Bright House Networks Stadium
is a 45,301-seat stadium in Orlando, Florida. Located in the Wayne Densch Sports Complex on the campus of the University of Central Florida, it is primarily used for college football, and is the home of the UCF Knights football team. It is the first new on-campus stadium in NCAA Division I FBS to open in the 21st century. [1] The Knights moved here from their previous facility, the Citrus Bowl, near downtown Orlando. 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.
Initially projected to have a cost of $40 to $45 million, the most recent cost estimations run as high as $55 million. [2] It has been designed for a planned expansion to 65,000 seats. The stadium was originally built without water fountains as the building code used when the stadium was approved did not require water fountains. [3] However, during the opening game, they ran out of water at half time, and 18 people were hospitalized for heat exhaustion during the game. In order to correct the issue, UCF provided a free bottle of water to everyone at the next game, and immediately began work to install at least fifty water fountains throughout the stadium, in order to comply with the latest building code requirement. [4]
On August 8, 2006, UCF announced a fifteen-year, $15 million stadium naming rights to cable company Bright House Networks. [5]
On May 9, 2006, it was announced that the 2007 Texas Longhorns would be the first opponent for the 2007 UCF Knights in the new stadium. The game, which was the first of three scheduled meetings between the schools, [6] was held September 15, 2007, and televised nationally on ESPN2 at 3:30 pm EDT (1930 UTC). A sellout crowd of 45,622
[7] saw the Knights put a scare into the Longhorns before falling 35-32. [8]
Although the Knights lost their first on-campus home game, they finished the remainder of the stadium's inaugural season undefeated, including the C-USA home opener against Memphis and the 2007 C-USA Championship against Tulsa.
There is a popular movement on the UCF campus to refer to Bright House Networks Stadium as "The Dungeon," "The Knight House," "The Castle," or "The Keep." However, the stadium has been referred to by some as "The Trampoline" or "Bouncehouse" because of fans jumping during Zombie Nation's song "Kernkraft 400." [9] The all-steel seating areas are known to reverberate and noticibly 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. [10]
On April 30, 2008, the Postseason Football Licensing Subcommittee of the NCAA had given the okay to two of the three bowls that were proposed for addition to the 2008-2009 schedule. The games that were approved were the Congressional Bowl, to be played in Washington, D.C., and the St. Petersburg Bowl, to be played at Tropicana Field in the titular Florida city with both games scheduled for December 20th, 2008. Talks have begun for Bright House Network Stadium to host a bowl game for the following season in December of 2009. The highest number of people at a game was the series ending with USF on September 6, 2008.
The stadium's public address announcer is Erik Kohler.
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BRIGHT HOUSE NETWORKS STADIUM TICKETS
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Bright House Networks Stadium
is a 45,301-seat
stadium in
Orlando, Florida. Located in the
Wayne Densch Sports Complex on the campus of the
University of Central Florida, it is primarily used for
college football, and is the home of the
UCF Knights football team. It is the first new on-campus stadium in
NCAA Division I FBS to open in the 21st century.
[1] The Knights moved here from their previous facility, the
Citrus Bowl, near downtown Orlando. 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.
Initially projected to have a cost of $40 to $45 million, the most recent cost estimations run as high as $55 million.
[2] It has been designed for a planned expansion to 65,000 seats. The stadium was originally built without water fountains as the building code used when the stadium was approved did not require water fountains.
[3] However, during the opening game, they ran out of water at half time, and 18 people were hospitalized for heat exhaustion during the game. In order to correct the issue, UCF provided a free bottle of water to everyone at the next game, and immediately began work to install at least fifty water fountains throughout the stadium, in order to comply with the latest building code requirement.
[4]
On
August 8,
2006, UCF announced a fifteen-year,
$15 million stadium naming rights to cable company
Bright House Networks.
[5]
On
May 9,
2006, it was announced that the
2007 Texas Longhorns would be the first opponent for the
2007 UCF Knights in the new stadium. The game, which was the first of three scheduled meetings between the schools,
[6] was held
September 15,
2007, and televised nationally on
ESPN2 at 3:30 pm
EDT (1930
UTC). A sellout crowd of 45,622
[7] saw the Knights put a scare into the Longhorns before falling 35-32.
[8]
Although the Knights lost their first on-campus home game, they finished the remainder of the stadium's inaugural season undefeated, including the
C-USA home opener against
Memphis and the 2007
C-USA Championship against
Tulsa.
There is a popular movement on the UCF campus to refer to Bright House Networks Stadium as "The Dungeon," "The Knight House," "The Castle," or "The Keep." However, the stadium has been referred to by some as "The Trampoline" or "Bouncehouse" because of fans jumping during
Zombie Nation's song "Kernkraft 400."
[9] The all-steel seating areas are known to reverberate and noticibly 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.
[10]
On April 30, 2008, the Postseason Football Licensing Subcommittee of the NCAA had given the okay to two of the three bowls that were proposed for addition to the 2008-2009 schedule. The games that were approved were the Congressional Bowl, to be played in Washington, D.C., and the St. Petersburg Bowl, to be played at Tropicana Field in the titular Florida city with both games scheduled for December 20th, 2008. Talks have begun for Bright House Network Stadium to host a bowl game for the following season in December of 2009. The highest number of people at a game was the series ending with
USF on September 6, 2008.
The stadium's public address announcer is Erik Kohler.