The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the National Football League announced today that the team will host the Chicago Bears at Raymond James Stadium this Sunday, September 17 at 1:00 p.m. ET, as originally scheduled. The Buccaneers, in consultation with the NFL and the Tampa Sports Authority, had been waiting to assess the impact of Hurricane Irma on the area before making a final decision on the venue for the game.

Hurricane Irma prevented the Tampa Bay Bucs and Miami Dolphins from playing this Sunday on kickoff weekend. Tampa Bay is now forced to play 16 straight games as they will make up the game versus the Dolphins week 11 (11.19.17) during what was “The Bye Week.” Head Coach Dirk Koetter on dealing with ever-changing situations, “We’ve had some of those. Again, I’d rather just be worrying about football and not worry about all the other stuff that I don’t have control over anyway. We’re doing it. Our guys have been awesome and we’ll hope to get back to work next week.”

“We have been working tirelessly with the Tampa Sports Authority, as well as the NFL league office, to ensure that Raymond James Stadium would be available to host our season opener against the Chicago Bears this Sunday.” said Buccaneers Chief Operating Officer Brian Ford. “Hosting the game is important to us, as Tampa Bay has been through a lot over the past few days. We look forward to providing our fans and the entire region an opportunity to come together this Sunday to kick off our 2017 season.”

Sunday’s game will mark Tampa Bay’s season opener and the third straight season that the Buccaneers have played host to the Bears, including last season’s 36-10 Tampa Bay victory. Limited seats are still available for the game. For more information or to speak with a Buccaneers account representative, please contact 866-582-BUCS (2827) or visitBuccaneers.com.