Camping World Stadium

Camping World Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Orlando, Florida, United States, located in the West Lakes neighborhood of Downtown Orlando. It opened in 1936 as Orlando Stadium and has also been known as the Tangerine Bowl and Florida Citrus Bowl. The City of Orlando owns and operates the stadium.
Camping World Stadium is the current home venue of the Citrus Bowl, the Cure Bowl, and the Pop-Tarts Bowl. It is also the regular host of a regular season college football game called the Florida Classic between Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman. The stadium was built for football and in the past, it has served as the home of numerous minor/alternate-league football clubs, including teams from the WFL, USFL, WLAF, XFL, UFL, and most recently the Orlando Guardians of the 2020 XFL. From 2011 to 2013, it was the home of the Orlando City SC, a soccer team in USL Pro, then it was a temporary home for Orlando City of MLS while Inter&Co Stadium was under construction.
From 1979 to 2006, the stadium served as the home of the UCF Knights football team. It was one of the nine venues used for the 1994 FIFA World Cup, and also hosted 1996 Olympic soccer matches. The stadium has hosted the NFL's Pro Bowl five times.

Stadium history

Construction on the stadium began in 1936 as a project of the Works Progress Administration under President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression. The stadium was built to the immediate east of the baseball park Tinker Field, which opened in 1914. The stadium opened later in 1936 with a capacity of 8,900 as Orlando Stadium. The first college football bowl game was played on January 1, 1947. Catawba defeated Maryville 31–6 in the inaugural Tangerine Bowl. 2,000 seats were added in 1952. During this period, the stadium was known as the Tangerine Bowl. 5,000 more seats were added in 1968, along with the first press box.
From 1974 to 1976 an expansion project raised the capacity to 50,612, including a 3,600-seat upper deck on the east sidelines. However, shortly after completion the project proved to be a public fiasco and potentially an architectural and engineering failure. On November 27, 1976, the first major game was held at the expanded stadium, a regular season matchup between Florida and Miami. During the game, the newly constructed upper deck noticeably swayed whenever fans stood up and cheered. The deck vibrated, fences and railings shook and creaked, causing an unnerving sensation for the patrons sitting in those sections. The swaying and shaking was noticeable again about a month later during the 1976 Tangerine Bowl game. The swaying was so pronounced that some fans vowed never to sit in those seats again, while some refused to return to the stadium at all. Before long, engineering evaluations, as well as legal investigations, uncovered numerous missteps, rushing, and cut corners in the stadium's design. While it was believed that the upper deck was structurally sound and met building codes, it nevertheless was deemed a failure. Additional problems included inadequate access to restrooms in the upper deck, gaps between the sections which required obstructive fences, and the fact that the upper deck was built at such an angle that it had poor sight lines. Meanwhile, unsightly I-beams installed to hold up the upper deck now blocked seats in the lower deck that were previously unobstructed.
The maligned stadium's reputation was heavily tarnished after the upper deck scandal, criticized by public officials, media, and fans. Further complicating the situation was UCF's pending move to the stadium for 1979. The city finally received a settlement of $900,500 from the stadium's engineers, architects, and designers, money that was soon appropriated for new improvements. The infamous steel east upper deck was dismantled in May 1980.
After various new improvements, and a $30 million renovation that added new concrete upper decks to both sides, a capacity of 65,438 was established in 1989. In 1983, the Florida Department of Citrus was added as a title sponsor for the facility, at a price of $250,000. From 1999 to 2002, key stadium improvements included the addition of contour seating, two escalators, and a new wide scoreboard/video screen. A new sound system, along with two full-color ribbon displays along the upper decks, were also added. The expansion resulted in the upper deck overhanging Tinker Field's right field area, albeit at a significant height.

Events hosted

Football

Professional football

Camping World Stadium has been home field to several short-lived professional football teams. From 1966 to 1970, the stadium was home to the Orlando Panthers of the Continental Football League. In 1974, the Florida Blazers of the World Football League played their only season in existence at the Tangerine Bowl. The USFL's Orlando Renegades played one season in 1985. The Orlando Thunder of the WLAF called the Citrus Bowl home in their two-season existence during the early 1990s, while the XFL's Orlando Rage played there in 2001 as well as the UFL's Florida Tuskers, occupying the stadium for 2 seasons from 2009, before moving to Virginia Beach as the Virginia Destroyers in 2011. The Orlando Fantasy of the Lingerie Football League moved to the stadium shortly after, having previously used the UCF Arena.
In 2022, it was announced that Orlando had been chosen to be the home of one of the third incarnation of the XFL’s eight teams and that the team would play its home games at Camping World Stadium. The Orlando Guardians played in the 2023 XFL season before folding after the XFL's merger with the USFL.
The stadium hosted the NFL's all-star game, the Pro Bowl, from 2017 through 2020. In 2024, the event returned for a fifth time under the new title Pro Bowl Games. It was the first time since the NFL transitioned the event to a new format of skills competitions and non-contact flag football. Seven NFL preseason games have been held at the stadium.

