Letter from Tampa Sports Authority (TSA)

Raymond James Stadium

We received the following letter from Mike Davis, Assistant Director of Stadium Operations, Tampa Sports Authority:

Please accept this as a letter of recommendation from the Tampa Sports Authority for Architectural Awnings by Coversol. Our working relationship began through our past concessionaire Volume Services America back in 1990. Since then, their company has done small jobs for the TSA, and Buccaneers, and larger jobs with NFL during Super Bowl XXV.

After Tampa was awarded a Major League Soccer franchise in 1995, the Tampa Bay Mutiny, along with the League office, developed an elaborate banner and seat cover system for Tampa Stadium. The League's sub-contractor from England was so impressed with Architectural's design of banner supports, that they recommended that application for the remaining franchises. Their crews worked closely with the TSA to insure all anchoring and scheduling was done within our guidelines. During the times when we had soccer one night and football the next day, their crews were there overnight to remove all of the banners, supports and seat kills in a timely fashion.

During the construction of Raymond James Stadium, their input was used on the ramp roof system recommended by our project architects. The system, as a cost cutting measure, was to install large awnings over the pedestrian ramps instead of metal deck. This project would have benefited their company greatly, not only because of the initial cost, but of the long term repairs and replacements that this roof would have required. Strange as it may sound, their company, "Although I'd really like to sell it to you", recommended that in the future we would be better served with the metal deck and the higher cost up front was really the way to go.

Their honesty, understanding of working structures, and concern for the "Big Picture" is very much appreciated by our agency and why the TSA would only recommend them to the NFL's Super Bowl sub-contractors, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Outback Bowl, Tampa Bay Mutiny and University of South Florida Athletic Department. Please don't hesitate to call if you have any questions.