Bright House Networks Stadium

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

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Bright House Networks Stadium
"The Bounce House"
File:BHNS Logo.png
Bright House Networks Stadium from Student Section, Sept. 15.jpg
Location 4465 Knights Victory Way
Orlando, Florida 32816
Public transit UCF Transit Center, Lynx
Owner University of Central Florida
Operator University of Central Florida
Athletics Association
Executive suites 24[1]
Capacity 45,323 (2007–2014)[2]
44,206 (2015–present)[3]
Record attendance 48,453 (2009)[4]
Surface Tifway 419 Bermuda[5]
Scoreboard 100 feet (30 m) x 37 feet (11 m)[1]
Construction
Broke ground March 22, 2006; 18 years ago (2006-03-22)[6][7]
Opened September 15, 2007; 16 years ago (2007-09-15)[9]
Renovated 2014–15
Construction cost $55 million[5]
($64.6 million in 2024 dollars[8])
Architect 360 Architecture[1]
General contractor Wharton-Smith[1]
Tenants
UCF Knights (NCAA) (2007–present)
MEAC/SWAC Challenge (2014)

Bright House Networks Stadium, sometimes referred to as "The Bouncehouse", is an American football stadium located in Orlando, Florida, United States, on the main campus of The University of Central Florida (UCF). It is the home venue for the UCF Knights football team. The stadium was the first on-campus stadium in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I FBS to open in the 21st century, and was the second newest BCS stadium in the country.[10]

The stadium opened in 2007 as a replacement for the Citrus Bowl in Downtown Orlando, where the Knights had played since 1979, and had a seating capacity of 45,323.[1] 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.[11][12] Following the renovations, seating capacity is 44,206.[3] The attendance record as of 2014 was 48,453, for an October 18, 2009 match-up against the Miami Hurricanes.[4] It is sometimes known as "The Bounce House" because the stadium visibly shakes when students jump during Zombie Nation's "Kernkraft 400" song.[13]

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.[14] 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 CFE 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.[15]

History

Construction and expansion

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 Bright House Networks Stadium, a new softball complex, and the only Division I indoor football practice facility in the state.[16] This made UCF the first university to ever open a new stadium and arena during the same year, for the 2007–2008 season.[17]

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.[18] 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.[19] 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 1,000 seats, or half that number of fountains if water were also available for sale.[20] During the opening game, vendors ran out of water at halftime; 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 50 water fountains throughout the stadium, in order to comply with the 2004 building code requirement.[21]

On August 8, 2006, UCF announced a 15-year, $15 million stadium naming rights deal with Bright House Networks, central Florida's dominant cable provider.[22] The stadium was designed for a planned expansion to 65,000 seats. In the next decade, 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.[23] The capacity for the 2015 season dropped by 1,117 seats. UCF removed about 2,000 seats from the east side of the stadium and replaced them with the "Carl Black and Gold Cabana," a new club seating section with a capacity of about 1,000.[24][25]

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

Knights football

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Main article: UCF Knights football

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,[26] 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.[27][28]

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 2013, the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Attendance records

The stadium as viewed from the student section
Rank Attendance Date Game result
1 48,543 October 17, 2009 9 Miami 27, UCF 7
2 47,605 September 28, 2013 12 South Carolina 28, UCF 25
3 46,805 September 6, 2008 17 South Florida 31, UCF 24
4 46,103 November 3, 2007 Marshall 13, UCF 47
5 45,952 November 29, 2013 South Florida 20, 17 UCF 23
6 45,671 September 10, 2011 Boston College 3, UCF 30
7 45,622 September 15, 2007 6 Texas 35, UCF 32
8 45,510 October 20, 2007 Tulsa 23, UCF 44
9 44,665 November 9, 2013 Houston 14, 19 UCF 19
10 44,510 September 20, 2014 Bethune-Cookman 7, UCF 41

The "Bounce House"

The stadium has been referred to by some as "The Trampoline"[29] or "The Bounce House"[30][31][32][33] because the stadium flexes when fans jump during Zombie Nation's song "Kernkraft 400".[13] 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.[34] 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, television presenter ESPN2 set up a camera position outside of the stadium to eliminate camera bounce caused by fans.[35]

Gallery

  • Roth Tower on opening day

  • View from the north endzone

  • View from the north endzone

  • View from Roth Tower

  • Roth Tower

See also

References

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 1634 to 1699: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. 1700-1799: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. 1800–present: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  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. Minnesota's TCF Bank Stadium is the newest BCS stadium, opening in 2009. The BCS era concluded following the 2013 season.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Convocation Center Update CFE Arena
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Events and tenants
Preceded by Home of the
UCF Knights
2007–present		 Succeeded by
Current
Preceded by Home of the
MEAC/SWAC Challenge
2014		 Succeeded by
Citrus Bowl
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