Citrus Bowl
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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 occupant is the football program at UCF, 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.
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 defeated 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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
In 2005, Orlando mayor Buddy Dyer contemplated inviting the New Orleans Saints to play at the Citrus Bowl after Hurricane Katrina. It would be a friendly effort to reach out to the city of New Orleans and possibly revitalize interest in the stadium. However, the idea never came to fruition.