Description
The Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium, located 1 Citrus Bowl Place in Downtown Orlando, Florida, in 2003. The Citrus Bowl was constructed in 1936 as a Works Project Administration (WPA) project. The football stadium was originally called the Orlando Stadium and could seat 8,900. The first annual bowl game, called the Tangerine Bowl and later renamed the Florida Citrus Bowl in 1982, was held on January 1, 1947. From 1947 to 1975, the stadium was known as the Tangerine Bowl Stadium, but was renamed the Citrus Bowl Stadium in 1976. From 1977 to 1982, the stadium was renamed the Orlando Stadium. It became the Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium in 1983. In 2014, it was renamed the Orlando Citrus Bowl Stadium.
The stadium was expanded to seat 12,000 in 1952; 18,000 in 1967; 48,000 in 1974; and 70,000 in 1989. From 1999 to 2002, the stadium added contour seating, two escalators, 107-foot wide video screen, a new sound system, and two full-color displays.
The stadium has also been the home field of numerous football teams in various professional leagues, such as the Florida Blazers (1974), the Orlando Renegades (1985), the Orlando Thunder (1991-1992), the Orlando Rage (2001), the Florida Tuskers (2009-2010), and the Orlando Fantasy (2011).
The Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium was also the venue of five soccer games for the 1994 FIFA World Cup, as well as the venue for numerous concerts. The University of Central Florida used the facility for its football games, but relocated in 2005. The following year, Orange County and the City or Orlando committed $175 million for the first renovation of the stadium with an expected completion date of the fall of 2014.