A new era in Orlando is here.
Since opening its gates in 1936, the Orlando Citrus Bowl has welcomed millions of fans to countless sporting events and concerts. Today, after 10 months of construction and a cost of $207 million, the Orlando Citrus Bowl officially re-opened as Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs and several other dignitaries held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the stadium.
The project saw the demolition of the entire lower bowl, leaving only the upper level stands remaining. Approximately 90 per cent of the Orlando Citrus Bowl is completely new and it was designed to improve the fan experience. Although the old stadium played host to World Cup soccer, Olympic soccer, Wrestlemania, Monster Jam, numerous Rock superbowls, college football games and housed Orlando City Soccer for three years, the modernization of the stadium will now hopefully bring even more prestigious events to Central Florida.
Among the new features and enhanced amenities is the ability to house 65,000 people when attending sporting events and 75,000 for non sporting events. The stadium has 41,000 new lower bowl seats with chair backs and six more inches of legroom. Two wide concourses connect the whole stadium that has a vibrant open air facade on its 15 acre site. Fans will enjoy three video displays as well as two side ribbon boards covering more than 8,654 square feet. There are 66 restrooms in the stadium as well as eight elevators and eight escalators.
The Citrus Bowl has full ADA accessibility for up to 824 patrons on both the Field level and Plaza level. One of the best features is the 20,000 square foot Plaza Deck – “party deck” at the north end zone as well as some unique indoor and outdoor club spaces with seating to serve 6,000 patrons. Fans will also enjoy the new game day concessions that also includes healthy and gluten free options. You’ll be able to pick from a variety of concessions including All American, Central Grill, Champions Pizza, Monster Sandwich, Rio Grande Tex Mex and many others.
Outside the Citrus Bowl you’ll find that it now reflects Orlando in a more distinctive way. There is an unexpected cultural experience visually illustrating Orlando’s vibrant arts and cultural scene while reflecting on the historic significance of the Orlando Citrus Bowl. You’ll also notice several 14 foot tall Sculptural Arbors located at each of the four primary entry areas in the concourse.
There was another announcement at the opening as Florida Citrus Sports CEO Steve Hogan (pictured above) announced a meeting of two rivals Ole Miss and Florida State at the stadium on Labor Day, Monday September 5th, 2016.
“We’re excited to bring regular season neutral-site college football games back to the Citrus Bowl and establish Orlando as a major kickoff destination for the future,” Hogan said. “Florida State and Ole Miss will undoubtedly be a game worthy of national attention and we can’t wait to welcome fans from Tallahassee and Oxford to Central Florida to start the 2016 season.”
The Citrus Bowl will see its first game this weekend on 22nd November with the annual Florida Blue Florida Classic football game between Bethune-Cookman University and Florida A&M University.
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