London has become a home away from home for the Buccaneers, but anyone thinking they'll bolt Tampa, Fla., for good -- think again.
Bucs general manager Mark Dominik swatted down those whispers Friday from Bagshot, England, where the team is preparing for Sunday's tilt against the Chicago Bears.
[
For more on the fifth annual
International Series game, featuring the
Bears and
Buccaneers,
go here.
"This team is never going to relocate from Tampa and go to London," Dominik told The Tampa Tribune. "We're the Tampa Bay Buccaneers."
The Bucs enjoy a vibrant fan base overseas and after traveling internationally to play twice since 2009. Reports have suggested the team could emerge as a candidate to play one game at Wembley Stadium annually.
"As an organization, if (the NFL) gets to the point where they talk about putting a team here for one game per season on a consistent basis, at that point it will be (a matter for discussion)," Dominik told The Tribune. "But right now I've never heard a conversation (about that). I've certainly never had a conversation with ownership about that being us, so I think right now it's still speculation."
Placing a team in London raises obvious issues. Road games and travel schedules would need to be worked out in a way that doesn't leave an overseas team burned out to the core. It would also mean across-the-pond trips for divisional opponents, among a host of other logistical issues to solve.
The NFL is committed to building its following around the world, but as we've seen from the Bucs' response, asking a current team to relocate to Europe or beyond remains a tall order.
