Rob Higgins, the University of South Florida's CEO of Athletics, raised his voice slightly Wednesday morning as he gave hard hat-wearing Tampa Bay area media members an on-site progress update on USF's game-changing on-campus stadium and football operations center.
"Usually, when you're in interviews like this, you don't want any background noise, but we welcome all of the background noise, the sights and sounds of this incredible project,'' Higgins said over the din of construction activity, the beeping of vehicles, the incessant drilling and hammering. "To finally have a home of our own is really special.''
Kickoff is about 15 months away — the 35,000-seat stadium's first event is scheduled to be the Bulls taking on Louisville on Sept. 4, 2027 — and Higgins said everything is on schedule. Workers usually begin before sunrise and knock off in time to witness the area's beautiful sunset. On a typical day, the shift runs from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. On this day, approximately 40 workers arrived around 2 a.m. to begin pouring a large concrete slab that hold the north side concessions and bathroom facilities. The number of workers on site swelled to around 250 later that morning.
Bulls head coach Brian Hartline has spoken often about the beginning of his workday, when he usually spots the stadium's workers wearing headlamps, a necessity for the pre-dawn hours. The clinging and clanging made for a daily soundtrack during spring football practices and it will continue through the fall as the stadium continues to take shape.
As of Wednesday, stadium workers had invested 375,890 man-hours in construction on the site.
Nearly 5,000 tons of structural steel — just shy of 10-million pounds total — has been utilized to this point. The economic impact can already be felt across the state and the region. For the myriad of Florida companies involved in the project, the contractual value of the work has surpassed $210-million (with about $155-million of that going to companies in the Greater Tampa Bay area.).
Currently, structural-steel areas are being assembled in the West End Zone, site of the 8,000-seat, stand-alone section dedicated to USF students. That's appropriate because Higgins said USF students are the project's greatest natural resource.
"Here at USF, it all starts with the students,'' Higgins said.
One of the beams to be included in the student section was recently displayed on campus and students were encouraged to sign it. Higgins said the expectation was that about 500 or so students would do so. Over a 72-hour period, there were more than 5,000 student signatures applied to the beam, making for a symbolic piece of the stadium that will signify USF student passion and emotional investment in the new campus landmark.
Higgins also spoke excitedly about what he described as one of his favorite amenities — the East Field Club section, where fans can cheer on and high-five players as the Bulls path to take the field will run through the club. There's also the Sideline Club, which can accommodate about 1,000 fans. Along the South Tower, stretching from end zone-to-end zone, there's the longest rooftop bar in the state of Florida – an open air, covered venue that will sit atop the tower and provide spectacular views of the game and surrounding area.
It all adds up to what Higgins described as "the best atmosphere in all of college football.''
The complex also includes the 150,000-square-foot Tampa General Hospital Center for Athletic Excellence, which, according to Higgins, includes "everything for our student-athletes to be successful.'' The walls are going up on the complex that will feature such amenities as a state-of-the art weight room, sports medicine clinic, locker room, coaches offices, team meeting spaces, a barbershop and a DJ recording studio.
Higgins said he's appreciative of "all of the different teams that are working around the clock to make this happen'' and "all of the different people that are pouring into this project, literally and figuratively.''
There will be more facility updates — and undoubtedly, more visual evidence of progress — along with the debut of a website in June that features real-time nuggets to show how it's looking more and more like a real stadium.
"We couldn't be more fired up to have this home that we've waited on our entire lives,'' Higgins said. "It's helping to change the narrative and the sentiment around this community in a big way.''
Each day, the drumbeat gets a little louder. It's a stadium project that's making some real noise all around USF — and beyond.
–#GoBulls–
