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Camping World Stadium is a stadium in
Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...
, located in the West Lakes neighborhood of
Downtown Orlando Downtown Orlando is the historic core and central business district of Orlando, Florida, United States. It is bordered by Marks Street in the north, Mills Avenue ( SR 15) in the east, Orange Blossom Trail ( US 441) in the west, and Kaley Avenue in ...
, west of new sports and entertainment facilities including the Amway Center, the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, and Exploria Stadium. 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. Camping World Stadium is the current home venue of the
Citrus Bowl The Citrus Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. The bowl is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group that also organizes the Cheez-It Bowl and Florida Classic. The gam ...
and the
Cheez-It Bowl The Cheez-It Bowl is an annual college football bowl game that is played in Orlando, Florida, at Camping World Stadium. The bowl is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group which also organizes the Citrus Bowl and the Florida Cl ...
. It is also the regular host of other
college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...
games including the Florida Classic between
Florida A&M Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a public historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida. Founded in 1887, It is the third largest historically black university in the Un ...
and Bethune-Cookman, the MEAC/SWAC Challenge, and the Camping World Kickoff. The stadium was built for
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
and in the past, it has served as home of several alternate-league football teams. From 2011 to 2013, it was the home of the
Orlando City SC Orlando City SC is an American professional soccer club in Orlando, Florida, that competes as a member of the Eastern Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). Orlando City SC began play in 2015 as the 21st franchise in MLS, succeeding the US ...
, a
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
team in
USL Pro The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...
. From 1979 to 2006, it served as the home of the UCF Knights football team. It was one of the nine venues used for the
1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States ...
. The stadium has also hosted the NFL's
Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...
four times.


Stadium history

Construction on the stadium began in 1936 as a project of the
Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...
under President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. 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. 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 Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...
and
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
. During the game, the newly-constructed upper deck noticeably swayed whenever fans stood up and cheered. 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. 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. Meanwhile, unsightly I-beams installed to hold up the upper deck now blocked seats in the lower deck that were previously unobstructed. 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. 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 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.


Events hosted


Football


Professional football

Camping World Stadium has been home field to several short-lived professional football teams. From 1966 to 1970, the stadium was home to the Orlando Panthers of the
Continental Football League The Continental Football League (COFL) was a professional American football minor league that operated in North America from 1965 through 1969. It was established following the collapse of the original United Football League, and hoped to becom ...
. In 1974, the
Florida Blazers The Florida Blazers were an American football team who played in the World Football League in 1974. The team moved to San Antonio in 1975 and became the San Antonio Wings. History The Blazers began in 1974 when oceanographic engineer E. Joseph Wh ...
of the
World Football League The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 and most of its second in 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest the ...
played their only season in existence at the Tangerine Bowl. The USFL's Orlando Renegades played one season in 1985. The Orlando Thunder of the WLAF called the Citrus Bowl home in their two-season existence during the early 1990s, while the XFL's Orlando Rage played there in 2001 as well as the UFL's Florida Tuskers, occupying the stadium for 2 seasons from 2009, before moving to
Virginia Beach Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous ci ...
as the Virginia Destroyers in 2011. The Orlando Fantasy of the Lingerie Football League moved to the stadium shortly after, having previously used the
UCF Arena Addition Financial Arena (formerly known as CFE Arena and UCF Arena) is a sports and entertainment arena located in Orlando, Florida, United States, on the main campus of the University of Central Florida. It was constructed beginning in 2006 ...
. In 2022, it was announced that Orlando had been chosen to be the home of one of the second incarnation of the XFL’s eight teams and that the team would play its home games at Camping World Stadium. The Orlando Guardians is set to start playing in the 2023 XFL season. The stadium hosted the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...
's all-star game, the
Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...
, from
2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
through 2020. Seven NFL preseason games have been held at the stadium..


