Camping World Stadium

Camping World Stadium is an outdoor stadium in Orlando, Florida, United States located in the West Lakes neighborhood of Downtown Orlando, west of new sports and entertainment facilities including the Kia Center, the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, and Inter&Co Stadium.^[2] It opened in 1936 as Orlando Stadium and has also been known as the Tangerine Bowl and Florida Citrus Bowl. The City of Orlando owns and operates the stadium.^[3]

Camping World Stadium is the current home venue of the

From 1979 to 2006, the stadium served as the home of the UCF Knights football team. It was one of the nine venues used for the 1994 FIFA World Cup, and also hosted 1996 Olympic soccer matches. The stadium has hosted the NFL's Pro Bowl five times.

Stadium history

Construction on the stadium began in 1936 as a project of the

From 1974 to 1976 an expansion project raised the capacity to 50,612, including a 3,600-seat upper deck on the east sidelines. However, shortly after completion the project proved to be a public fiasco and potentially an architectural and engineering failure. On November 27, 1976, the first major game was held at the expanded stadium, a regular season matchup between Florida and Miami. During the game, the newly constructed upper deck noticeably swayed whenever fans stood up and cheered.^[7] The deck vibrated, fences and railings shook and creaked, causing an unnerving sensation for the patrons sitting in those sections. The swaying and shaking was noticeable again about a month later during the 1976 Tangerine Bowl game. The swaying was so pronounced that some fans vowed never to sit in those seats again, while some refused to return to the stadium at all.^[8][9] Before long, engineering evaluations, as well as legal investigations, uncovered numerous missteps, rushing, and cut corners in the stadium's design. While it was believed that the upper deck was structurally sound and met building codes, it nevertheless was deemed a failure. Additional problems included inadequate access to restrooms in the upper deck, gaps between the sections which required obstructive fences, and the fact that the upper deck was built at such an angle that it had poor sight lines.^[10][11] Meanwhile, unsightly I-beams installed to hold up the upper deck now blocked seats in the lower deck that were previously unobstructed.^[12][13]

The maligned stadium's reputation was heavily tarnished after the upper deck scandal, criticized by public officials, media, and fans. Further complicating the situation was UCF's pending move to the stadium for 1979. The city finally received a settlement of $900,500 from the stadium's engineers, architects, and designers, money that was soon appropriated for new improvements. The infamous steel east upper deck was dismantled in May 1980.^[14]

After various new improvements, and a $30 million renovation that added new concrete upper decks to both sides, a capacity of 65,438 was established in 1989. 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 (33 m) wide scoreboard/video screen. A new sound system, along with two full-color ribbon displays along the upper decks, were also added. The expansion resulted in the upper deck overhanging Tinker Field's right field area, albeit at a significant height.^[15]

Events hosted

Football

Professional football

Camping World Stadium has been home field to several short-lived

In 2022, it was announced that Orlando had been chosen to be the home of one of the third incarnation of the

The stadium hosted the NFL's all-star game, the Pro Bowl, from 2017 through 2020.^[16] In 2024, the event returned for a fifth time under the new title Pro Bowl Games. It was the first time since the NFL transitioned the event to a new format of skills competitions and non-contact Flag football. Seven NFL preseason games have been held at the stadium.^{[citation needed]}

College football

The stadium has hosted various college football games, including many bowl games:

• Since 1947 (except for 1973), the stadium has hosted a bowl game, currently known as the Citrus Bowl, typically played on January 1 or January 2. The bowl has also been known by different names, and has also been held during December, at various times during its history.
  • The December 1958 edition of the game, then known as the Tangerine Bowl, was notable for the segregation policy of the stadium operators, the Orlando High School Athletic Association (OHSAA), leading to the University at Buffalo declining their bowl bid, as their two black players would not have been allowed to play.^[17][18]
• Since 1997, the stadium has been home to the Florida Classic, an annual game between Bethune–Cookman University and Florida A&M University.
• Since 2001, the stadium has hosted a December bowl game, which has undergone several name changes due to sponsorship changes—since May 2023^[update], it is known as the Pop-Tarts Bowl.
• In 2010 and 2011, the stadium hosted the
  East–West Shrine Game, which then moved to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida
  .
• The stadium hosted the Cure Bowl, a December bowl game, from 2015 through 2018 and again in 2020.
• The stadium hosted the 1979 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game, 2005 C-USA Championship Game, and 2016 ACC Championship Game.
• Rollins College of Winter Park, Florida, was the first college to use the then-named Orlando Stadium as its home field. It played there prior to and after World War II.^{[citation needed]}

High school football

The Florida High School Athletic Association state football championships are held at Camping World Stadium. The varsity football team from nearby Jones High School used Camping World Stadium as a regular season home field for decades through the end of their 2011 season. The school started playing home football games on their own field beginning on August 31, 2012.

Soccer

The playing surface is large enough for use in international soccer matches, and it was a venue for the 1994 FIFA World Cup. In five matches, attendance averaged over 60,000 per match. In 1996, Olympic soccer matches in both the men's and women's competitions were held at the stadium.

