TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 7, 2025--
Today, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and PGT Custom Windows and Doors announced a new multi-year partnership that begins with the team’s 2025 season. The Florida-founded company will join the partnership lineup as one of the Buccaneers’ newest Pewter Partners-- the organization’s most prestigious partnership level.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250807890342/en/
“As we celebrate this historic 50th season of Buccaneers football, we’re proud to welcome PGT Custom Windows and Doors — a long-standing, Florida-born company — as our newest Pewter Partner,” said Buccaneers Chief Commercial Officer Atul Khosla. “For more than four decades, PGT has been an award-winning leader in the custom window and door industry. Together, we’ll deliver unique experiences for our fans and make a lasting impact in the Tampa Bay community through our work with the MITER Foundation.”
This partnership will feature several marketing opportunities and giveaways throughout the season, including stadium branding, onsite activations, and fan facing events held at both Raymond James Stadium and AdventHealth Training Center – the Buccaneers practice facility. Fans will also have a chance to participate in sweepstakes to win signed player items and exclusive VIP access. In addition, PGT and the Buccaneers will work together on philanthropic efforts to support the MITER Foundation – the charitable arm of PGT’s parent company, MITER Brands – in its mission to advance communities by making an impact locally and nationally.
"As a brand that was founded and has flourished in Florida, PGT Custom Windows and Doors is thrilled to be a Pewter Partner to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a team that shares our commitment to excellence, innovation, and community," said Debbie Bondonzi, Marketing Manager for PGT Custom Windows and Doors. "Just as the Buccaneers have become a symbol of strength and resilience in Tampa Bay, PGT has been a steadfast partner to homeowners across the state, delivering high-quality, impact-resistant products that provide safety, beauty, and peace of mind. We are excited to 'fire the cannons' alongside the Buccaneers, as we celebrate advances and impacts made both on and off the field."
About PGT Custom Windows and Doors
PGT Custom Windows and Doors, part of the MITER Brands portfolio, is America’s authority in high-performance windows and doors. With decades of proven industry leadership and over 8+ million units installed, PGT Custom Windows and Doors has a consistent track record of leading the space with an unwavering focus on safety and innovation. Its product lines include WinGuard® aluminum and vinyl frames for impact resistant windows, ClassicVue Max™ aluminum frames for non-impact windows, and EnergyVue® vinyl frames for non-impact windows.
PGT Custom Windows and Doors has a primary focus of protecting families’ lifestyle choices with a commitment of delivering industry-best service. Backed by innovative technology, homeowners can enjoy their home life with greater peace of mind, wherever they choose to live, knowing they are protected from storms, noise, and intrusion.
For more information, visit PGTWindows.com.
About the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers enter their 50th Season as members of the National Football League and compete in the National Football Conference’s South Division. The franchise will celebrate iconic moments of the past and present throughout 2025. They were purchased by the late Malcolm Glazer in 1995 and are currently owned by the Glazer Family. Established in 1976, the Buccaneers have totaled 10 division championships, two conference championships and two Super Bowl Championships, including Super Bowl LV that was played on their home field at Raymond James Stadium. The Buccaneers are also very active in the community, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Foundation and the Glazer Vision Foundation. For more information, visit www.buccaneers.com.
Bucs and PGT Custom Windows and Doors partnership graphic
PGT WinGuard Vinyl Products
HAVANA (AP) — Trumpets and drums played solemnly at Havana's airport Thursday as white-gloved Cuban soldiers marched out of a plane carrying urns with remains of the 32 Cuban officers killed during a stunning U.S. attack on Venezuela.
Nearby, thousands of Cubans lined one of Havana’s most iconic streets to await the bodies as the island remained under threat by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.
The soldiers' shoes clacked as they marched stiff-legged into the headquarters of the Ministry of the Armed Forces and placed the urns on a long table next to the pictures of those killed. Tens of thousands of people paid their respects, saluting the urns or holding their hand over their heart, many of them drenched from standing outside in a heavy downpour.
Thursday’s mass funeral was only one of a handful that the Cuban government has organized over the past half-century.
The soldiers were part of the security detail of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro during the Jan. 3 raid on his residence to seize the former leader and bring him to the U.S. to face drug trafficking charges.
State television also showed images of what it said were more than a dozen wounded combatants from the raid, accompanied by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez after arriving Wednesday night from Venezuela. A man identified in state media as Col. Pedro Domínguez attended Thursday's ceremony in a wheelchair.
He said it was a “disproportionate attack” that killed 11 colleagues around him as they slept. Domínguez said he was committed to doing “whatever it takes to defend this people and to remain united in the face of threats from the United States.”
Tensions between Cuba and the U.S. have spiked, with Trump recently demanding that the Caribbean country make a deal with him before it is “too late.” He did not explain what kind of deal.