College football

The stadium has hosted various college football games, including many
bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...
s: * Since 1947 (except for 1973), the stadium has hosted a bowl game, currently known as the
Citrus Bowl The Citrus Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. The bowl is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group that also organizes the Cheez-It Bowl and Florida Classic. The gam ...
, 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. * Since 1997, the stadium has been home to the Florida Classic, an annual game between Bethune–Cookman University and
Florida A&M University Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a public historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida. Founded in 1887, It is the third largest historically black university in the Un ...
. * Since 2001, the stadium has hosted a December bowl game. Known by several different names due to sponsorship changes, in May 2020 it became the
Cheez-It Bowl The Cheez-It Bowl is an annual college football bowl game that is played in Orlando, Florida, at Camping World Stadium. The bowl is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group which also organizes the Citrus Bowl and the Florida Cl ...
. * In 2010 and 2011, the stadium hosted the
East–West Shrine Game East West (or East and West) may refer to: * East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *''East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salm ...
, which then moved to
Tropicana Field Tropicana Field (commonly known as the Trop) is a multi-purpose domed stadium located in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. The stadium has been the home of the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB) since the team's inaugural sea ...
in St. Petersburg, Florida. * Since 2015, the stadium hosted the Cure Bowl. The bowl game moved to
Orlando City Stadium Exploria Stadium is a soccer-specific stadium in downtown Orlando, Florida. The stadium is located along West Church Street in the Parramore neighborhood west of Downtown Orlando. It is the home of Orlando City SC, which entered Major League S ...
for the 2019 season, but returned beginning in the 2020 season. * The stadium hosted the
1979 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game The 1979 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Eastern Kentucky Colonels and the Lehigh Engineers (now the Lehigh Mountain Hawks). The game was played on December 15, 1979, at Orlando S ...
, 2005 C-USA Championship Game, and
2016 ACC Championship Game The 2016 ACC Championship Game was the 12th football championship game for the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Clemson Tigers defeated the Virginia Tech Hokies, 42–35. The two programs also met five years earlier in the 2011 ACC Championship Gam ...
. *
Rollins College Rollins College is a private college in Winter Park, Florida. It was founded in November 1885 and has about 30 undergraduate majors and several graduate programs. It is Florida's fourth oldest post-secondary institution. History Rollins Colle ...
of
Winter Park, Florida Winter Park is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 30,183 according to the 2022 census population estimate. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Winter Park was f ...
, 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.


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 Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
matches, and it was a venue for the
1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States ...
. In five matches, attendance averaged over 60,000 per match. In 1996, Olympic soccer matches in both the men's and
women A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or Adolescence, adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female hum ...
's competitions were held at the stadium. It hosted the
USISL A-League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...
Orlando Sundogs in 1997. It also hosted the Major League Soccer All-Star Game in 1998. The stadium was the home of
Orlando City SC Orlando City SC is an American professional soccer club in Orlando, Florida, that competes as a member of the Eastern Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). Orlando City SC began play in 2015 as the 21st franchise in MLS, succeeding the US ...
, a soccer team in the
USL Pro The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...
League. In 2013, the investment group that owned that club was awarded an expansion team in
Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...
. They spent their 2014 season in USL Pro at
ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex The ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex is a multi-purpose sports complex located in the Walt Disney World, Walt Disney World Resort, in Bay Lake, Florida, Bay Lake, Florida, United States, near Orlando, Florida, Orlando. The complex includes ni ...
in Lake Buena Vista while Camping World Stadium was being renovated. During the 2013 season, Fifth Third Bank owned
naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization whereby a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event, typically for a defined period of ...
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 The Charlotte Eagles are an American professional soccer team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1991, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games at ...
, 7–4, before a crowd of 20,886. 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 The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
and
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. The U.S. won the match, 4–1, before a crowd of 20,274. Orlando City, now playing in
Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...
, returned to Camping World Stadium for the 2015 and 2016 seasons. The Orlando Pride, the
National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. It is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federati ...
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 The Copa América Centenario ( pt, Copa América Centenário, french: Coupe Amerique Centennaire, en, Centennial Cup America; literally ''Centennial America Cup'') was an international men's association football tournament that was hosted by the ...
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 The Mexico national football team () represents Mexico in international football and is governed by the Mexican Football Federation (). It competes as a member of CONCACAF. Mexico has qualified to seventeen World Cups and has qualified con ...
vs.
Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by Hon ...
"MexTour" on April 27, 2022. The
2022 Florida Cup The 2022 Florida Cup was the eighth edition of Florida Cup, a friendly association football tournament played in the United States. It was contested from July 16 to 23, 2022. For the first time, the tournament featured a Florida Cup series c ...
exhibition soccer match between
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostl ...
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


