Citrus Bowl
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Orlando-Orange County Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium |
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|---|---|
| Location | 1610 W. Church Street Orlando, Florida 32805 |
| Broke ground | 1936 |
| Opened | 1936 |
| Owner | City of Orlando |
| Operator | Orlando Centroplex |
| Surface | 419 Bermuda Grass |
| Construction cost | $115,000 $38 million (renovation) |
| Former names | |
| Orlando Stadium (1936-1946) Tangerine Bowl (1947-1975) Citrus Bowl (1976) Orlando Stadium (1977-1982) Florida Citrus Bowl (1983-Present) |
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| Tenants | |
| Capital One Bowl (NCAA) (1947-72, 1974-Present) Champs Sports Bowl (NCAA) (2001-Present) Florida Classic (NCAA) (1997-Present) UCF Golden Knights (NCAA) (1979-2006) Orlando Broncos (SFL) (1962-63) Orlando Panthers (CFL) (1966-70) Florida Blazers (WFL) (1974) Orlando Americans (AFA) (1981) Orlando Renegades (USFL) (1985) Orlando Thunder (WLAF) (1991-1992) Orlando Rage (XFL) (2001) |
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| Capacity | |
| 10,000 (1936) 12,000 (1952) 17,000 (1962) 52,000 (1976) 65,348 (1989) 65,438 (2002) 70,000 (with temporary endzone bleachers) (Record 73,358 November 22, 2003) |
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The Florida Citrus Bowl (official name is Orlando-Orange County Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium) is a stadium in Orlando, Florida, USA, built for American football and currently seats over 65,000. Its main events are the Capital One Bowl and the Champs Sports Bowl. It also hosts the annual Florida Classic between Florida A&M University and Bethune-Cookman College. From 1979-2006, it served as the home of the UCF Golden Knights football team.
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[edit] History
The stadium opened in 1936, with a capacity of 8,900. The first college football game was played on January 1, 1947. Catawba defeated Maryville 31-6. Two thousand seats were added in 1952. Five thousand more seats were added in 1968, along with the first press box. From 1974-76 the capacity was raised to 52,000. The current capacity of 65,438 was established in 1989, after a $38 million renovation that added the upper decks. In 1983, the Florida Department of Citrus was added as a title sponsor for the facility, at a price of $250,000.
From 1999 to 2002, key stadium improvements included the addition of contour seating, two escalators, and a new 107-foot wide video screen. A new sound system, along with two full-color displays along the upper decks, was also added.
Now the stadium currently seats 65,438 people and can be increased to over 70,000 people with temporary bleachers in the north end zone. The temporary bleachers were last used for the 2005 Capital One Bowl, which had an attendance of 70,229.
[edit] Other Uses
The playing surface is large enough for use in international soccer matches, and it was a venue for the 1994 World Cup. In 1996 Olympic soccer matches were held at the stadium. Several NFL preseason football games have been held at the stadium, most recently between the Buccaneers and Jets in 1997. Several neutral field regular season college football games have been held at the facility; notable games include Florida vs. Mississippi State and Florida State vs. Notre Dame on November 12, 1994.
Numerous concerts have been held at the stadium, including The Who, Genesis, Pink Floyd, George Michael, Paul McCartney, Guns N' Roses, Billy Joel/Elton John, Van Halen, and The Eagles. The most recent was The Rolling Stones in December 1997. The Super Bowl of Motorsports monster truck event makes an annual January visit. The AMA Supercross Series holds an annual spring event.
Jones High School of Orange County Public Schools hosts all of its home games at the Citrus Bowl. Their main rivalry game, with Evans High School, is always played at the stadium, and is referred to as the "Soul Bowl". The Walt Disney World Florida Classic, a rivalry football game between Florida A & M and Bethune-Cookman is held annually in November. The 2003 game holds the stadium's all-time record for attendance, 73,358.
Drum Corps International has held its annual Drum & Bugle Corps World Championships at the Citrus Bowl four times in 1996, 1997, 1998 & 2003. A drum and bugle corps or drum corps is a musical marching unit (similar to a marching band) consisting of brass instruments, percussion instruments, and color guard. Typically operating as independent non-profit organizations, drum corps perform in field competitions, parades, and other civic functions. The prime age for participation is 14–22, but many corps exist for age groups younger and older. Competitive corps participate in summer touring circuits culminating at the DCI World Championships.
