Orlando Citrus Bowl Stadium [Renovation Completed]

[dcluley98]

I'm sorry, I grew up reading the St. Petersburg Times. 

Probably biased. 

Neither are what they used to be, but I could never take the Orlando Sentinel as a serious journalistic and investigative medium.  

[spenser1058]

11 minutes ago, dcluley98 said:

I'm sorry, I grew up reading the St. Petersburg Times. 

Probably biased. 

Neither are what they used to be, but I could never take the Orlando Sentinel as a serious journalistic and investigative medium.  

They’ve won their Pulitzers over the years. They’re not the Times but we’re better off with them than without them.

 

[popsiclebrandon]

Considering the cities that announced parties and such tonight and we aren't one I would bet highly against Orlando hosting. We were always on the cut line at best so would have been surprised to get it.

[spenser1058]

Back in the ‘80’s, Time Magazine used to do a thing every few years noting the country’s best newspapers.

In Florida, there were 4: the Times, the Miami Herald, the Sentinel and I can’t remember #4. It was more than any other state.

At the time, the Sentinel changed the motto on the masthead to “The Best Newspaper In Florida”. That was a bit much but they really were investing in the paper and doing some excellent investigative journalism. The paper was even more profitable than the mother ship, the Chicago Tribune.

Of course, then the internet arrived. I’d still put Scott Maxwell’s columns up against just about anyone’s for digging up the dirt on local and state government shenanigans (he’s also an equal opportunity offender - he skews both sides of the aisle with the same gusto).

The Sentinel’s now owned by a hedge fund infamous for decimating newsrooms(heck, the paper no longer HAS a newsroom), but then the Times also sold its soul a few years back to a consortium of bigwigs in the Bay Area.

It is what it is, but the Sentinel is still the best source for coverage in Central Florida. TV news is a joke, the OBJ is little more than a mouthpiece for the real estate industrial complex and the Orlando Weekly sensationalizes what few issues they decide to cover ( @klstoreywas an exception with his coverage of tourism, but he seems to have stopped writing since he got a job with the ECFRPC). As the Post says, “Democracy Dies In Darkness”, and that’s especially true with local news.

[dcluley98]

Yeah, not looking good. 

 

Down to 3 east cities.  And gotta figure 1 is new york, probably DC and Miami. 

[dcluley98]

East Region, and final group to be announced on Thursday: Toronto (BMO Field, which will need expanding); Boston (Gillette Stadium in Foxborough); Philadelphia (Lincoln Financial Field); Miami (Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens); and New York/New Jersey's MetLife Stadium.

 

DC/Maryland did not get picked, but Boston/Foxboro did, which is really surprising to me. 

[Uncommon]

Dang, well we all knew it was a long shot. 

[spenser1058]

Nevertheless, we’ll keep putting more lipstick on a pig. One of these days you’ll realize the stadium belongs on I-Drive. The funny part is that if Buddy hadn’t been in such an  all-fired hurry to add the Citrus Bowl to the venues in order to cover up for the new DeVos arena that polling was solidly against at the time, he could have gone to Harris Rosen and offered a new stadium out there and Harris might have even gone for a resort tax increase since it was for something on his turf.

We’ll never know, of course, because no one ever asked.

We always like to talk about our world class facilities. Camping World ain’t close. We can keep blaming it on the fact we don’t have an NFL team (hint, we ain’t getting one as long as Tampa exists), or we can use our unique situation with the TDT to build something first-class and with all the ancillary facilities Camping World doesn’t have (ever notice CWS has no hotel, no restaurants, no bars, no nothing).

And, for some reason, the part of Orlando you all want to show off to 60,000 people at a time is OBT.

I don’t get that.

First rule to get out of a hole, STOP DIGGING.

And, before you throw out this tired old chestnut, despite the millions of dollars thrown at CWS in the last couple of decades, the downtown bars, restaurants and retail are declining, not improving. The world has changed since 1994 and we need to change with it.

Edited June 16, 2022 by spenser1058

[AmIReal]

1 hour ago, spenser1058 said:

We’ll never know, of course, because no one ever asked.

How do you know that? And if something was built on Idrive how does that help Downtown... wasn't that a large part of the goal?  I'm pretty sure every party would love to have a brand new billion $ stadium- whether it be here, Idrive, Disney or Nona. No one has ever stepped up to build that. So, of course- the best option is keep milking the same ageing, decrepit cow you have.  I think- given the options- that seems to be the best (and only) one. 

Regardless, the early studies (I posted one a couple months back) indicated this would be the outcome. The stadium was not the major negative factor.

1 hour ago, spenser1058 said:

he world has changed since 1994 and we need to change with it.

I agree, but this sounds funny from the guy who pines for Ronnie's, the Lunch Box and McCroy's.

[prahaboheme]

4 hours ago, dcluley98 said:

East Region, and final group to be announced on Thursday: Toronto (BMO Field, which will need expanding); Boston (Gillette Stadium in Foxborough); Philadelphia (Lincoln Financial Field); Miami (Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens); and New York/New Jersey's MetLife Stadium.

