TAMPA, Fla. — Grant Robbins loves playing ultimate frisbee on Sycamore Fields, which is located in a quiet corner of the University of South Florida’s campus.
But as much as the sophomore enjoys it, he would be happier to see that area of campus replaced by something that’s been talked about for years: an on-campus stadium for USF’s football team.
“We would have a lot more fans,” he said. “Let me tell you that. Our student section would be tight. The student section [when Alabama visited USF this season] — it would be like triple that.”
In fact, there is a plan to build a stadium there.
Earlier this year, the USF Board of Trustees approved a plan for financing an estimated 35,000-seat on-campus facility costing $340 million.
Now, that plan is experiencing some changes.
According to a document USF fan account “The Live Oak” posted on X, “the design/build contract has been terminated” and now, the project needs a new construction team.
In a statement, the university downplayed the termination. USF spokesperson Althea Johnson said the termination happened because the university is switching from a “design/build project delivery model to a construction management model," which should give it more control over the project’s design and cost.
“The on-campus stadium project continues to move forward, and nothing has changed regarding the cost or the university’s commitment to the project,” she added.
According to the document “The Live Oak” posted on X, even though the project lost its construction team, its architect — a firm called Populous — is still committed to the project.
“Significant design effort has been completed to the satisfaction of the university,” the firm wrote. “It is in the university’s best interest to maintain the Populous relationship for timing, continuous work product and knowledge purposes.”
For context about what the project’s changes mean, ABC Action News spoke to former sports executive Pat Williams, who co-founded the Orlando Magic.
According to Williams, losing the construction company originally involved in the project isn’t necessarily a setback for USF since so many others are available.
Williams said USF fans should be comforted by the fact that Populous, the architect, is still involved. He said he is working with Populous in an effort to bring an MLB team to Orlando and calls the Missouri-based company “the number one sports architectural firm in the world.”
“I would have no concern whatsoever as long as Populous is riding shotgun,” Williams said.
Whatever happens in the coming months, Robbins just hopes USF finally accomplishes what he and others have dreamt of for years and builds an on-campus stadium.
“So, right now, it’s supposed to be scheduled to be built by 2026,” he said. “It would be my senior year. So hopefully, they get finished by then.”
USF plans to share more details about the recent changes at a Board of Trustees meeting on Tuesday.