On December 3, 2005, the Citrus Bowl hosted the Inaugural Conference USA Football Championship Game presented by Xbox 360. Tulsa defeated UCF 44-27, in front of an all-time UCF home attendance record of 51,978 people.
The regular season attendance record for a UCF football game was set November 11, 2000. A crowd of 50,220 watched Virginia Tech defeat UCF 44-21.
[edit] Former Tenants
Early tenants include the Florida Blazers (1974) of the World Football League, the semi-pro Orlando Broncos (1962-63) of the Florida Football League and Southern Football League and the Orlando Panthers (1966-70) of the Continental Football League, who won back-to-back CFL championships in 1967-68. The Orlando Americans of the American Football Association lasted for only one season in 1981. In later years, pro football teams that played there include the Orlando Renegades (USFL) in 1985, the Orlando Thunder (WLAF) from 1991-92, and the Orlando Rage (XFL) in 2001.
The attendance record for the Rage was set on opening night, February 3, 2001. A crowd of 35,603 watched Orlando defeat the Chicago Enforcers 33-29. Subsequent XFL games at the Citrus Bowl were not able to match that attendance mark. The XFL ultimately folded after one season.
[edit] Popular Culture
The Florida Citrus Bowl was the site of filming of the 1993 movie The Program, the "Bourbon Bowl" scene in the 1998 movie The Waterboy, and home of the fictional team Orlando Breakers of the 1989-97 television show Coach.
[edit] Neighborhood
Adjacent to the stadium is 5,100-seat Tinker Field, a baseball-only ballpark, built in 1914. In 1999 the Orlando Rays, a minor-league baseball team, moved out, and left the ballpark vacant. McCracken Field, an amateur soccer facility, is also located on stadium property. The entire facility is located across Church Street from Lorna Doone Park, which surrounds Lake Lorna Doone, which is visible north of the Citrus Bowl. The area is west of downtown, just north of the East-West Expressway, and can be accessed by two separate exits, east & west of the park.
[edit] Tragedy
On September 24, 2005, UCF was preparing for their home opening football game against Marshall. Less than two hours before the game was to begin, several gunshots were reported in the parking lot where fans were tailgating. A university police officer in civilian clothes was shot and killed by another police officer, and another person was injured. The game was held as scheduled, with most in attendance unaware of what had occurred.
[edit] Future
As of 2005, Orlando-area government officials and UCF officials have expressed dissatisfaction with the state of the facility. UCF has already begun construction of a 40,000-seat, on-campus stadium called Bright House Networks Stadium and will leave the Citrus Bowl permanently. Since UCF is only a leasing tenant of the Citrus Bowl, they receive minimal revenue from football games. They also have not liked the fact that the stadium is over ten miles from the campus, and consider it too large for the average crowd their team attracts.
City of Orlando officials are currently exploring a stadium refurbishment project. In 2004, the Capital One Bowl, held at the Citrus Bowl, bid to become a BCS game, but was not chosen, due to the stadium's aging condition. The Citrus Bowl also submitted a bid for the ACC Championship Game, but lost out to Jacksonville's Alltel Stadium. The key reasons for losing the bids are the lack of modern luxury boxes, bench seating, and capacity. If the stadium is rehabilitated, many experts believe that since Orlando is a large, tourist-based city with an abundance of hotel rooms, it could attract more events, including the Super Bowl. If it is not refurbished, many fear the stadium could eventually lose the remainder of their tenants, and risk being demolished.
The hopes for the Citrus Bowl became reality when, on September 29, 2006, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer announced an agreement on a $175-million expansion of the Citrus Bowl. It is part of the "Triple Crown For Downtown", a $1.05-billion plan to redo the Orlando Centroplex with a new $480-million arena for the Orlando Magic, a new $375-million performing arts center, and the Citrus Bowl improvements. Conceptual drawings for the possible improvements include enclosed concourses on the east and west sides of the stadium and additions to the north side that will finally complete the lower bowl. [1]
On March 21, 2007, it was announced that the stadium would host WrestleMania 24 on March 30, 2008.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Ford Field |
Host of WrestleMania 24 2008 |
Succeeded by TBD |
| Venues of the 1994 FIFA World Cup USA |
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| Citrus Bowl (Orlando) • Cotton Bowl (Dallas) • Foxboro Stadium (Boston) • Giants Stadium (New York/New Jersey) • Pontiac Silverdome (Detroit) • RFK Stadium (Washington, D.C.) • Rose Bowl (Los Angeles) • Soldier Field (Chicago) • Stanford Stadium (San Francisco) |
