The University of South Florida (USF) has delayed a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of its new on-campus stadium due to the ongoing recovery effort following Hurricane Milton.
USF’s main campus is located in Tampa, which was severely impacted by the hurricane last week.
The university had been planning on holding a groundbreaking ceremony for its stadium this week to coincide with its annual Homecoming Week celebration. Both the ceremony and Homecoming Week celebrations have now been postponed until next month.
Homecoming Week activities will now take place from November 4-9, with the stadium groundbreaking ceremony scheduled for 3:30pm on November 8.
USF announced its original groundbreaking date back in April. The university also selected Manhattan Construction Company, H.J. Russell & Company and DuCon, LLC as the construction manager for its new stadium.
Populous is leading the design of the new $340m (£260m/€312m) stadium, which is scheduled to open in the autumn of 2027. The venue will serve as the home of USF’s American football team, the Bulls, which currently play at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Raymond James Stadium.
USF’s board of trustees approved a plan for financing the estimated 35,000-seat facility back in June 2023. The first renderings were released last December, with two more images released in April.
Hurricane Milton hit the Tampa Bay area last Wednesday, with the storm causing major damage to Tropicana Field, home of Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays. The stadium had large parts of its roof ripped away by winds of over 100 miles per hour.
