Bright House Networks Stadium

For the similarly named baseball stadium in Clearwater, Florida, see Bright House Field.

Bright House Networks Stadium
"The Trampoline"[1] "The Bouncehouse"[2]
Location	4000 Central Florida Boulevard Orlando, Florida 32816 U.S.
Coordinates	28°36′33″N 81°11′33″W / 28.6091°N 81.1924°W / 28.6091; -81.1924Coordinates: 28°36′33″N 81°11′33″W / 28.6091°N 81.1924°W / 28.6091; -81.1924
Broke ground	March 22, 2006[3][4]
Opened	September 15, 2007[5]
Owner	University of Central Florida
Operator	University of Central Florida
Surface	Natural Grass (Bermuda grass)[6]
Scoreboard	100 feet (30 m) x 37 feet (11 m)[7]
Construction cost	$55 million[6]
Architect	360 Architecture[7]
Project Manager	Wharton-Smith[7]
Capacity	45,301[8]
Executive Suites	24[7]
Record attendance	48,453[9]
Tenants
UCF Knights (NCAA) (2007–present)

Bright House Networks Stadium is the football stadium for the University of Central Florida’s football team, nicknamed the Knights. Located in Knights Plaza on the main campus of the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida, the stadium was the first on-campus stadium in NCAA Division I FBS to open in the 21st century.^[10]

The steel and brick clad stadium was designed by 360 Architecture and boasts a seating capacity of 45,301.^[7][8] The current attendance record is 48,453, for an October 18, 2009 match-up against the Miami Hurricanes.^[9] The Knights moved to the stadium in 2007 from their previous facility, the Citrus Bowl, which is located near downtown Orlando. The stadium is also the proposed host of the Cure Bowl.^[11]

Location

Knights Plaza, part of UCF's Athletic Village

Bright House Networks Stadium is located on the northern edge of the University of Central Florida'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.^[12] The stadium is a part of UCF's Athletic 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 UCF Arena, the indoor arena of UCF Knights basketball, and The Venue, home of the Knights volleyball program. Also located to the west, are Jay Bergman Field, the home field of Knights baseball, 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.^[13]

History

Construction and expansion

Bright House Networks Stadium as viewed from the student section.

The UCF Knights made notable changes to its athletic programs and facilities in 2007. A newly developed "athletic village" on the north end of campus known as Knights Plaza was opened which consisted of new sports facilities, including the new UCF Arena, the new 45,301 seat Bright House Networks Stadium, a new softball complex, and the only Division I indoor football practice facility in the state.^[14] This made UCF the first university to ever open a new stadium and arena during the same year, for the 2007-2008 season.^[15]

Initially projected to have a cost of $40 to $45 million, the most recent cost estimations of Bright House Networks Stadium run as high as $55 million.^[16] Construction of the new stadium was briefly delayed due to the concerns of local residents regarding potentially falling property values and noise levels from the stadium. 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.^[17] However, this claim turned out to be incorrect. 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 1000 seats, or half that number of fountains if water were also available for sale.^[18] During the opening game, vendors ran out of water at half time; 18 people were hospitalized for heat exhaustion during the game. 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 fifty water fountains throughout the stadium, in order to comply with the 2004 building code requirement.^[19]

On August 8, 2006, UCF announced a fifteen-year, $15 million stadium naming rights deal with cable company Bright House Networks.^[20] The stadium was designed for a planned expansion to 65,000 seats. Over the next 10 years, UCF plans to expand the Roth Tower with more suites and club seating, and also add an additional 10,000 seats in a third level on the east side of the stadium, increasing its capacity to 56,000.^[21]

Knights football

Main article: UCF Knights football

Panoramic view of Bright House Networks Stadium during its inaugural game in September 2007.

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,^[22] was held September 15, 2007, and televised nationally on ESPN2 at 3:30 pm EDT (1930 UTC). A sellout crowd of 45,622 saw the Knights put a scare into the Longhorns before falling 35-32.^[23][24]

Although the Knights lost their first on-campus home game, they finished the remainder of the stadium's inaugural season undefeated, including the Conference USA home opener against Memphis. The Knights hosted the 2007 C-USA Championship at their new stadium, defeating the Tulsa Golden Hurricane 44-25 in front of a crowd of 44,128. In 2010, the Knights again hosted the C-USA Championship, defeating the SMU Mustangs 17-7 before a crowd of 41,045. The highest attendance for games played at Bright House Networks Stadium against the Knights have included the University of South Florida Bulls,the Miami Hurricanes, and in 2010, the East Carolina Pirates.

