Citrus Bowl
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 occupant is the football program at
UCF, the annual Florida Classic between Florida A&M University and Bethune-Cookman College, and two college bowl games annually, the
Capital One Bowl and the
Champs Sports Bowl.
The stadium opened in 1936, with a capacity of 10,000. 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.
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.
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 also makes an annual January visit.
Local Orlando
high school football rivals Jones High School and Evans High School play the annual "Soul Bowl" at the stadium. 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 all-time record for attendance, 73,358.
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.
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.
The attendance record for the
XFL Orlando 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.
Early tenants include 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. Better-known former tenants include the
Orlando Renegades (
USFL) in 1985, the
Orlando Thunder (
WLAF) from 1991-92, and the
Orlando Rage (
XFL) in 2001.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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History of the Citrus Bowl*http://fcsports.collegesports.com/
