An engineering report indicated that UCF's football stadium is in need of repairs that could cost up to $14M, after discovering that the facility is "rusted and corroded, with some 'immediate life safety concerns,'" according to a front-page piece by Mary Shanklin of the ORLANDO SENTINEL. UCF officials said that they have "fixed the worst problems and are weighing long-term plans." The report, contracted by the university and completed in August, found Spectrum Stadium’s "rust problems have affected the structural integrity of the 45,000-seat venue" on UCF’s main campus. The report said that corrosion "affects more than 80,000 square feet of the stadium." The facility has "become so rusted that an overhaul could cost about a quarter" of the stadium’s $54M price tag. Engineers hired by UCF said that reasons for the premature aging lie "mostly with poorly coated steel." The report shows that UCF is likely to "undertake repairs during the off-season months of February through July." The effort could take "two to four years, depending on how much the school spends and whether the stadium life extends another 10 years or 20 years" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 10/13).
