The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (NFL) and the University of South Florida Bulls (NCAA) both call the stadium home. It was home to the Tampa Bay Mutiny of the MLS from 1999 to 2001. It has also hosted the NCAA's Outback Bowl on New Year's Day annually since 1999. The stadium also hosts the AGA/Budweiser American Invitational, the annual highlight of USA equestrian showjumping season. Raymond James Stadium was also the site of Super Bowl XXXV in 2001 which pitted the Baltimore Ravens against the New York Giants and Super Bowl XLIII in 2009 between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals. In 2008 and 2009 the stadium hosted the ACC Championship Game.
The stadium was built because Malcolm Glazer, then the Buccaneers new owner, demanded it as a condition for him to keep the team in Tampa Bay. During construction it was called the Tampa Community Stadium. St. Petersburg-based Raymond James Financial bought the naming rights for $32.5 million. The deal runs through 2015. For all of the 2010 season and the first 4 games of the 2011 season the Buccaneers didn't sell out a single game, so none of their games could be broadcast locally much to the chagrin of local fans.
A 103-foot, 43–ton replica pirate ship made of steel-and-concrete fires confetti and soft-rubber footballs whenever the Bucs reach the opponent's red zone or score. Several times during the game the public address system plays "Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)". At that signal, t–shirts, beads and several other free prizes are throw out of the pirate ship to the people below. Fans call the segment a "Mini Gasparilla".
The NFL Players Association consistently rates the field at Raymond James Stadium as the league's best. League insiders refer to it as the NFL's “crown jewel”.