College football

The stadium has hosted various college football games, including many bowl games:

Since 1947, the stadium has hosted a bowl game, currently known as the Citrus Bowl, typically played on January 1 or January 2. The bowl has also been known by different names, and has also been held during December, at various times during its history.
* The December 1958 edition of the game, then known as the Tangerine Bowl, was notable for the segregation policy of the stadium operators, the Orlando High School Athletic Association, leading to the University at Buffalo declining their bowl bid, as their two black players would not have been allowed to play.
Since 1997, the stadium has been home to the Florida Classic, an annual game between Bethune–Cookman University and Florida A&M University.
Since 2001, the stadium has hosted a December bowl game, which has undergone several name changes due to sponsorship changes—as of 2023, it is known as the Pop-Tarts Bowl.
In 2010 and 2011, the stadium hosted the East–West Shrine Game, which then moved to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.
The stadium has hosted the Cure Bowl, a December bowl game, during 2015–2018 and in 2020. The bowl was announced to return in 2024.
The stadium hosted the 1979 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game, 2005 C-USA Championship Game, and 2016 ACC Championship Game.
Rollins College of Winter Park, Florida, was the first college to use the then-named Orlando Stadium as its home field. It played there prior to and after World War II.
From 2008-2013 and in 2015, the stadium hosted the MEAC/SWAC Challenge, which then moved to Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama.
From 2013-2023, the stadium hosted the Camping World Kickoff, which hasn't been played since 2023.
High school football

The Florida High School Athletic Association state football championships are held at Camping World Stadium.
The varsity football team from nearby Jones High School used Camping World Stadium as a regular season home field for decades through the end of their 2011 season. The school started playing home football games on their own field beginning on August 31, 2012.

Armed forces football

From 1960 to 1964, the stadium hosted the Missile Bowl, a game that matched two of the country's top military service football teams. The Vietnam War resulted in a lack of service teams and the canceled in 1965.

Soccer

The playing surface is large enough for use in international soccer matches, and it was a venue for the 1994 FIFA World Cup. In five matches, attendance averaged over 60,000 per match. In 1996, Olympic soccer matches in both the men's and women's competitions were held at the stadium.
It hosted the USISL A-League Orlando Sundogs in 1997. It also hosted the Major League Soccer All-Star Game in 1998. The stadium was the home of Orlando City SC, a soccer team in the USL Pro League. In 2013, the investment group that owned that club was awarded an expansion team in Major League Soccer. They spent their 2014 season in USL Pro at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista while Camping World Stadium was being renovated.
During the 2013 season, Fifth Third Bank owned naming rights to the field for Orlando City matches. Its name during those matches was Fifth Third Bank Field at the Citrus Bowl.
Orlando City played their final USL Pro match at Camping World Stadium on September 6, 2013. They won the USL Pro Championship over Charlotte Eagles, 7–4, before a crowd of 20,886. The last soccer event held at Camping World Stadium before its renovation was an international friendly between the women's teams of the United States and Brazil. The U.S. won the match, 4–1, before a crowd of 20,274.
Orlando City, now playing in Major League Soccer, returned to Camping World Stadium for the 2015 and 2016 seasons.
The Orlando Pride, the National Women's Soccer League 2016 expansion team owned by Orlando City SC, played in Camping World Stadium while the Orlando City Stadium was completed.
Camping World Stadium was one of the venues for Copa América Centenario in June 2016. Three group stage matches were held there, Paraguay vs Costa Rica on June 4, Bolivia vs Panama on June 6 and Brazil vs Haiti on June 8.
The stadium hosted the Mexico national football team vs. Guatemala "MexTour" on April 27, 2022.
The 2022 Florida Cup exhibition soccer match between Arsenal and Chelsea, 4–0, had an attendance of 63,811, a record crowd for a soccer match at the stadium.
The stadium was also one of twelve venues to host the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.