FIU STADIUM

'FIU Stadium' (or '"The Cage"') is the American football stadium for the Florida International University college team, and is located in Miami, Florida. It is primarily used for American football although it sometimes is also used by the track and field teams, serving as the home venue of the Golden Panthers. The facility opened in 1995 and for many years was used as a university recreation field and by local high school football teams. When FIU began its football program in 2002, FIU Stadium became the home venue for the team and has remained that way since. Today, FIU Stadium is solely used by the Golden Panthers football team and up until 2006, the FIU track and field teams.
Since March 2007, the FIU Stadium is undergoing an expansion to be finished for the 2008 football season. The expansions include an increased seating capacity to 23,500, 1,400 club seats, 6,500 square-foot Panther Club, an upper concourse, a new press box, new lighting, a jumbotron scoreboard, new coaches offices, locker rooms, expansion of the weight room, and 19 suites. Seating will include chairback seats and bench seating, all with backrests for fan convenience. Additional phases of construction will include a student support complex and will bring the stadium’s seating capacity to approximately 45,000 by the 2010 football season.
The new stadium is set to open for FIU’s 2008 football season against the University of South Florida. After construction is finished, it will be the only Division I on-campus football stadium south of Orlando in Florida. For the 2007 season, the Golden Panthers will temporarily play in the Miami Orange Bowl.

Contents

Stadium expansion

2008 Football season

2010 Football season

Trivia

See also

External links

Stadium expansion

Below are listed the expansions to be done and ready by both the 2008 and 2010 football seasons.

2008 Football season

★ Seating capacity to 23,500

★ 1,400 club seats

★ 6,500 square-foot Panther Club

★ Upper concourse

★ New press box

★ New lighting

★ Jumbotron scoreboard

★ New coaches offices

★ Expanded locker rooms

★ Expanded weight room

★ 19 suites

2010 Football season

★ Seating capacity to 45,000

★ 100-000 Square-foot Student Services Complex (2009 football season)

★ Expanded upper concourse

★ Construction of additional suites

★ Construction of additional club seats

Trivia

★ The stadium is also known as the "The Cage" by FIU students.

★ The largest crowd to ever witness a game at the stadium was 17,314 on August 29, 2002 in FIU's inaugural football game against Saint Peter's College, which FIU won 27-3.

★ Until the end of the 2006 football season, FIU was the only university in the State of Florida south of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida to play their home football games on campus. Beginning with the 2007 season, this distinction will belong to the University of Central Florida Knights, who will begin play in the on-campus Bright House Networks Stadium while FIU plays at the Orange Bowl for one season. In 2008 once the Golden Panthers move back to FIU Stadium after the stadium's expansion is complete, the school will be the only university south of Orlando to play their home football games on campus.

See also

★ Golden Panthers

★ Golden Panthers Football

★ Shula Bowl

★ University Park Stadium (FIU Baseball)

★ Pharmed Arena (FIU Basketball)

External links

★ FIU Stadium Construction- Official Website

★ FIU Stadium Seating Chart

★ FIU Facilities Planning & Construction Site