USF's board of trustees voted unanimously to authorize $200M in debt to build a 35,000-seat stadium north of the practice facilitiesUSF
USF has approved a $340M "budget to give the Bulls a long-awaited on-campus football stadium," according to Matt Baker of the TAMPA BAY TIMES. The school’s board of trustees today "voted unanimously" to authorize $200M in "debt to build a 35,000-seat stadium north of the practice facilities." The other $140M will "come from various sources": $50M in donations through the school’s private fundraising arm, the USF Foundation; $31M from the capital improvement trust fund (which generally pays for facilities through student fees); and $59M from other funds, including the sale of broadband equipment and licenses. The cost is "not expected to be finalized until next spring/summer," when a team of architects and builders led by design firm Populous and construction company Barton Malow will "present a guaranteed maximum price for the project." Until that is approved, USF can "back out of the contract without penalty." But today’s move "all but assures that the Bulls will play football games on campus for the first time in program history with the opening of a new stadium in 2026" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 6/13).
FINDING FUNDS: The TIMES' Baker in a separate piece noted “no public tax dollars nor state funds are included in the proposal.” USF intends to pay down the debt “primarily through the new revenue streams a stadium will provide -- things like concessions, naming rights and donations for premium seats.” In order for the stadium to “fund itself,” that revenue must make $17.8M “more than its added expenses.” Projections from a consulting group show $20.5M in revenue against $5.3M in "expenses during the first year (expected to be 2026)." Factor in the money USF would have "earned from games at their current home," Raymond James Stadium, and the leftover $13M "isn’t enough to cover the debt." For years, schools built “gaudy facilities to try to attract talented recruits,” but that may become "less important" in the coming years now that players can earn money from NIL (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 6/9).
