USF hopes two major gifts will help jumpstart planning, fundraising for football stadium

TAMPA, Fla. - A football stadium on the University of South Florida’s campus is inching closer to reality. There is now a location, a planning committee, and two major gifts to jumpstart fundraising.

A month after Carol and Frank Morsani donated $5 million to USF, Jeff and Penny Vinik are now committing another $5 million toward the on-campus stadium. The hope is these generous contributions inspire others to give, and help make the project a reality.

On the east side of USF’s campus, Sycamore Fields are currently used for intramural sports. But the site has a deeper connection to the university’s football program.

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"It's where the birth of our program took place, where our very first practice just took place back with Coach Leavitt and the first team of players back in 1996 and 1997," said Michael Kelly, the vice president and director of athletics at USF.

Now, a quarter-century later, those same fields have been tapped to be the site of USF’s first on-campus football stadium. Kelly is co-chair of the planning committee developing the plans.

"It’s a very exciting time, a huge project that's going to be transformational here for the University of South Florida," he said.

The USF football team has played home games at Raymond James Stadium since 1998. Something students said they are ready to walk away from.

"It's super cool having that massive stadium, but it is a hassle to have to go all the way over there," said Freshman Dawson Denslow.

The plans to construct a stadium at USF are bigger than the game. Officials said it will also build and enhance the on-campus experience.  

The Sycamore Fields site has space for parking and tailgating, and it sits in the same area as the other athletic facilities, including the USF Football Center indoor practice space that is under construction now. 

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"Rounds out what I think is going to be one of the finest athletic districts of any university in the country. And it's the closest to the biggest majority of student housing and the Greek Village, and also takes makes great use of the green space we have here on our campus," said Kelly.

The project will need one to two years of design followed by a year or two of construction. Kelly said they hope to play their first game in the stadium for the 2026 football season, and these financial commitments from the Morsani's and the Vinik's are the first step in getting there.

"They're obviously putting their support behind a project they believe in," Kelly said.

A budget plan and site plan is expected to be presented to the USF Board of Trustees at their June meeting. That is when we will have a better idea of how much this new stadium could cost and how long it might take to become a reality.