It hosted the

During the 2013 season, Fifth Third Bank owned naming rights to the field for Orlando City matches. Its name during those matches was Fifth Third Bank Field at the Citrus Bowl.

Orlando City played their final USL Pro match at Camping World Stadium on September 6, 2013. They won the USL Pro Championship over Charlotte Eagles, 7–4, before a crowd of 20,886.^[19] The last soccer event held at Camping World Stadium before its renovation was an international friendly between the women's teams of the United States and Brazil. The U.S. won the match, 4–1, before a crowd of 20,274.^[20]

Orlando City, now playing in Major League Soccer, returned to Camping World Stadium for the 2015 and 2016 seasons.

The Orlando Pride, the National Women's Soccer League 2016 expansion team owned by Orlando City SC, played in Camping World Stadium while the Orlando City (now Exploria) Stadium was completed.

Camping World Stadium was one of the venues for Copa América Centenario in June 2016. Three group stage matches were held there, Paraguay vs Costa Rica on June 4, Bolivia vs Panama on June 6 and Brazil vs Haiti on June 8.

The stadium hosted the Mexico national football team vs. Guatemala "MexTour" on April 27, 2022.

The 2022 Florida Cup exhibition soccer match between Arsenal and Chelsea, 4–0, had an attendance of 63,811, a record crowd for a soccer match at the stadium.

1994 FIFA World Cup matches

Date	Time (UTC−5)	Team #1	Res.	Team #2	Round	Attendance
June 19, 1994	12:30	Belgium	1–0	Morocco	Group F	61,219
June 24, 1994	12:30	Mexico	2–1	Republic of Ireland	Group E	60,790
June 25, 1994	12:30	Belgium	1–0	Netherlands	Group F	62,387
June 29, 1994	12:30	Morocco	1–2			60,578
July 4, 1994	12:00	Netherlands	2–0	Republic of Ireland	Round of 16	61,355

Club friendlies

Date	Team #1	Result	Team #2	Competition	Attendance
July 23, 2022	Arsenal	4–0	Chelsea	2022 Florida Cup	63,811
August 2, 2023	Real Madrid	1–3	Juventus	Club Friendly	63,503
July 30, 2024	Barcelona	–	Manchester City	Club Friendly

WrestleMania

On March 30, 2008, the stadium hosted WrestleMania XXIV, the 2008 edition of WWE's flagship professional wrestling pay-per-view. The first WrestleMania held in Florida, and the second to be held entirely outdoors since WrestleMania IX at Caesars Palace,^[21] it had a reported attendance of 74,635—the largest crowd in stadium history.^[22] It was estimated to have brought in $51.5 million in revenue to the local economy.^[23]

WWE returned to Camping World Stadium to host WrestleMania 33, which took place on April 2, 2017.^[24] WWE claimed an attendance record of 75,245, exceeding the total of WrestleMania XXIV.^[25]

Other events

• The Citrus Bowl was the site of two William Graham Crusades, the most recent of which took place in 1983.
• During the 1996 Summer Olympics, it hosted some of the football (soccer) preliminaries.^[26]
• World Championships
  at the stadium four times in 1996, 1997, 1998, and 2003
• The Feld Entertainment-promoted Monster Jam shows held there every year featured a track similar to the one at Sam Boyd Stadium in 2008 and 2009. The 2014 Monster Jam event on January 25 was the last event held at Camping World Stadium before its reconstruction began.
• The Corporate
  5K Orlando road race
  has been based at the stadium for several years.
• The
  Supercross
  Series holds an annual spring event.
• British rock band
  A Momentary Lapse of Reason tour
  .
• The stadium hosted the Rock Super Bowl festivals during the late 1970s and early 1980s
• Guns N' Roses continued their Not in This Lifetime... Tour, playing at the stadium on 29 July 2016 to a sold-out crowd.
• The stadium hosted the
  World Finals XXI
  on May 21–22, 2022.
• The stadium has hosted The Bands of America Orlando Regional Championship every fall since 2018 excluding 2020, when it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The stadium hosted Billy Joel on his only show stop in Florida on his stadium series of the Billy Joel in Concert Tour on March 12, 2022.
• The stadium hosted the Garth Brooks Triple Live Stadium Tour on March 26, 2022. The attendance was 70,000, which set a new concert attendance record at the stadium.
• The stadium hosted Paul McCartney's second and final Florida show on his Got Back Tour on May 28, 2022.
• Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe performed at the stadium on June 19, 2022, during their The Stadium Tour.

Renovations

By 2005,

In 2010, the natural grass surface was replaced with AstroTurf Gameday Grass 3D after the 2009 Champs Sports Bowl and 2010 Capital One Bowl were marred by poor field conditions that led to two football player injuries. Stadium conditions once again prompted a review of the stadiums condition. Finally, it was announced in May 2013 that the Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium would undergo a reconstruction during 2014, at a cost of less than US$200 million. The cost estimate as of March 2014 was US$207 million. The stadium's upper-level seating was retained, but the entire lower bowl structure was demolished.

