![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Tampa-Bay-Bucs-3D-chalk-mural.jpg\")
Laura Thomas (R) stands atop her completed 3D chalk mural at the AdventHealth Training Center in Tampa, Florida. Credit: Laura Thomas c\/o Tampa Bay Arts Passport<\/p>\nLaura Thomas (R) stands atop her completed 3D chalk mural at the AdventHealth Training Center in Tampa, Florida. Credit: Laura Thomas c\/o Tampa Bay Arts Passport<\/p>\n
In Tampa, we build pirate ships inside football stadiums.<\/p>\n
So commissioning a giant, hyper-detailed chalk mural for Black History Month at Tampa Bay Buccaneers headquarters? Honestly. On brand.<\/p>\n
But what makes this one interesting isn\u2019t just that it exists. It\u2019s who made it \u2014 and how intentionally she approached it.<\/p>\n
When Laura Thomas got the call, it wasn\u2019t vague. The organization wanted something that honored Black History Month, incorporated football, and reflected the Tampa Bay community.<\/p>\n
No pressure. Just identity, history, civic pride \u2014 and maybe don\u2019t smudge it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s for Black History Month, but I wanted it to be something that would help\u2026 kind of make everybody proud,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cYou know, everyone can enjoy it. Appreciate it.\u201d<\/p>\n
That line feels particularly Tampa. This is a city that contains multigenerational Black neighborhoods, shiny new condos, die-hard Bucs fans, and people who still argue about which Cuban sandwich is correct. If you\u2019re going to make a piece that lives at One Buccaneer Place, it has to speak to more than one audience.<\/p>\n
Thomas understood that assignment.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe organization reached out to me, wanting to do this for Black History Month,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I was very excited and honored that they asked me to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Excited. Honored. Also: strategic.<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t just sketch one idea and hope for the best. She created multiple designs and submitted them. The team chose their final draft pick.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m super glad that they did,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I think it\u2019s a fun piece and people are going to really enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fun is doing a lot of work here. Because let\u2019s be real: conversations about race in America are rarely described as \u201cfun.\u201d But Tampa\u2019s cultural language has always leaned toward spectacle \u2014 Gasparilla beads, boat parades, cannon blasts, oversized pirate flags. If you\u2019re going to make an impact in this town, subtle isn\u2019t always the move.<\/p>\n
Chalk art is inherently theatrical. It demands attention. It creates illusion. It makes people stop mid-scroll and mid-stride.<\/p>\n
And it disappears.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always want to have the most meaning or impact for whatever the event or theme is,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cI always want to do my best with it, and always knowing that when it\u2019s done, it\u2019ll eventually be gone.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s something very Tampa about that too. This is a city constantly reinventing itself. Buildings come down. Murals rotate. Neighborhoods shift. We memorialize in public \u2014 and then we build over it.<\/p>\n
Thomas knows the clock is built into her medium.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope they will forever be in awe of it, and obviously take many photos so they can look back and enjoy it,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I hope it\u2019s something that they feel proud that they had here, and had created and had done.\u201d<\/p>\n
That phrasing stands out: had created and had done. Not just \u201cdisplayed.\u201d Not just \u201cposted.\u201d Created. Done.<\/p>\n
Sports franchises are some of the most powerful cultural brands in the city. When they choose to commission a local artist to interpret Black history on their own property \u2014 not tucked into a social media tile, not relegated to a halftime announcement \u2014 that\u2019s a decision about visibility.<\/p>\n
It says this story belongs here.<\/p>\n
At a training facility where million-dollar contracts are negotiated and Sunday lineups are built, chalk dust might feel small. But culture rarely changes because of one massive gesture. It shifts through visible, repeated choices.<\/p>\n
And in a city that loves its cannons loud and its visuals bold, sometimes the most radical thing is simple: make something beautiful. Put it in the open. Let people stand in front of it.<\/p>\n
Take the photo.<\/p>\n
Let it fade.<\/p>\n
And remember that it was here.<\/p>\n
Pitch in to help make the Tampa Bay Journalism Project a success.<\/a><\/p>\n Subscribe to Creative Loafing newsletters.<\/a><\/p>\n Follow us:\u00a0Google News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0NewsBreak<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Reddit<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Facebook\u00a0<\/a>|\u00a0BlueSky<\/a><\/p>\n This article appears in Feb. 12 \u2013 18, 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n \t