The Florida Citrus Bowl Home of the UCF Golden Knights

Florida Citrus Bowl

The Florida Citrus Bowl, home to the University of Central Florida Golden Knights, is a 70,000 seat stadium with a long history of renovations and additions.

The Citrus Bowl’s history dates to 1936, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt started a WPA Project that would put people to work during the depression. The original cost of the Orlando Stadium was about $115,000. In 1947, the Orlando Stadium was renamed the Tangerine Bowl.

The first college football game played at the Tangerine Bowl on January 1, 1947, was between Catawba and Maryville. Catawba won that game 31-6 before an estimated crowd of 9,000. The stadium at the time only consisted of 10,000 seats. By 1952, the stadium was expanded to 12,000 seats, and was host to the "Little Bowl with the Big Heart," because all the proceeds from the game went to charity.

Another expansion took place in 1968 with the addition of 5,000 more seats bringing the total to 17,000. That expansion also saw the erection of the first press box.

Between 1974 and 1976, the Tangerine Bowl underwent more renovation. The addition of more seats brought the total capacity to 50,000. In 1983, the name of the stadium as well as its New Year’s Day football bowl games was changed to the Florida Citrus Bowl.

In 1989, a $30 million dollar major renovation project was underway to add upper decks to both sides of the field. Each single upper deck contains 9,000 seats. Four concrete ramp towers at the corners of the stadium were also constructed so as to allow easier access to the upper decks. The look gives the Florida Citrus Bowl a coliseum-like appearance.

The expansion also included 30 private suites on the east side of the upper decks. The suites are individually leased by Orlando businesses and individuals.

Press boxes were also inserted to accommodate 250 writers. The press boxes house 14 individual booths including two for television and four for radio. After the renovation, the seating capacity was raised to 66,500. With the addition of temporary bleachers in the north end zone, the capacity reaches 70,000.

Other fascinating features in the Florida Citrus Bowl include two 9,000 square-foot locker rooms, adjacent practice facilities, and 50 concession stands and restrooms.

The newest addition to the Citrus Bowl is the Citrus Bowl Centre, which is adjacent to the south end zone of the stadium. The ground level of the building includes a 5,000 square foot conference center and the upper part of the building houses the executive offices of Florida Citrus Sports, which hosts the annual Florida Citrus Bowl.

Other events that have taken place at the Citrus Bowl include motorcross races, rock concerts, and other various sporting events. One such sporting event was World Cup Soccer in 1994. The Citrus Bowl was one of eight sites chosen in the United States to host the soccer matches. After the month long event, the Citrus Bowl was chosen as the best site by tournament organizers.

The Citrus Bowl again hosted world-class soccer when the 1996 Olympic Games came to Orlando.