Cure Bowl

The Cure Bowl was a proposed college football bowl game that would have been played in December of each year starting in 2010. The Cure Bowl's application was denied by the NCAA on April 23, 2010.^[25] Bowl organizers vow to continue their efforts to host the Cure Bowl in Orlando.^[26]

The Cure Bowl would have been a bowl game to benefit the Central Florida affiliates of Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the American Cancer Society, featuring a team from Conference USA against a team from the Sun Belt Conference. The inaugural Cure Bowl was to take place at Bright House Networks Stadium on December 18, 2010.^[27]

Traditions

The stadium has been referred to by some as "The Trampoline" or "Bouncehouse" because of fans jumping during Zombie Nation's song Kernkraft 400. ^[28] The all-steel seating areas are known to reverberate and noticeably bounce. 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.^[29] While the bouncing has been greatly reduced, it is still noticeable, and sometimes enough to shake TV cameras during televised games. For the 2010 Conference USA Football Championship Game, ESPN2 for their television production set-up a camera position outside of the stadium to eliminate camera bounce caused by fans.^[30]

There is a popular movement on the UCF campus to refer to Bright House Networks Stadium as "The Dungeon," "The Trampoline," or "The Bright House."^[31]

Gallery

• 

  View from the endzone

• 

  View from the endzone

• 

  Roth Tower before the inaugural game

• 

  View from Roth Tower

• 

  Roth Tower

See also

College football portal

• UCF Knights
• History of the University of Central Florida
• List of NCAA Division I FBS football stadiums

