Spectrum Stadium (formerly known as Bright House Networks Stadium) is an American football stadium located in Orlando, Florida, United States, on the main campus of the University of Central Florida. It is the home field of the UCF Knights of NCAA Division I FBS college football.
The stadium opened in 2007 as a replacement for Camping World Stadium (then known as the Citrus Bowl) in Downtown Orlando, where the Knights had played since their inaugural season in 1979. The steel and brick-clad stadium was designed by 360 Architecture and constructed in 18 months. The stadium underwent an $8 million renovation following the 2014 season. The Wayne Densch Center for Student-Athlete Leadership was built on the east facade of the stadium, and a party deck was added to the east stands. Since the renovations, its seating capacity is 44,206. The attendance record as of the 2017 season was 48,453 for an October 18, 2009 match-up against the Miami Hurricanes.
The stadium is known as The Bounce House, as it was found to be susceptible to considerable shaking when its crowd jumps in unison. Although it was stated that the stadium was structurally sound and that this effect would not cause long-term damage to the facility, measures were undertaken following the stadium's inaugural season to reduce these effects.
Video Spectrum Stadium
Location
Spectrum Stadium is located on the northeastern edge of UCF's 1,415-acre (573 ha) main campus, which is approximately 13 miles (21 km) northeast of Downtown Orlando and 55 miles (89 km) southwest of Daytona Beach. The stadium is a part of the Kenneth G. Dixon Athletics Village and is bordered by McCulloch Road on the north side, Knights Plaza on the west side, and Orion Boulevard on the southern and eastern sides.
To the west in Knights Plaza is the CFE Arena, The Venue, John Euliano Park, and the UCF Track and Soccer Complex. Also located in Knights Plaza are The Towers residence halls, housing 2,000 UCF students, including student-athletes.
Maps Spectrum Stadium
History
On March 31, 2005, UCF received the results of a feasibility study it commissioned on whether it should build an on-campus football stadium. On April 14, 2005, the UCF Board of Trustees approved the construction of an on-campus stadium. The stadium, initially known as "UCF Stadium," was scheduled to be completed in time for the 2006 football season. However, the Board of Trustees delayed construction until March 2006 due to the concerns from local residents regarding potentially falling property values and noise levels from the stadium.
Construction on the new stadium began on March 22, 2006. The stadium was originally built without water fountains. The university argued that the building code used when the stadium was approved did not require water fountains. However, this claim turned out to be incorrect because the 2004 Florida building code (in effect in 2005, when the UCF Board of Trustees approved the stadium design) mandated that stadiums and other public arenas must have one water fountain for every 1,000 seats, or half that number of fountains if water was also available for sale.
On May 9, 2006, it was announced that the Texas Longhorns would be the first opponent for the UCF Knights in the new stadium. The game, the first of three scheduled meetings between the schools, was held September 15, 2007. A sellout crowd of 45,622 saw the Knights put a scare into the Longhorns before falling 35-32.
During the opening game, vendors ran out of water at halftime, leading to the hospitalization of 18 people for heat exhaustion. In order to correct the issue, UCF provided a free bottle of water to each person at the next game and immediately began work to install at least 50 water fountains throughout the stadium in order to comply with the 2004 building code requirement.
The stadium's naming rights were sold to cable provider Bright House Networks, naming the facility Bright House Networks Stadium. In 2016, Bright House Networks was acquired by Charter Communications; in accordance with Charter's trade name for its cable services, the facility was renamed Spectrum Stadium in April 2017.
On April 7, 2018, the Alliance of American Football (AAF) announced that Orlando would host one of the AAF's first franchises and that the team would play at Spectrum Stadium beginning in 2019, the league's inaugural season.
UCF unveiled banners on Roth Tower honoring the team's conference championships, New Year's Six/BCS bowl wins, and their National Championship claim at the football team's 2018 spring game.
Renovations
The stadium was designed for a planned expansion to 65,000 seats. UCF plans to begin the expansion by expanding the Roth Tower with more suites and club seating, and also adding an additional 10,000 seats in a third level on the east side of the stadium, increasing the stadium's capacity to 56,000.
The capacity for the 2015 season dropped by 1,117 seats when UCF removed seats on the east sidelines to construct the "Carl Black and Gold Cabana," which includes a bar, catered barbecue, and padded seats above the bar. In 2017, private field-level cabanas were erected in the south endzone, adjacent to the new J. & J. Rosengren Lounge.
In 2016, UCF removed its original scoreboard, located at the north end of the stadium, and replaced it with a full LED scoreboard measuring 114 ft x 36 ft. One year later, UCF replaced the stadium's original auxiliary scoreboard, located at the south end of the stadium, and replaced it with a ribbon board that measures approximately 7 by 199 feet (2.1 m × 60.7 m).
In 2017, the university sued the architects and contractors that designed and constructed the stadium. Cited in the lawsuit were claims of "defects and deficiencies" which ostensibly led to "premature wear of the steel," as well as visible rust issues.
Attendance records
The highest attendance for games played at Spectrum Stadium against the Knights have included the South Florida Bulls, the Miami Hurricanes, and the South Carolina Gamecocks.
The "Bounce House"
The stadium is also known as "The Bounce House" because the stadium vibrates and shakes when fans jump in unison, most notably when Zombie Nation's song "Kernkraft 400" is played. While many fans like this feature, some are uneasy with the bouncing. Stadium officials claimed the stadium was structurally sound, and an independent contractor confirmed that the bouncing will not damage the stadium and shorten its expected 50-year useful life. Still, a project was begun prior to the 2008 season to reinforce the stadium superstructure and mitigate the bouncing effect.
While the bouncing has been greatly reduced by the stadium reinforcements, it is still noticeable - sometimes enough to shake TV cameras during televised games. For the 2010 Conference USA Football Championship Game, ESPN set up a camera position outside of the stadium to eliminate camera bounce caused by fans.
See also
- UCF Knights
- Greater Orlando
- History of the University of Central Florida
- List of NCAA Division I FBS football stadiums
References
Notes
External links
- Official website
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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