After South Florida finishes its game next Saturday against UAB, the Bulls will have only two games remaining in Raymond James Stadium. They have shared a stadium with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for each of their 30 years of playing football, but starting in 2027 the Bulls will have a home of their own on campus.
That's not exactly stop-the-presses news. We've been talking about the new stadium for a while now, and every time you drive by the construction site the view gives you an idea of what a massive project this is.
But it's even more than most people think.
Sure, it will be home to six football games and the women's lacrosse team, but it opens up a world of possibilties for bringing major outside events to the USF campus.
"There's a lot of focus and there should be on the University of South Florida football games themselves. But what the venue unlocks in terms of terms of opportunity across a variety of different sports, a variety of different sports entertainment properties, I think it's truly incredible," CEO of Athletics Rob Higgins said.
"And that's something that we're going to make sure we're really diligent around. We've been already having a tremendous amount of conversations when it comes to what events could make a lot of sense for us. But we want it to be this living, breathing home to so many different sports entertainment properties for many years to come."
Higgins, remember, was a master at bringing big-time events to Tampa when he served as the head of the Tampa Bay Sports Commission.
The 2017 NCAA championship football game came to Raymond James Stadium and another is on the way in 2029. The women's Final Four basketball showdown was here four times. Numerous March Madness first-round matchups. The ACC and SEC men's basketball tournament. The Frozen Four hockey championship. Volleyball Final Four.
And so it goes.
Do you think that will stop just because Higgins is no longer on the Sports Commission? With a track record of proven success in hosting these things, USF -- with Higgins at the helm -- will always be a contender to get its share of championship events.
With the new stadium, USF is likely to explore hosting the NCAA women's lacrosse championship game. Bringing the FCS championship football game here would seem to be a natural. The men's and women's soccer Final Four will be played in Cary, N.C. through 2029, but after that....we'll see. Perhaps some post-season college all-star games could be in the offing.
The experience Higgins has in bidding for and hosting big-time events can move to the next level. The Sports Commission, now under the leadership of Lanness Robinson, will work hand-in-hand with USF to promote the area and, by extension, the university.
"Every time we have an event in town that brings individuals, visitors to our area, all it does is help our destination when it comes to hotel spend, restaurant spend visiting theme parks," Robinson said.
"Every time we have an opportunity to have an event, it's going to have a positive impact on our economy. And so that's why we're, that's why we're in existence and that's why we go about trying to secure events and help support events like this."
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