Photo by Vanessa Wenzl | The Crow’s Nest.
By Vanessa Wenzl
The University of South Florida’s long awaited football stadium has received a $25 million gift from Tampa General Hospital and an approval from the Florida Board of Governors all in one week.
On Thursday Sept. 7, Tampa General hospital made its gift to name the new athletics facility. The next day, the Florida Board of governors voted for an approval of the financing plan for the new stadium opening in 2026, presented by USF Board of Trustees Chair Will Weatherford and USF President Rhea Law.
The stadium is estimated to take $340 million to construct. USF Financing Corp. has already approved a $200 million debt to be repaid by multiple services and operating revenues.
“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 in a statement.
The campus stadium will not only help the football team finally have a home with its 35,000 fan capacity, but it will serve the women’s lacrosse team as well.
Recruiting will also be positively impacted for future students, as the stadium results in building a new culture for USF.
Football in the south is a big deal, and now players, students and alumni will all have a home to share their love for the sport, come gamedays in 2026.
“It will help with our brand and it will help certainly our gameday atmosphere,” football head coach Alex Golesh said in an interview with The Crow’s Nest. “It will help cultivate alumni, football alumni and non-football alumni.”
Not only will the fans be impacted, but prospective football players will be as well.
The current student athletes looking to play football also will see the vision that the university has for the football program.
Coach Golesh said that this will be important for recruiting players.
“It’s also important from a recruiting standpoint to say it’s not just a verbal commitment that we’ve committed to hiring an elite staff and giving them resources to go make this a big-time college football program,” Golesh said.
Construction for the new stadium will not begin until summer of 2024.
