stadium with a wad of $100 bills and were prepared to pay more than face value for tickets Sunday. But the father-and-son Bucs fans from Louisville, Ky., never had to consider it.

On Himes Avenue, two hours before kickoff, they were offered two $345 club seats for face value, arguably the best seats in the house.

"This was a surprise," Cory Morris said. "I was ready with my scalper's cell phone number if I couldn't find anything.

"The team's hot, but the ticket isn't there yet."