 

DC/Maryland did not get picked, but Boston/Foxboro did, which is really surprising to me. 

DC/Maryland was not picked because the only able stadium to host in DC is FedEx stadium in MD which is in total disrepair. 
The owner of the Washington Football (Commanders) Team is hated by basically everyone and is trying to move to a new stadium in VA. Basically, there was no desire or will in DC to host a game.

MT&B Stadium (Ravens) in Baltimore qualifies but was not considered. 

Edited June 17, 2022 by prahaboheme

[spenser1058]

33 minutes ago, prahaboheme said:

DC/Maryland was not picked because the only able stadium to host in DC is FedEx stadium in MD which is in total disrepair. 
The owner of the Washington Football (Commanders) Team is hated by basically everyone and is trying to move to a new stadium in VA. Basically, there was no desire or will in DC to host a game.

MT&B Stadium (Ravens) in Baltimore qualifies but was not considered. 

I’m reminded in all this of the folks who cried about the Orange Bowl right until it was on the verge of collapse. What’s also funny is that rarely in descriptions of “downtown” is anything west of OBT included and that’s being generous.

Certainly those of us born and raised here never considered Tampa Ave. part of downtown.

In any event, the scale of football stadia are all wrong for walkable communities. You can make a case for arenas, baseball fields and soccer stadia but anything larger is out of scale. Let’s figure out how to fix something that’s been going in the wrong direction for decades (read about the problem with the upper deck that goes all the way back to the ‘70’s). This thing outlived its usefulness almost fifty years ago.

It’s also out of whack for Orlando’s brand. We’re all about being new, vibrant and clean. We’re not Pittsburgh where grit is part of the culture. As @HankStronghas summed it up so well, CWS “is a dump”.

Parking is also a nightmare, traffic from I-Drive along I4 is a mess whenever there’s a game or event with lots of out of towners and even the teams stay in the tourist zone now.

[dcluley98]

1 hour ago, prahaboheme said:

DC/Maryland was not picked because the only able stadium to host in DC is FedEx stadium in MD which is in total disrepair. 
The owner of the Washington Football (Commanders) Team is hated by basically everyone and is trying to move to a new stadium in VA. Basically, there was no desire or will in DC to host a game.

MT&B Stadium (Ravens) in Baltimore qualifies but was not considered. 

Oh thanks. For some reason Ithought they combined DC/Maryland into a proposal using the Ravens stadium for that exact reason. 

I still don't get why they picked Foxboro in BFE on a turf grass venue.  Other than a word that starts with a "K" and rhymes with "graft". . . 

[dcluley98]

https://sports.yahoo.com/world-cup-host-cities-2026-214301806.html
 

[dcluley98]

Also, the ONLY city with a smaller MSA population than Orlando (at #26) selected was Kansas City at #31, and this seems to be a geographic comprimise since Denver and Cincinatti were not selected and Chicago/St. Louis pulled their bids.  FIFA was always going to select a venue in the center of the country, and Denver lost out purely due to Geography, IMO.  It is clear that FIFA valued population in their selection criteria.  

As pointed out above, Orlando was a long-shot, but I thought we had a chance over say "Boston" in that we would be close to Miami and able to cluster similar to  NY/Philly, Houston/Dallas and Vancouver/Seattle. The Brightline was a reason for that thought.  However, FIFA did not go that route for us. 

 

[JFW657]

So, what did we lose, really?.....

Quote

Host cities essentially pay to stage 3-7 games, a “Fan Fest” and other events. They welcome thousands of tourists, but FIFA collects the vast majority of revenue from the games themselves and makes a multi-billion-dollar profit.

Plus, we'll get a consolation prize....

Quote

The four other finalists not chosen were Orlando, Cincinnati, Nashville and Denver. Nashville's hopes were torpedoed by uncertainty around the future of its NFL stadium. But those four, like the 16 match sites and other non-finalists, could still host team base camps and pre-tournament friendlies. Most participating national teams will train at colleges and MLS facilities across the U.S.

 

There'll also be “Fan Fests” — FIFA-sponsored outdoor watch parties — in non-host cities. 

Not a total loss.

[dcluley98]

1 hour ago, JFW657 said:

So, what did we lose, really?.....

Plus, we'll get a consolation prize....

Not a total loss.

Agreed on that. We will probably STILL get a boost in travel to the area just associated with the Miami games.  A lot of fans will probably ride Brightline or drive up to visit Orlando for theme parks as part of their trip.   

[popsiclebrandon]

We really going to argue that we should have demolished a stadium to then build a new one on I-drive? Thats insane. Why drive more visitors out of downtown to an area that doesn't need, want, or really have room for a stadium?

[codypet]

8 hours ago, dcluley98 said:

Agreed on that. We will probably STILL get a boost in travel to the area just associated with the Miami games.  A lot of fans will probably ride Brightline or drive up to visit Orlando for theme parks as part of their trip.   