References

1. ^ "Jumpy fans worry UCF". Orlando Sentinel. 2007-11-30. http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2007-11-30/news/stadium30_1_stadium-ucf-louie. Retrieved 2010-12-19. 
2. ^ "The Miami Hurricanes Will Beat UCF If...". Bleacher Report. 2009-10-16. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/272813-the-miami-hurricanes-will-beat-ucf-if. Retrieved 2010-12-19. 
3. ^ "Tons of steel, 427 toilets in UCF's new home". Central Florida Future. 29 July 2007. http://www.centralfloridafuture.com/2.10659/tons-of-steel-427-toilets-in-ucf-s-new-home-1.1423544. Retrieved 2009-07-26. 
4. ^ "UCF Trustees Approve Financing Plan, Groundbreaking for On-Campus Football Stadium". UCF Athletics Association. 14 December 2005. http://www.ucfathletics.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/121405aaa.html. Retrieved 2011-10-10. 
5. ^ "Student support for UCF remains abysmal". Central Florida Future. 13 September 2007. http://www.centralfloridafuture.com/2.10659/student-support-for-ucf-remains-abysmal-1.1423294. Retrieved 2009-07-26. 
6. ^ ^{a b} "Bright House Networks Stadium Featured in SportsTurf Magazine". UCF Athletics Association. http://ucfathletics.cstv.com/genrel/070208aad.html. Retrieved 2009-07-26. 
7. ^ ^{a b c d e} "Bright House Stadium Bio". Bright House Networks Stadium Gameday. http://ucfathletics.cstv.com/brighthouse/bio.html. Retrieved 2009-07-26. 
8. ^ ^{a b} "Bright House Networks Stadium". UCF Athletics Association. http://ucfathletics.cstv.com/facilities/ucf-brighthouse-bio.html. Retrieved 2009-07-26. 
9. ^ ^{a b} "UCF blown away 27-7 vs. Miami Hurricanes". Central Florida Future. http://www.centralfloridafuture.com/ucf-blown-away-27-7-vs-miami-hurricanes-1.2024861. Retrieved 2009-10-17. 
10. ^ Heinz Field, home to the Pitt Panthers and Pittsburgh Steelers, opened in 2001, but is not on the University of Pittsburgh campus. Rentschler Field, home to the UConn Huskies, opened in 2003, but is not on the University of Connecticut campus. SMU's Gerald J. Ford Stadium opened in 2000, which was in the 20th century.
11. ^ "Cure Bowl application denied by NCAA, organizers plan to continue fighting to host game at UCF’s Bright House Networks Stadium". Orlando Sentinel. 2010-04-23. http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_college_ucf/2010/04/cure-bowl-application-denied-by-ncaa-organizers-plan-to-continue-fighting-to-host-game-at-ucfs-bright-house-networks-stadium.html. Retrieved 2009-04-23. 
12. ^ "Facts About UCF". UCF Office of Institutional Research. http://www.iroffice.ucf.edu/character/current.html. Retrieved 2010-11-13. 
13. ^ "UCF Men's 2009-2010 Golf Yearbook". University of Central Florida. http://issuu.com/ucfmbbguide/docs/golf_guide. Retrieved 2010-11-13. 
14. ^ "Nicholson Fieldhouse". UCF Athletics Association. http://ucfathletics.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/fieldhouse-photos.html. Retrieved 2009-08-03. 
15. ^ Convocation Center Update UCF Arena
16. ^ "Graduate fellows, assistants to get tuition waivers". Central Florida Future. 29 May 2006. http://media.www.centralfloridafuture.com/media/storage/paper174/news/2006/05/29/News/Graduate.Fellows.Assistants.To.Get.Tuition.Waivers-.shtml. 
17. ^ "UCF Says No Water Fountains For You". YouTube.com. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbztAqMOuRI&mode=related&search=. Retrieved 2007-09-18. 
18. ^ “Code group: University of Central Florida didn't adhere to drinking water rules,” Orlando Sentinel, September 22, 2007).
19. ^ "UCF To Install Water Fountains in New Stadium". WESH. http://www.wesh.com/news/14143574/detail.html?rss=orl&psp=news. Retrieved 2007-09-18. 
20. ^ "UCF Bright House Networks Stadium". Central Florida News 13. http://cfn13.com/StoryHeadline.aspx?id=17817. 
21. ^ "Staying on Offense: $70M Sports Projects". UCF. 2010-05-04. http://today.ucf.edu/staying-on-offense-70m-sports-projects/. Retrieved 2010-12-08. 
22. ^ "UCF Football to Face Texas in New On-Campus Stadium in 2007 - 2005 national champs will be first opponent in new stadium.". UCF Athletic Association. 9 May 2006. http://ucfathletics.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/050906aaa.html. 
23. ^ "Full up: UCF sells out 1st on-campus game". OrlandoSentinel.com. 2007-09-15. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/orl-ucftickets1207sep12,0,.story. Retrieved 2007-09-15. 
24. ^ Associated Press (2007-09-15). "Horns' McCoy, Charles team up to end UCF's upset bid". ESPN.com. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=272582116. Retrieved 2007-09-15. 
25. ^ "Two new bowl games approved". http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5129612. Retrieved 2010-04-27. 
26. ^ "Cure Bowl application denied by NCAA, organizers plan to continue fighting to host game at UCF’s Bright House Networks Stadium". http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_college_ucf/2010/04/cure-bowl-application-denied-by-ncaa-organizers-plan-to-continue-fighting-to-host-game-at-ucfs-bright-house-networks-stadium.html. Retrieved 2010-04-27. 
27. ^ "About the Cure Bowl". http://www.curebowl.com/about/about-cure-bowl.html. Retrieved 2009-10-01. 
28. ^ "Jumpy fans worry UCF, but officials call stadium safe". orlando sentinel. 30 November 2007. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/orl-stadium3007nov30,0,4754238.story?coll=orl_tab01_layout. 
29. ^ Luis Zaragoza (2008-08-02). "UCF to take bounce out of stadium". Orlando Sentinel. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-bounce0208aug02,0,3865430.story?track=rss. Retrieved 2008-08-25. 
30. ^ "C-USA Football Championship Blog". Conference USA. 2008-12. http://conferenceusa.cstv.com/ot/10-m-footbl-blog.html. Retrieved 2011-01-01. 
31. ^ "UCF's Bright House Stadium Gets New Nickname". Central Florida News 13. 

External links

• Official website
• Cure Bowl official website

Preceded by Citrus Bowl

Home of the UCF Knights 2007 – present

Succeeded by Current