Trump also has said that Cuba will no longer live off Venezuela's money and oil. Experts warn that the abrupt end of oil shipments could be catastrophic for Cuba, which is already struggling with serious blackouts and a crumbling power grid.
Officials unfurled a massive flag at Havana's airport as President Miguel Díaz-Canel, clad in military garb, stood silent next to former President Raúl Castro, with what appeared to be the relatives of those killed looking on nearby.
Cuban Interior Minister Lázaro Alberto Álvarez Casas called the slain soldiers “heroes” of an anti-imperialist struggle spanning both Cuba and Venezuela. In an apparent reference to the U.S., he said the “enemy” speaks of “high-precision operations, of troops, of elites, of supremacy.
“We, on the other hand, speak of faces, of families who have lost a father, a son, a husband, a brother,” Álvarez said.
The events demonstrate that “imperialism may possess more sophisticated weapons; it may have immense material wealth; it may buy the minds of the wavering; but there is one thing it will never be able to buy: the dignity of the Cuban people,” he said.
Carmen Gómez, a 58-year-old industrial designer, was among the thousands of Cubans who lined a street where motorcycles and military vehicles thundered by with the remains of those killed.
“They are people willing to defend their principles and values, and we must pay tribute to them,” Gómez said. “It’s because of the sense of patriotism that Cubans have, and that will always unite us.”
The 32 military personnel ranged in age from 26 to 60 and were part of protection agreements between the two countries.
Officials in Cuba have said they expect a massive demonstration Friday across from the U.S. Embassy to protest the deaths.
“People are upset and hurt ... many do believe that the dead are martyrs” of a historic struggle against the United States, analyst and former diplomat Carlos Alzugaray told The Associated Press.
In October 1976, then-President Fidel Castro led a massive demonstration to bid farewell to the 73 people killed in the bombing of a civilian flight financed by anti-revolutionary leaders in the U.S. Most of the victims were Cuban athletes.
In December 1989, officials organized a ceremony to honor the more than 2,000 Cuban combatants who died in Angola during Cuba’s participation in a war that defeated the South African army.
In October 1997, memorial services were held following the arrival of the remains of guerrilla commander Ernesto “Che” Guevara and six of his comrades, who died in 1967.
The latest mass burial is critical to honor those slain, said José Luis Piñeiro, a 60-year-old doctor who lived for four years in Venezuela.
“I don’t think Trump is crazy enough to come and enter a country like this, ours, and if he does, he’s going to have to take an aspirin or some painkiller to avoid the headache he’s going to get,” Piñeiro said. “These were 32 heroes who fought him. Can you imagine an entire nation? He’s going to lose.”
The remains arrived a day after the U.S. announced $3 million in additional aid to help the island recover from the catastrophic Hurricane Melissa. The first flight took off on Wednesday, and a second flight was scheduled for Friday. A commercial vessel also will deliver food and other supplies.
Cuba had said on Wednesday that any contributions will be channeled through the government.
But U.S. State Department foreign assistance official Jeremy Lewin said Thursday that the U.S. was working with Cuba’s Catholic Church to distribute aid, as part of Washington's efforts to give assistance directly to the Cuban people.
“There’s nothing political about cans of tuna and rice and beans and pasta,” he said Thursday, warning that the Cuban government should not intervene or divert supplies. “We will be watching, and we will hold them accountable.”
Lewin said the Cuban government has a choice to: “Step down or better provide towards people.” Lewin added that “if there was no regime,” the U.S. would provide “billions and billions of dollars” in assistance, as well as investment and development: “That’s what lies on the other side of the regime for the Cuban people.”
Rodríguez, the Cuban foreign minister, said the U.S. government was “exploiting what appears to be a humanitarian gesture for opportunistic and politically manipulative purposes.”
Coto contributed from San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
People line up outside the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces where the remains are on display of the Cuban officers who were killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured President Nicolas Maduro, as it sprinkles rain in Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Military members line up outside the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces where the urns containing the remains of Cuban officers, killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured President Nicolas Maduro, are on display in Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Military members pay their last respects to Cuban officers who were killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, at the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces where the urns containing the remains are displayed during a ceremony in Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
A motorcade transports urns containing the remains of Cuban officers, who were killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, through Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Soldiers carry urns containing the remains of Cuban officers, who were killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, at the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces in Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Adalberto Roque /Pool Photo via AP)
A motorcade transports urns containing the remains of Cuban officers, who were killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, through Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
A motorcade transports urns containing the remains of Cuban officers, who were killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, through Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
People line the streets of Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, to watch the motorcade carrying urns containing the remains of Cuban officers killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Workers fly the Cuban flag at half-staff at the Anti-Imperialist Tribune near the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in memory of Cubans who died two days before in Caracas, Venezuela during the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by U.S. forces. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
