Games are a go for Jaguars and Bucs

Sunday’s home openers for the NFL teams in Jacksonville and Tampa were confirmed Tuesday after their stadiums were inspected and deemed safe following the hurricane.

There will be NFL games in Florida this weekend.

The Bucs' matchup against the Chicago Bears will remain at Raymond James Stadium, as scheduled, the NFL announced Tuesday.

The Bucs wanted to assess any damage to Raymond James Stadium in Tampa before deciding on a site for the game.

“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 Brian Ford, Bucs chief operating officer. “Hosting the game is important to us, as Tampa Bay has been through a lot over the past few days.”

According to the original NFL schedule, the Bucs were supposed to take on the Dolphins in Miami last Sunday to begin their season.

That game was moved to Sunday, Nov. 19, because of Hurricane Irma. That previously had been a bye week for those Florida franchises.

A limited number of seats remain available for the game against Chicago. For ticket information, contact 866-582-2827 or buccaneers.com.

Meanwhile, the Jaguars returned home to Jacksonville on Tuesday afternoon and they will remain home this weekend.

During an afternoon announcement, Jacksonville mayor Lenny Curry and Jaguars president Mark Lamping said the Jaguars will host the Tennessee Titans as scheduled Sunday at EverBank Field. Kickoff is at 1 p.m.

“This is about bringing our city and community together,” Curry said. “This is about getting back to normal operations.”

Lamping said the stadium was examined Tuesday for damage sustained during Hurricane Irma and it passed the necessary inspections.

Lamping also announced that owner Shad Khan and the Jaguars will be making a $1 million donation to the Florida First Coast Relief Fund.

The Jaguars will also donate 5,000 tickets to first responders and residents.

Fans can visit www.jaguars.com/jaxasone to register for free tickets.

In South Florida, the home of the Miami Dolphins has been declared safe after structural engineers found no damage related to Hurricane Irma.

The Dolphins' first game at the stadium will be Oct. 8. Their season opener scheduled at home this past Sunday was postponed until November because of the storm.

Engineers inspected the stadium canopy that was part of a recent $500 million renovation and found no issues, despite fears of a tornado in the area spawned by Irma.

Hard Rock Stadium will be available when the team returns from this week's stay in California for Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Chargers.