Riccardo Silva Stadium
| Riccardo Silva Stadium | |
|---|---|
| The cage | |
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| The FIU Stadium in September 2008 | |
| Earlier names | |
|
FIU Community Stadium (1995–2001) |
|
| Data | |
| place | 11200 Southwest 8th Street University Park , Florida 33199
 |
| Coordinates | 25 ° 45 '9 " N , 80 ° 22' 40" W |
| owner | Florida International University |
| operator | Florida International University |
| start of building | 1994 |
| opening | 1995 |
| Renovations | 2001, 2007–2012 |
| surface | Artificial turf (FieldTurf) |
| costs | 54 million US dollars |
| architect |
Rossetti Architects BEA Architects |
| capacity | 20,000 seats |
| Societies) | |
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| Events | |
The Riccardo Silva Stadium (or "The Cage" for short ) is the stadium of the college football team of the FIU Golden Panthers , the sports department at Florida International University . The sports facility is located in CDP University Park near Miami , Florida and was opened in 1995 under the name FIU Community Stadium . From 2001 to 2014, the short form FIU Stadium was used . In August 2014, the FIU signed a three-year sponsorship agreement with Orange Bank. The stadium has since been called Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium . Since 2017 the sports facility has been named after Riccardo Silva , co-owner of the soccer franchise Miami FC . It currently offers 20,000 places.
history
After the stadium was planned by Rossetti Architects and the subsequent USD 54 million construction by the construction company Odebrecht in 1994, the FIU Stadium was officially opened in 1995. In the same year, operations at the nearby Tamiami Field were discontinued and a large part of the sports departments located there moved to the new stadium. When Florida International University first established a football team in August 2002, the team was assigned the FIU Stadium as its home ground. Shortly beforehand, the number of seats was increased from 7,000 to 21,010.
Renovation (2007–2012)
In March 2007, the first steps of the renovation work, which will last until 2012, began, which are divided into four separate sections. Right at the start of the work, the seating capacity was reduced from 21,010 to 20,000 (including club seats).
The first phase of the work was completed in September 2008. In addition to reducing the number of seats and adding 1,400 seats to the newly built “Panthers Club” on the long side of the stadium, this included a number of other expansions. These include a new press box, a new stadium lighting, a JumboTron - Video Wall , new coaches offices, as well as the expansion of the locker rooms and fitness rooms and the construction of 19 suites. Furthermore, attention was paid to the backrests of the individual seats and benches in the stands in order to increase the comfort of the visitors.
After the athletics facilities surrounding the field were removed during the first phase and the entire playing area was equipped with high-quality artificial turf , the university's athletics teams also had to leave the stadium. With the artificial turf and the resulting expandable playing area, the stadium also meets the requirements of FIFA for a full football field. The FIU Stadium was also intended as a venue for an MLS club, but this did not materialize.
The second phase of the renovation work includes the construction of a four-story building from which one can see the entire field. The work started in the beginning of summer 2009 and should be finished in the summer of the same year after the building was built.
The next phase of the renovation from 2010 to 2011 included a further reduction in seating and the expansion of the northern part of the stadium for a student sector. It also includes offices to which accommodation and financial accounting are also connected. In addition, there will be space for study and lecture halls in the almost 9,300 m² complex.
The fourth and last part of the basic renovation, which is expected to be completed by 2012, primarily involves increasing the number of seats by more than double to 45,000. In addition, some smaller new buildings or conversions are planned, such as the construction of an alumni center or the construction of a restaurant on the upper floors from which one can overlook the playing field.
Soccer
After the stadium was commissioned by FIFA after the athletics track had been removed and an artificial turf had been laid, football matches were officially allowed to be played on the field that was previously reserved for football teams only. The Miami FC of the respected as second class USL First Division (USL-1) was the first football club, who was allowed to call the stadium in 2009 as a home.
In addition, “The Cage” was chosen as the venue for games in the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup . On July 10, the two group matches of Group A , Costa Rica against Canada (2: 2) and El Salvador against Jamaica (0: 1), were played in the FIU Stadium . At the CONCACAF Gold Cup 2011 the two preliminary round matches Jamaica against Guatemala (2: 0) and Grenada against Honduras (1: 7) took place in the FIU stadium on June 10th .
Since 2016, the new Miami FC team of the North American Soccer League has been playing at the Riccardo Silva Stadium.
Trivia
- The Riccardo Silva Stadium has only sold out with 21,010 seats since its construction. This happened on November 27, 2004 in the football game against the college football team of Florida A&M University , which the FIU Golden Panthers won 40:23.
- The facility is the southernmost stadium of the " NCAA Division I" on the US mainland. Only the Aloha Stadium , the venue of the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors , the sports department at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa is even further south.
Web links
- Official website of the Florida International University (English)
- The stadium on the site of the FIU sports department (English)
- FIUStadium on collegegridirons.com
- FIU Stadium at weltfussball.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ news.fiu.edu: FIU, Ocean Bank ink deal to name field at FIU Stadium Article from August 6, 2014
- ↑ weltfussball.de: stadium capacity