New Stadium For University Of South FL Approved By Board Of Governors

TAMPA, FL — The Florida Board of Governors voted Friday to approve $340 million to finance a new 35,000-seat stadium for the University of South Florida.

To be located on the Tampa campus of USF, the new stadium is scheduled to open in the fall of 2026.

The decision came after USF Board of Trustees Chairman Will Weatherford and USF President Rhea Law outlined their plans for a stadium that would not only accommodate Bulls football games but woman's lacrosse, concerts and special events.

The USF Bulls football team currently plans at Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“Bulls Nation deserves to have a stadium on USF’s campus. Our time has come. Our 50,000 students, our alumni, faculty, staff and our greater community all deserve the benefits that come with a stadium on our campus,” Weatherford said. “The stadium will be a rallying point that brings people together and helps connect and inspire generations of Bulls fans far and wide.”

Under the proposal, the USF Financing Corp. will issue a debt of up to $200 million that the university will repay from several sources, including operating revenues from the stadium and other USF Athletics revenues.

USF will also use gifts from its $40 million Capital Improvement Trust Fund ($31 million); contributions from the sale of educational broadband service licenses ($25 million); $26.5 million in auxiliary funds; and proceeds from a 2017 Federal Communications Commission auction ($8 million).

Additionally, on Thursday USF announced that it received a $25 million gift from Tampa General Hospital to name the Center for Athletic Excellence, an operations facility that will be included as part of USF’s new on-campus stadium project and will feature dedicated clinical space for TGH.

The gift will also name the university’s athletics district.

“We are incredibly grateful to Tampa General Hospital for this historic gift and for their phenomenal partnership with USF that goes back decades,” said Law. “This investment in our students, our university and our community will have far-reaching positive impacts for generations to come.”

The Tampa General Hospital Center for Athletic Excellence will be located adjacent to the stadium, which will be built on the east side of the Tampa campus at Sycamore Fields. The location, which is currently used for intramural sports, is within the USF Athletics District and sits near its operations facility and new Indoor Performance Facility, student housing and parking.

“Sycamore Fields is not only the stadium location that presents the most advantages, but it is without doubt the most historically fitting,” Vice President of Athletics Michael Kelly said. “Our football program was literally born on those fields a quarter-century ago, and they served as our primary practice and development area for over a decade as USF football rose to national prominence at an unprecedented pace.

The facility will serve as the daily home for the football and women’s lacrosse teams. It will feature state-of-the-art locker rooms, sports medicine and treatment spaces, strength and conditioning rooms, coaches’ offices, training rooms, nutrition spaces and hydrotherapy pools along with behavioral health services, including assessments, treatment, therapies and career mentoring.

Related: USF Stadium Site Recommended; $5M Gift To Kick Project Off

“As one of the nation’s leading academic and research health systems, we are committed to strengthening our community,” said John Couris, president and CEO of Tampa General Hospital. “We recognize the growing demand for behavioral health services in our region, and particularly around the USF campus. That’s why we’re doubling down on our partnership with the University of South Florida to expand access to care and support.”

This investment from TGH is the largest gift ever to USF Athletics.

“An on-campus stadium will lift the University of South Florida to new heights, creating a brighter future for our university, our students and the entire Tampa Bay region,” Law said. “We are grateful for the support of the board of governors as we move forward with our plans for a transformational stadium that will take our university to the next level.”