In the newly reconstructed stadium there are two 360-degree concourses, a 20,000-square-foot (1,900 m²) plaza deck ("Party Deck") in the north end zone, 41,000 all-new lower bowl seats with six additional inches of leg room & chairbacks, multiple giant video displays, new team facilities including locker rooms training rooms and attached media, new stadium operations facilities to allow better efficiency in food service, security, first aid and maintenance, new concessions and restrooms, and an open-air façade. The new mezzanine is now referred to as the "Plaza level". The upper deck, previously numbered the "300" level, is now numbered the "200" level.

The reconstruction began immediately following a groundbreaking event held at the stadium on January 29, 2014, and demolition of the entire lower bowl lasted 25 days. The first event at the renovated Camping World Stadium was the 2014 edition of the Florida Classic on November 22, 2014. The Bethune-Cookman Wildcats defeated the Florida A&M Rattlers, 18–17 in overtime.^[28]

The United States women's national soccer team returned to Camping World Stadium on October 25, 2015. They defeated Brazil again, 3–1. The attendance of 32,869 was the largest attendance for a standalone USWNT friendly in the state of Florida.^[30]

The Orlando Pride, the expansion National Women's Soccer League team owned by Orlando City SC, played in Camping World Stadium until the Orlando City Stadium was complete. On April 23, 2016, they broke the record for attendance at an NWSL game, setting at 23,403, when the Pride beat the Houston Dash, 3–1.^[31]

On November 19, 2015, CONCACAF and CONMEBOL announced that Camping World Stadium would be one of the host venues for the Copa América Centenario soccer tournament in 2016.^[32]

On April 26, 2016, Florida Citrus Sports announced that they had sold

In 2021, Camping World Stadium renovations included modernizing and improving the north endzone seating bowl, concession areas, club-level seating, and new premium mezzanine clubs on east and west. The project was completed on a fast-track schedule of less than 12 months by Construction Manager Barton Malow. During the work, the City of Orlando and Florida Citrus Sports hosted several events at the stadium. All were held without incident due to specialized safety techniques that separated construction activities, visitors, and staff.[34]

Seating and attendance

Prior to the 2014 renovation, the stadium had 65,000^[35] permanent seats. The lower bowl lacked permanent seats in the north end zone, though temporary bleachers could be erected there if necessary. The temporary bleachers were last used for the 2005 Capital One Bowl, which had an attendance of 70,229.

Following the renovation, the seating capacity was reduced to 60,219 due to the introduction of chair-back seats in the lower bowl and Plaza Level. The upper deck continues to have bench seats. Temporary bleachers can be added in the Plaza level in place of the Party Deck to increase the capacity to 65,194.^[36]

In popular culture

• Camping World Stadium (then still known as the Citrus Bowl) was a filming location for the 1998 Adam Sandler movie The Waterboy. In the film, the Citrus Bowl depicted both the home stadium of the fictional University of Louisiana Cougars as well as the venue of the climactic Bourbon Bowl game.^{[citation needed]}
• Exterior shots of the then-Citrus Bowl were used in the television series Coach, starring Craig T. Nelson as Coach Hayden Fox. In the show, the Citrus Bowl was the home stadium of the fictional Orlando Breakers franchise, which Coach Fox led during the series' final two seasons (1995–1997). The change, which coincided with a production move to Disney-MGM Studios (now Disney's Hollywood Studios), reflected the real-life expansion team, the Jacksonville Jaguars.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• List of American football stadiums by capacity
• List of association football stadiums by capacity
• Lists of stadiums

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Orlando Citrus Bowl Stadium.

• Official website

Events and tenants
Preceded by first stadium ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex	Home of Orlando City SC 2011 – 2013 2015 – 2016	Succeeded by Orlando City Stadium
Preceded by first stadium	Home of Orlando Pride 2016	Succeeded by Orlando City Stadium
Preceded by first stadium	Home of the Orlando Rage 2001	Succeeded by last stadium
Preceded by MetLife Stadium	Home of the Orlando Guardians 2023 – present	Succeeded by current
Preceded by first stadium	Home of the UCF Knights 1979 – 2006	Succeeded by Spectrum Stadium
Preceded by Pro Player Stadium	Home of Russell Athletic Bowl 2001 – present	Succeeded by current
Preceded by first stadium Florida Field	Home of Citrus Bowl 1947 – 1972 1974 – present	Succeeded by Florida Field current
Preceded by Bank of America Stadium	Host of the ACC Championship Game 2016	Succeeded by Bank of America Stadium
Preceded by Aloha Stadium	Host of the NFL Pro Bowl 2017 – 2020	Succeeded by Allegiant Stadium
Preceded by Ford Field AT&T Stadium	Host of WrestleMania 2008 (24) 2017 (33)	Succeeded by Mercedes-Benz Superdome
Preceded by Memorial Stadium (Wichita Falls)	Host of the NCAA Division I-AA National Championship Game 1979	Succeeded by Hughes Stadium
Preceded by Rich Stadium Camp Randall Stadium	Host of the Drum Corps International World Championship 1996 – 1998 2003	Succeeded by Invesco Field at Mile High