Bright House Networks Stadium
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Bright House Networks Stadium | |
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| Location | North Orion Blvd Orlando, FL 32826 |
| Opened | September 15, 2007 |
| Owner | UCF |
| Operator | UCF |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction cost | $54 million |
| Architect | 360 Architecture |
| General Contractor | Wharton-Smith |
| Tenants | UCF Knights football (NCAA) (2007-present) |
| Capacity | 45,301 800 (club seats) |
Bright House Networks Stadium is a 45,301-seat stadium in Orlando, Florida. Located in the Wayne Densch Sports Complex on the campus of the University of Central Florida, it is primarily used for college football, and is the home of the UCF Knights football team. It is the first new on-campus stadium in NCAA Division I FBS to open in the 21st century.[1] The Knights moved here from their previous facility, the Citrus Bowl, near downtown Orlando. Construction of the new stadium was briefly delayed due to the concerns of local residents regarding potentially falling property values and noise levels from the stadium.
Initially projected to have a cost of $40 to $45 million, the most recent cost estimations run as high as $55 million.[2] It has been designed for a planned expansion to 65,000 seats. The stadium was originally built without water fountains as the building code used when the stadium was approved did not require water fountains.[3] However, during the opening game, they ran out of water at half time, and 18 people were hospitalized for heat exhaustion during the game. In order to correct the issue, UCF provided a free bottle of water to everyone at the next game, and immediately began work to install at least fifty water fountains throughout the stadium, in order to comply with the latest building code requirement.[4]
On August 8, 2006, UCF announced a fifteen-year, $15 million stadium naming rights to cable company Bright House Networks.[5]
On May 9, 2006, it was announced that the 2007 Texas Longhorns would be the first opponent for the 2007 UCF Knights in the new stadium. The game, which was the first of three scheduled meetings between the schools,[6] was held September 15, 2007, and televised nationally on ESPN2 at 3:30 pm EDT (1930 UTC). A sellout crowd of 45,622 [1] [7] saw the Knights put a scare into the Longhorns before falling 35-32.[8]
Although the Knights lost their first on-campus home game, they finished the remainder of the stadium's inaugural season undefeated, including the C-USA home opener against Memphis and the 2007 C-USA Championship against Tulsa.
There is a popular movement on the UCF campus to refer to Bright House Networks Stadium as "The Dungeon," "The Knight House," "The Castle," or "The Keep."[verification needed] The stadium though, has become known as "The Trampoline" because of fans jumping during Zombie Nation's song "Kernkraft 400." [9] The all-steel seating areas are known to reverberate and noticibly bounce, which officials insist is structurally sound.
[edit] External links
- Bright House Networks Stadium is at coordinates Coordinates:
[edit] References
- ^ Heinz Field, home to the Pitt Panthers and Pittsburgh Steelers, opened in 2001, but is not on the University of Pittsburgh campus. Rentschler Field, home to the UConn Huskies, opened in 2003, but is not on the University of Connecticut campus. SMU's Gerald J. Ford Stadium opened in 2000, which was in the 20th century.
- ^ "Graduate fellows, assistants to get tuition waivers", Central Florida Future, 29 May 2006.
- ^ "UCF Says No Water Fountains For You", YouTube.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-18.
- ^ "UCF To Install Water Fountains in New Stadium", WESH. Retrieved on 2007-09-18.
- ^ "UCF Bright House Networks Stadium", Central Florida News 13.
- ^ "UCF Football to Face Texas in New On-Campus Stadium in 2007 - 2005 national champs will be first opponent in new stadium.", UCF Athletic Association, 9 May 2006.
- ^ "Full up: UCF sells out 1st on-campus game", OrlandoSentinel.com.
- ^ Associated Press. "Horns' McCoy, Charles team up to end UCF's upset bid", ESPN.com, 2007-09-15. Retrieved on 2007-09-15.
- ^ "Jumpy fans worry UCF, but officials call stadium safe", orlando sentinel, 30 November 2007.
| Preceded by Citrus Bowl |
Home of the UCF Knights football 2007 – present |
Succeeded by Current |
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[edit] External links