Florida Cup


WrestleMania

On March 30, 2008, the stadium hosted WrestleMania XXIV, the 2008 edition of WWE's flagship
professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...
pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program g ...
. The first WrestleMania held in Florida, and the second to be held entirely outdoors since WrestleMania IX at
Caesars Palace Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The hotel is situated on the west side of the Las Vegas Strip between Bellagio and The Mirage. It is one of Las Vegas's largest and best known landmarks. Caesar ...
, it had a reported attendance of 74,635—the largest crowd in stadium history. It was estimated to have brought in $51.5 million in revenue to the local economy. WWE returned to Camping World Stadium to host WrestleMania 33, which took place on April 2, 2017. WWE claimed an attendance record of 75,245, exceeding the total of WrestleMania XXIV.


Other events

*The Citrus Bowl was the site of two
Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. He was a prominent evangelical Christi ...
Crusades, the most recent of which took place in 1983. *During the
1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
, it hosted some of the
football (soccer) Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
preliminaries. * Drum Corps International has held its annual
World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
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 Sam Boyd Stadium (formerly the Las Vegas Silver Bowl) is a football stadium in the western United States, located in Whitney, Nevada, an unincorporated community in the Las Vegas Valley. It honors Sam Boyd (1910–1993), a major figure in the h ...
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
AMA Ama or AMA may refer to: Ama Languages * Ama language (New Guinea) * Ama language (Sudan) People * Ama (Ama Kōhei), former ring name for sumo wrestler Harumafuji Kōhei * Mary Ama, a New Zealand artist * Shola Ama, a British singer * Ām ...
Supercross The AMA Supercross Championship (commercially known as Monster Energy AMA Supercross) is an American motorcycle racing series. Founded by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) in 1974, the AMA Supercross Championship races are held from ...
Series holds an annual spring event. *British rock band
Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics an ...
performed their only concert in Orlando at the stadium on April 30, 1988, as part of their A Momentary Lapse of Reason tour. *The stadium hosted the Rock Super Bowl festivals during the late 1970s and early 1980s *
Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff ...
continued their Not in This Lifetime... Tour, playing at the stadium on 29 July 2016 to a sold-out crowd. *The stadium hosted the Monster Jam World Finals XX on May 10–11, 2019, and will host 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 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...
pandemic. *The stadium hosted
Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo artist since th ...
on his only show stop in Florida on his stadium series of the
Billy Joel in Concert Billy Joel in Concert is a current concert tour by the American singer-songwriter Billy Joel. After several concerts beforehand, in the fall of 2013, the concert tour began in Sunrise, Florida, and is ongoing, scheduled to continue into at least ...
Tour on March 12th, 2022. *The stadium hosted the
Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the co ...
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 Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
's second and final Florida show on his Got Back Tour on May 28, 2022. *
Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), ...
and
Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1981. The group was founded by bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee, lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil. Mötley Crüe has sold over 100 million albu ...
performed at the stadium on June 19, 2022 during their
The Stadium Tour The Stadium Tour was a co-headlining concert tour by English rock band Def Leppard and American rock band Mötley Crüe, taking place in the summer and fall of 2022 in venues across North America. Poison and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts served as ...
.


