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]

Quick Facts Former names, Address ...

Camping World Stadium

"Orlando Citrus Bowl"
The stadium preparing for an Orlando City SC match, March 2015
Camping World Stadium Location in Florida Show map of Florida Camping World Stadium Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Former names	Orlando Stadium (1936–1946, 1977–1982) Tangerine Bowl (1947–1975) Citrus Bowl (1976) Florida Citrus Bowl (1983–2013) Orlando Citrus Bowl (2014–2016)
Address	1 Citrus Bowl Place
Location	Orlando, Florida, United States
Coordinates	28°32′20″N 81°24′10″W
Public transit	20, 21, 36
Owner	City of Orlando
Operator	Orlando Venues
Capacity	Football: 60,219 (2014–present) (expandable to 65,194) Soccer: 19,500 (expandable to 60,219)
Record attendance	WrestleMania 33: 75,245 (April 2, 2017)
Field size	120 yds × 53.3 yds (football) 114 yds × 74 yds (soccer)
Surface	AstroTurf RootZone 3D3 (2016–present)
Construction
Broke ground	Early 1936
Opened	Late 1936
Renovated	1999–2002, 2014, 2021
Expanded	1952, 1968, 1974–76, 1989, 1999–2002
Construction cost	1936: US$115,000 ($2.53 million in 2023 dollars[1]) 1989 renovation: US$38 million ($93.4 million in 2023 dollars[1]) 2014 renovation: US$207 million
Tenants
Citrus Bowl (NCAA) 1947–present Orlando Broncos (SFL) 1962–1963 Orlando Panthers (COFL) 1966–1970 Florida Blazers (WFL) 1974 UCF Knights (NCAA) 1979–2006 Orlando Americans (AFA) 1981 Orlando Renegades (USFL) 1985 Orlando Thunder (WLAF) 1991–1992 Orlando Sundogs (USL 1) 1997 Pop-Tarts Bowl (NCAA) 2001–present Orlando Rage (XFL) 2001 Florida Tuskers (UFL) 2009–2010 Orlando Fantasy (LFL) 2011–2012 Orlando City SC (USL Pro) 2011–2013 Cure Bowl (NCAA) 2015–2018, 2020 Orlando City SC (MLS) 2015–2016 Orlando Pride (NWSL) 2016 Orlando Guardians (XFL) 2023
Website
campingworldstadium.com

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Camping World Stadium is the current home venue of the Citrus Bowl and the Pop-Tarts Bowl. It is also the regular host of other college football games including the Florida Classic between Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman, the MEAC/SWAC Challenge, and the Camping World Kickoff. The stadium was built for football and in the past, it has served as the home of numerous minor/alternate-league football clubs, including teams from the WFL, USFL, WLAF, XFL, UFL, and most recently the Orlando Guardians of the 2020 XFL. From 2011 to 2013, it was the home of the Orlando City SC, a soccer team in USL Pro,^[4] then it was a temporary home for Orlando City of the MLS while Inter&Co Stadium was under construction.

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.

Construction on the stadium began in 1936 as a project of the Works Progress Administration under President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression.^[5] The stadium was built to the immediate east of the baseball park Tinker Field, which opened in 1914. The stadium opened later in 1936 with a capacity of 8,900 as Orlando Stadium.^[6] The first college football bowl game was played on January 1, 1947. Catawba defeated Maryville 31–6 in the inaugural Tangerine Bowl. 2,000 seats were added in 1952. During this period, the stadium was known as the Tangerine Bowl. 5,000 more seats were added in 1968, along with the first press box.

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]

By 2005, Orlando-area government officials and officials from the University of Central Florida (UCF) expressed dissatisfaction with the state of the facility and lack of revenue, as while UCF was the primary leasing tenant for the facility, it received minimal revenue from football games. Lack of an agreement to rectify these issues led UCF to consider relocating, or spend considerable expense to upgrade the facility at its own cost. In addition, the stadium's capacity was seen as too large for UCF, leaving the stadium an appearance of being empty even with attendance of as much as 30,000–40,000 people per game. UCF's all-time attendance record was 51,978 for the 2005 C-USA Championship Game versus Tulsa. Furthermore, the stadium was located over 10 miles (16 km) from the university's main campus in East Orlando, with travel times of up to a half-hour due to traffic. In 2005, UCF officials led by university president John Hitt made the decision to construct a new on-campus stadium, which opened for the 2007 season.

Orlando officials began exploring stadium refurbishment project in 2004, when the Capital One Bowl bid to become a Bowl Championship Series (BCS) game, but was not chosen due to the stadium's aging condition. Camping World Stadium also submitted a bid for the ACC Championship Game, but lost to Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. The key reasons for losing the bids were the lack of modern luxury boxes, bench seating, and capacity. The hopes for Camping World Stadium became reality when, on September 29, 2006, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer announced an agreement on a $175-million renovation of Camping World Stadium. It is part of the "Triple Crown for Downtown", a $1.1-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 Camping World Stadium 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.^[27] The Orlando/Orange County Interlocal Agreement was approved by the Orlando City Council on August 6, 2007. However, the plans were heavily affected by the Great Recession of 2007–08.

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]

Orlando City returned to the renovated Camping World Stadium for the 2015 season, their first season in Major League Soccer, while awaiting construction of their own soccer-specific stadium. In their first match, a 1–1 draw against fellow expansion team New York City FC on March 8, 2015, they drew a sellout crowd of 62,510, the largest attendance for a soccer match at the venue.^[29]

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 naming rights for the stadium to Camping World. Camping World also became the title sponsor of the stadium's college football kickoff game through at least 2019, and the annual December bowl game held at the stadium was known as the Camping World Bowl from 2017 through 2019. These naming changes did not affect the Citrus Bowl or the Florida Classic.^[33]

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]

• 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]}

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