{"id":240414,"date":"2026-04-21T14:50:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T14:50:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/240414\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T14:50:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T14:50:18","slug":"bucs-draft-party-moves-to-downtown-st-petersburg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/240414\/","title":{"rendered":"Bucs&#8217; draft party moves to downtown St. Petersburg"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Tampa Bay Buccaneers\u2019 annual NFL draft party has apparently outgrown the comfy confines of Raymond James Stadium. For the first time, it will take up three city blocks.<\/p>\n<p>Fans can watch Thursday night\u2019s first round in downtown St. Petersburg \u2014 on Central Avenue between First and Third Street, the team announced.<\/p>\n<p>The \u201cmassive street festival\u201d runs from 7 to 11:30 p.m. Admission is free.<\/p>\n<p>The draft begins at 8 with the Las Vegas Raiders holding the <a href=\"https:\/\/operations.nfl.com\/media\/3cylpavz\/2026-nfl-draft-round-by-round_april-9.pdf\" class=\"Link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">first overall selection<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Bucs have the 15th  pick. With 8 minutes allowed between first-round selections, Tampa Bay is not expected &#8220;on the clock&#8221; until at least 9:30 p.m.  <\/p>\n<p>However, Tampa Bay general manager Jason Licht has said \u201cwe\u2019re open\u201d to trading down to gain additional picks, depending on how the round unfolds.<\/p>\n<p>If so, block partygoers will have more time to enjoy the \u201cimmersive fan activities, giveaways and bar takeovers in the heart of St. Pete,\u201d according to the team.<\/p>\n<p>Also on tap: interactive opportunities with Bucs alumni, cheerleaders and mascot Captain Fear. Plus, complimentary popcorn with unlimited refills.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.buccaneers.com\/news\/how-to-watch-2026-nfl-draft-bucs\" class=\"Link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Bucs<\/a> go in with one pick in each round. They have many needs but are expected to focus on defense. That includes an accomplished edge rusher, a missing piece in recent years; and inside linebacker following the retirement Lavonte David.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, Licht could fill some of those needs during the second and third rounds on Friday night or the remaining four rounds on Saturday. If desired, fans will need to plan their own parties for those days.<\/p>\n<p>This year\u2019s NFL draft \u2014 the 91st \u2014 will be in Pittsburgh, outside the Steelers\u2019 Acrisure Stadium. A total of 257 players will be selected over three days. NFL Network, ABC, ESPN and ESPN Deportes will televise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Tampa Bay Buccaneers\u2019 annual NFL draft party has apparently outgrown the comfy confines of Raymond James Stadium.&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":240415,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[202,204,203,199,201,200],"class_list":["post-240414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240414"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240414\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/240415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}