Renovations

By 2005,
Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...
-area government officials and officials from the
University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State Universi ...
(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 Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region wit ...
. Furthermore, the stadium was located over 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 A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...
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 The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was a selection system that created four or five bowl game match-ups involving eight or ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of American college football, includin ...
(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 The ACC Championship Game is an annual American college football game held in early December by the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) each year to determine its football champion. From its inception in 2005 to 2022, the game pit the champion of t ...
, but lost to Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. The key reasons for losing the bids were the lack of modern
luxury box The luxury box (or skybox) and club seating constitute the most exclusive class of seating in arenas and stadiums, and generate much higher revenues than regular seating. Club ticketholders often receive exclusive access to an indoor part of t ...
es, 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 The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...
, 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. 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 The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At ...
of 2007–08. In 2010, the natural grass surface was replaced with
AstroTurf AstroTurf is an American subsidiary of SportGroup that produces artificial turf for playing surfaces in sports. The original AstroTurf product was a short-pile synthetic turf invented in 1965 by Monsanto. Since the early 2000s, AstroTurf has ...
Gameday Grass 3D after the
2009 Champs Sports Bowl The 2009 Champs Sports Bowl was a college football bowl game between the Miami Hurricanes of the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Wisconsin Badgers of the Big Ten Conference. Played at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida, the game started at ...
and
2010 Capital One Bowl The 2010 Capital One Bowl was the sixty-fourth edition of the college football bowl game, and was played at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida. The game was played on January 1 and matched the LSU Tigers against the Penn State Nittany Lions. ...
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 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 The Florida A&M Rattlers represent Florida A&M University (FAMU) in college athletics. Florida A&M is a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference and participates in NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). FAMU offers men's s ...
, 18–17 in overtime. Orlando City returned to the renovated Camping World Stadium for the 2015 season, their first season in
Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...
, while awaiting construction of their own
soccer-specific stadium Soccer-specific stadium is a term used mainly in the United States and Canada to refer to a sports stadium either purpose-built or fundamentally redesigned for soccer and whose primary function is to host soccer matches, as opposed to a multi- ...
. In their first match, a 1–1 draw against fellow expansion team
New York City FC New York City Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in New York City that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), the highest level of American soccer, as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. The club is co-owned b ...
on March 8, 2015, they drew a sellout crowd of 62,510, the largest attendance for a soccer match at the venue. The
United States women's national soccer team The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women's soccer. The team is the most successful in international women's soccer, winning four Women's World Cup titles ( 1991, 1999, 2015, an ...
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. The Orlando Pride, the expansion
National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. It is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federati ...
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. On November 19, 2015,
CONCACAF The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football,, ; french: Confédération de football d'Amérique du Nord, d'Amérique centrale et des Caraïbes, . Dutch uses the English name. abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; types ...
and
CONMEBOL The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL, , or CSF; es, Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol; pt, Confederação Sul-Americana de Futebol) is the continental governing body of football in South America (apart from Guyana, Surina ...
announced that Camping World Stadium would be one of the host venues for the
Copa América Centenario The Copa América Centenario ( pt, Copa América Centenário, french: Coupe Amerique Centennaire, en, Centennial Cup America; literally ''Centennial America Cup'') was an international men's association football tournament that was hosted by the ...
soccer tournament in 2016. On April 26, 2016, Florida Citrus Sports announced that they had sold
naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization whereby a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event, typically for a defined period of ...
for the stadium to
Camping World Camping World Holdings, Inc. is an American corporation specializing in selling recreational vehicles (RVs), recreational vehicle parts, and recreational vehicle service. They also sell supplies for camping. The company has its headquarters in ...
. 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 The Cheez-It Bowl is an annual college football bowl game that is played in Orlando, Florida, at Camping World Stadium. The bowl is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group which also organizes the Citrus Bowl and the Florida Cla ...
from 2017 through 2019. These naming changes did not affect the Citrus Bowl or the Florida Classic.


Seating and attendance

Prior to the 2014 renovation, the stadium had 65,000 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 Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile tha ...
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.


In popular culture

*Camping World Stadium (then still known as the Citrus Bowl) was a filming location for the 1998
Adam Sandler Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, producer and singer. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1990 to 1995, before going on to star in numerous Hollywood films, those of wh ...
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. *Exterior shots of the then-Citrus Bowl were used in the television series ''
Coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...
'', 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 The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...
.


See also

* List of association football stadiums by capacity


References


External links

* {{Authority control American football venues in Florida College football venues Florida Tuskers stadiums Legends Football League venues Former Major League Soccer stadiums Former National Women's Soccer League stadiums NCAA bowl game venues Olympic football venues Orlando Renegades stadiums Soccer venues in Florida Sports venues in Orlando, Florida Sports venues completed in 1936 UCF Knights football United Football League (2009–2012) venues United States Football League venues Venues of the 1996 Summer Olympics World Football League venues XFL (2001) venues XFL (2020) venues 1994 FIFA World Cup stadiums 1936 establishments in Florida