Stadium at University of South Florida would cost about $200 million
Building a football stadium on the Tampa campus of the University of South Florida would cost an estimated $200 million, a preliminary feasibility study has found.
The university says in a news release that the feasibility study is the first of several steps in evaluating whether to build a stadium. The university will next begin to assess the financial feasibility and explore prospective philanthropic support for a stadium.
The football team now plays its home games in Raymond James Stadium, where the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers play.
The study reviewed two sites on campus, surveying each one for information such as impacts to existing land use, infrastructure, access to major streets, parking availability and campus connectivity. Two primary options were identified: the western portion of campus, slightly north of Fowler Avenue and east of Bruce B. Downs and a second location farther east on campus, near the corner of Fowler Avenue and USF Bull Run Drive on the existing Fowler Fields site.
By comparing college football stadiums built since 2000, the study looked at a stadium at South Florida that would have 40,000 seats with the capability to expand to 50,000. The estimated cost of a stadium would be $200 million, but the study stressed that many factors could cause the final amount to be modified.
For the foreseeable future, South Florida will play at Raymond James. It signed a six-year lease agreement earlier this year to continue its partnership with the Tampa Sports Authority and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
