Jon Gruden had a very successful run with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as their head coach. He’s in the team’s Ring of Honor as the franchise’s winningest coach with a 57-55 record over seven seasons. He was also the youngest coach to ever win a Super Bowl, capturing the title with them in 2002 at just 39 years old.
Advertisement
Another memorable moment from his tenure with the Bucs came when Gruden helped facilitate the team’s move to a new practice facility. In fact, the coach literally operated a JCB to help demolish what used to be the Tampa Bay mall.
Recently, Gruden reflected on that demolition and how it all happened.
“That used to be the Tampa Bay mall. I tore down the mall so we could build the Buccaneer facility. We had to tear this structure down so that we could build the facility that the Bucs are currently in,” Gruden shared on The Ronde Barber Show.
At the time, the Buccaneers’ practice situation was dreadful. “We used to be in a trailer park, remember that?” Gruden asked Barber, a former corner for Tampa Bay.
Barber then recalled that the facility was also next to the Tampa Bay International Airport. So, they’d be inhaling jet fumes all day while running live plays in practice. It didn’t sound particularly healthy for the players.
Gruden quickly remembered the scene.
“All day,” Gruden confirmed. “And, we got lightning before our first game against New Orleans, so we had to practice in that parking lot. Remember that?”
They were funny memories that the two wrote off as “the good ol’ days.” Nowadays, the NFL has become so profitable that practically every team has prioritized a state-of-the-art facility. But the Bucs building, from the beginning, has been considered one of the best of the best.
The One Buc Palace was a $32 million project when all was said and done, and spans over 137,000 square feet. There’s an iconic 55-foot-tall football entryway that seamlessly blends in with the overall structure. It’s a sight that Gruden and his team got to walk through countless times while going to work.
However, with the project being done in 2008, the practice facility could probably use an update. In an anonymous survey in 2023, given to players asking them to rank facilities, the Bucs came in at 26th. Not exactly the most stellar score.
Regardless, it’s a beautiful building that Gruden was at ground zero for during its inception. It’s a great image to look back on, perfectly capturing the intensity the legendary coach carried throughout his career. Gruden wants a new practice facility? He’ll demolish a building and build one himself!
