Bright House Networks Stadium
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Bright House Networks Stadium is a 45,301-seat stadium in Orlando, Florida. Located in the Wayne Densch Sports Complex on the campus of the University of Central Florida, it is primarily used for college football, and is the home of the UCF Knights football team. It is the first new on-campus stadium in NCAA Division I FBS to open in the 21st century.[1] The Knights moved here from their previous facility, the Citrus Bowl, near downtown Orlando. 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.
Initially projected to have a cost of $40 to $45 million, the most recent cost estimations run as high as $55 million.[2] Most of the seats are of the metal bleacher variety, causing some to criticize its spartan looks and no-frills construction in the era of nine-figure sporting venues. It has been designed for a planned expansion to 65,000 seats. The stadium was originally built without water fountains as the building code used when the stadium was approved did not require water fountains.[3] However, during the opening game, they ran out of water at half time, and 18 people were hospitalized for heat exhaustion during the game. In order to correct the issue, UCF provided a free bottle of water to everyone at the next game, and immediately began work to install at least fifty water fountains throughout the stadium, in order to comply with the latest building code requirement.[4]
On August 8, 2006, UCF announced a fifteen-year, $15 million stadium naming rights to cable company Bright House Networks.[5]
On May 9, 2006, it was announced that the 2007 Texas Longhorns would be the first opponent for the 2007 UCF Knights in the new stadium. The game, which was the first of three scheduled meetings between the schools,[6] was held September 15, 2007, and televised nationally on ESPN2 at 3:30 pm EDT (1930 UTC). A sellout crowd of 45,622 [1] [7] saw the Knights put a scare into the Longhorns before falling 35-32.[8]
Although the Knights lost their first on-campus home game, they finished the remainder of the season undefeated in the stadium, including the Conference USA home opener against Memphis Tigers, 56-20, on September 22. Bright House Networks Stadium is the host of the 2007 C-USA Championship, which is the UCF Knights' second time hosting it since the inaugural game in 2005 at the Citrus Bowl.
There is a popular movement on the UCF campus to refer to Bright House Networks Stadium as "The Dungeon," "The Knight House," "The Castle," or "The Keep." Template:Verify source
Stadium is also known as "The Trampoline"