I'm sure Brightline is like "my time to shine"  It should be pretty well established by then.  Finally getting the kinks out.

[jack]

14 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

Nevertheless, we’ll keep putting more lipstick on a pig. One of these days you’ll realize the stadium belongs on I-Drive. The funny part is that if Buddy hadn’t been in such an  all-fired hurry to add the Citrus Bowl to the venues in order to cover up for the new DeVos arena that polling was solidly against at the time, he could have gone to Harris Rosen and offered a new stadium out there and Harris might have even gone for a resort tax increase since it was for something on his turf.

We’ll never know, of course, because no one ever asked.

We always like to talk about our world class facilities. Camping World ain’t close. We can keep blaming it on the fact we don’t have an NFL team (hint, we ain’t getting one as long as Tampa exists), or we can use our unique situation with the TDT to build something first-class and with all the ancillary facilities Camping World doesn’t have (ever notice CWS has no hotel, no restaurants, no bars, no nothing).

And, for some reason, the part of Orlando you all want to show off to 60,000 people at a time is OBT.

I don’t get that.

First rule to get out of a hole, STOP DIGGING.

And, before you throw out this tired old chestnut, despite the millions of dollars thrown at CWS in the last couple of decades, the downtown bars, restaurants and retail are declining, not improving. The world has changed since 1994 and we need to change with it.

That would have been a bad idea. For one, it would have been $500 million (probably $700 million now) for a new stadium. And Buddy never would have given it up to move to I-Drive. He's not a big I-Drive guy. 

I have been to the stadium and it works as intended. It hosts a few neutral site games and had the pro bowl for a few years. I don't know what the future holds but I call it a win. 

[JFW657]

2 hours ago, popsiclebrandon said:

We really going to argue that we should have demolished a stadium to then build a new one on I-drive? Thats insane. Why drive more visitors out of downtown to an area that doesn't need, want, or really have room for a stadium?

In order to shoehorn one's personal agenda into as many discussions as possible, it is often necessary to employ such preposterous logic. 

[spenser1058]

Woohoo! We have a new name - it’s now the Duluth Trading Cure Bowl!

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/college-gridiron-365/os-sp-cure-bowl-new-title-sponsor-duluth-trading-company-20220629-sddrqc32dbeaxhvqkeycyrf2ee-story.html

From The Sentinel 

For a moment, I thought the father of Heathrow, Jeno Paulucci (let’s have a pizza roll in his honor!), had been resurrected. However, this outfit’s from Wisconsin, not the Duluth in Minnesota, so a tad closer to @HankStrong’s home stomping grounds in Michigan.

My favorites are still the Cheez-It Bowl and the Duke’s Mayonnaise Bowl..

Note to @orange87: do you suppose Duluth is as DeLightful as DeLand!?!

Edited June 29, 2022 by spenser1058

[AndyPok1]

On 6/16/2022 at 10:31 PM, spenser1058 said:

In any event, the scale of football stadia are all wrong for walkable communities. You can make a case for arenas, baseball fields and soccer stadia but anything larger is out of scale. Let’s figure out how to fix something that’s been going in the wrong direction for decades (read about the problem with the upper deck that goes all the way back to the ‘70’s). This thing outlived its usefulness almost fifty years ago.

[...]

Parking is also a nightmare, traffic from I-Drive along I4 is a mess whenever there’s a game or event with lots of out of towners and even the teams stay in the tourist zone now.

I'm late here, but this is true for literally every football stadium.  It's one of the reasons attendance is down at NFL games.  The experience isn't as good as being at home, and sitting in traffic for hours to get home is miserable.  At the end of the day, moving 60,000+ people out of one location at one time is going to be a nightmare for roads.

Regarding walkable communities, that's what makes it PERFECT being where it is.  It's a little over a mile from downtown, there are buses that shuttle you from Amway to CWS.  We get the benefits without ruining walkability, while still being close enough to walk if you dont want to drive or wait for the shuttle.

[spenser1058]

Bianchi says Hula Bowl may be on its way back to Orlando - permanently. If it is, he suggests renaming it the “Humidity Bowl”…

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/mike-bianchi-commentary/os-sp-hula-bowl-ucf-orlando-mike-bianchi-commentary-20220810-66qzunn4yvd7zisfunplurbqqa-story.html

From The Sentinel 

[jrs2]

19 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

Bianchi says Hula Bowl may be on its way back to Orlando - permanently. If it is, he suggests renaming it the “Humidity Bowl”…

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/mike-bianchi-commentary/os-sp-hula-bowl-ucf-orlando-mike-bianchi-commentary-20220810-66qzunn4yvd7zisfunplurbqqa-story.html

From The Sentinel 

I hope that happens.  I could care less about the NFL or the Hula Bowl, but it's another event that brings people to Orlando...and in this case...downtown.  Now if they can calendar it with another event they may be able to get a few room nights out of it...

[Tim3167]

The article say the game is being played at the UCF stadium.