USF delays opening of on-campus stadium by one year, releases updated design model
Fans will have to wait a bit longer than anticipated to see an on-campus stadium.
USF announced that the on-campus stadium opening has been delayed from its initial projection in fall 2026 until 2027 at Tuesday’s Board of Trustees (BOT) meeting. It was also announced that construction on the stadium will not begin until fall 2024.
USF Foundation CEO Jay Stroman said that supply chain issues affected the timeline. Stroman did not elaborate on the issues at the meeting.
Board of Trustees chair Will Weatherford said the delay would allow for the stadium to be carefully constructed to be a “world-class facility.”
“We could’ve built it faster,” he said. “There are stadiums not far from here that’ve been built faster. We don’t want a bounce house, we want our house.”
The delay will not affect the Bulls’ lease with Raymond James Stadium, where the team currently plays. Their contract runs through the 2027 season.
This comes just days after USF ended the design-build agreement with Barton-Marlow, the company leading the stadium construction.
Related: USF ends agreement with company leading construction of on-campus stadium
The meeting also unveiled the first initial renderings of the on-campus stadium, releasing several key details about the project.
The stadium is anticipated to have a seating capacity of 35,000, with the possibility of further expansion in the future. The stadium will be designed to stretch from the east to the west to maximize shade.
It will also feature an open-air concourse to improve viewer accessibility and a student section at the west end of the stadium.
The Tampa General Hospital Center for Athletic Excellence is slated to open a year earlier than the stadium in fall 2026. It will be an operations facility adjacent to the stadium and home to the football and women’s lacrosse teams.
USF announced that $43 million of the $50 million it intended to raise for the project has been met. The university also announced a $6 million gift from USF Federal Credit Union to name the walkway leading into the stadium.
Campus Stadium Planning Committee Co-chairs Stroman and Michael Kelly said that more detailed renderings will be released in spring 2024.
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