It’s Friday afternoon and the employees of Florida Citrus Sports are about to be homeless … at least temporarily.
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Construction crews have already begun a $400 million modernization of Camping World Stadium, the 60,000-seat venue near downtown Orlando. That includes briefly shutting down the Varsity Club, where FCS employees currently work.
Steve Hogan, CEO of Florida Citrus Sports, is wrapping up a few things before the crew shuts down power at the facility.
“You’re really excited to see it come to fruition and it’s never fast enough,” Hogan told the Orlando Sentinel. “Right now, it’s a mess around here. The grounds are all ripped up and cranes are poking holes in the ground, but you want to start.”
The project will increase the venue’s capacity to 65,000 seats while rebuilding the upper bowl, creating new luxury suites and putting a modern skin on the outside of the building. Crews will also construct a new 140,000-square-foot, multi-purpose event center that is adjacent to the stadium.
The Tourism Development Tax funded the entire project.
“The exciting part is the end result and the end result for the community is a winner,” said Hogan. “It’s going to create more opportunities, inside and out.”
Camping World Stadium isn’t the only construction project in the area, as the Central Florida Expressway Authority has its own undertaking to widen State Road 408 near Interstate 4. Part of that project includes improvements to Tampa Avenue, Carter Street, Long Street and Rio Grande Avenue near the stadium.
“(Those are) areas that have really needed a better experience for pedestrians to now circumnavigate the stadium outside of the structure,” said Hogan.
These upgrades are meant to continue making Camping World Stadium an attractive option for hosting events. It already has a long history of hosting college football games, international soccer matches, WrestleMania, concerts and more.
For the first time in its ninety-year history, the venue will host regular-season NFL games when the Jacksonville Jaguars take over the stadium — temporarily in 2027 — while EverBank Stadium is being renovated.
Hogan said the stadium projects are expected to be completed by the start of next year’s NFL season.
“I think by September (2027) is where we are right now,” he said. “We’ll probably have one preseason game and then six or seven regular-season games, which will be awesome.”
The Jaguars are the first of what Hogan hopes will be several top events coming to the stadium in the near future.
“We’ve got WWE coming and we’re going to make a big case if we can for the Army-Navy (game),” said Hogan. “The Florida Classic is getting extended right now; it is what we’re trying to get completed, and another five-year run there.”
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One event Hogan hopes to see return to the area is college football kickoff games.
Camping World Stadium has hosted several of these neutral-site openers, including FSU-Ole Miss (2016), Alabama-Louisville (2018), Florida-Miami (2019) and FSU-LSU (2023).
There are more than a handful of neutral-site games in college football this season, including the AER Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin, Ireland; the AFLAC Kickoff game in Atlanta and the Shamrock Series at Lambeau Field in Wisconsin.
The challenge is always to make them financially attractive so schools are willing to participate while working with future schedules.
“Right now, I’m trying to get four or five years down the road, so that we can hopefully stay ahead of it at that point,” said Hogan, who believes they’ll have some announcements in the near future.
FCS is also actively pursuing hosting the annual Army-Navy football game, a crown jewel in the college football schedule. The rivalry game between the two service academies began in 1890 and typically has been played on the East Coast, but never in the South.
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Orlando previously explored a bid, but lost out to NFL sites such as MetLife Stadium in New Jersey and Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. With the bidding process set to begin again, Hogan believes the latest renovations could help the city secure a future spot.
“We want to be considered (for the game), so that is a priority for us,” said Hogan. “I love that game. It would probably fit better in the range of 2030, 2031 or 2032.”
Another possible opportunity is the Football Championship Subdivision National Championship Game. It’s currently held at FirstBank Stadium at Vanderbilt University and was previously held at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.
“(The) postseason is super important still to us and there’s a lot of different exciting opportunities,” Hogan said. “I like the FCS national championship game. We went up nationally last year. I made no secret to the team at the NCAA that we definitely want a bid.”
Hogan also wants Orlando to be a player if the College Football Playoff expands.
“If they choose to expand in some way or at the end of the CFP cycle, if they’re going to bid those six host cities, then give Florida Citrus Sports every opportunity like any other great city for a shot at the quarterfinals and semis,” he said.
Meanwhile, FCS is also working to guarantee that the annual Florida Classic Game between FAMU and Bethune-Cookman remains at Camping World Stadium, along with the two postseason college football games: The Citrus Bowl and the Pop-Tarts Bowl.
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Matt Murschel can be reached at [email protected]