FIU Stadium

"The Cage"
Former names	FIU Community Stadium (1995-2001)
Location	11200 SW 8th Street, Miami, FL 33199, Modesto A. Maidique Campus
Coordinates	25°45′9″N 80°22′40″W / 25.7525°N 80.37778°W / 25.7525; -80.37778Coordinates: 25°45′9″N 80°22′40″W / 25.7525°N 80.37778°W / 25.7525; -80.37778
Broke ground	1994
Opened	1995
Expanded	September 2008
Owner	Florida International University
Operator	Florida International University
Surface	FieldTurf
Construction cost	$54 million USD
Architect	Rossetti Architects
General Contractor	Odebrecht Construction
Capacity	20,000 (45,000 by 2013) 1,400 (club seats)
Tenants
FIU Golden Panthers (NCAA) (1995-present) Miami FC (USL) (2009- )

FIU Stadium (or "The Cage") is the stadium for the FIU Golden Panthers football team, and is located in Miami, Florida. The facility opened in 1995, replacing nearby Tamiami Field, which was used for many years 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. As of the 2008 season, FIU Stadium is solely used by the football team as the FIU track and field teams no longer use the facility.

[edit] Expansion history

FIU Stadium underwent an expansion beginning in March 2007, and completed in September 2008, for the 2008 football season. Upon completion, seating capacity was increased to 20,000 seats, including 1,400 club seats. In addition, the stadium has a 6,500-square-foot (600 m²) Panther Club on the ground level, an upper concourse for additional fan seating and concessions, a new press box, new lighting, a jumbotron scoreboard, new coaches' offices, locker rooms, expansion of the weight room, and 19 suites. Seating includes 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 2011 football season.

With the removal of the track, the artificial turf field now meets the dimensions prescribed by FIFA for a full soccer field. FIU was cited as a location for a possible Major League Soccer expansion franchise, but the deal for a new team in Miami fell through. It has been chosen to host games for the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the biennial competition of North America and Central America's national soccer teams, on July 10, 2009.

The new stadium opened for FIU’s 2008 football season against the South Florida Bulls on September 20, which they lost by a surprisingly-close 17-9 before a crowd of 19,004. Their first home win in the new stadium came on October 11, their next home game, against Sun Belt rival Middle Tennessee State, 31-21. They went 3-2 at home in the first year at the rebuilt stadium.

For the 2007 season, the Golden Panthers played in the Miami Orange Bowl, with the final college game of the stadium's history being won by FIU 38-19 on December 1, 2007 against North Texas. It was their only win that year, going 1-11 overall.

[edit] Stadium expansion

FIU Stadium under construction in November 2007.

FIU fans at a 2008 football game at FIU Stadium.

The following are planned expansions to be completed through four separate construction phases starting from 2007 to 2013.^[1]

[edit] Phase one: September 2008 (complete)

• Seating capacity to 20,000
• 1,400 club seats
• 6,500 square-foot Stadium Club
• Upper concourse

• New lighting
• New coaches offices
• Expanded locker rooms
• Expanded weight room
• 19 suites

[edit] Phase two: July 2009 (complete)

• 2-story R. Kirk Landon Football Fieldhouse overlooking stadium

FIU named the new two-story, 50,000 square-foot headquarters of its football program after trustee R. Kirk Landon, in appreciation of his $1 million donation to Golden Panthers football.

The hub of the fieldhouse is a 14,000-square-foot weight room that all FIU student-athletes will use for strength and conditioning. The facility also includes 8,500 square feet of locker rooms, an equipment room, full-service athletic training facility, ticket office, merchandise area and an FIU Athletics Hall of Fame.^[2]

[edit] Phase three: 2011-2012 (planned)

• Seating increase and expansion of northern side of stadium for student section
• Addition of a 100,000-square-foot (9,300 m²) Student Services Complex (2010 football season). Includes offices for Admissions, Bursars, Housing, Financial Aid as well as study halls and conference auditoriums.

[edit] Phase four: 2013 (planned)

Phase four of construction to FIU Stadium is contingent upon fanbase growth and demand. Projections call for construction around 2013, but could be sooner or later depending on the continued growth of FIU Football.

• Seating capacity will increase to 45,000.
• Expanded upper concourse
• Construction of additional luxury suites and club seats
• FIU Alumni Center
• Restaurant overlooking the field
• Main Street FIU
• 2-story expansion of fieldhouse

[edit] Trivia

• The stadium is also often referred to as "The Cage" by the FIU student body and administration.

• The largest crowd to ever witness a game at the stadium was 21,010 on November 27, 2004 against Florida A&M University, which FIU won 40-23.

• The Stadium is the southernmost NCAA Division I football stadium on the American mainland. Only the Hawaii Warriors's Aloha Stadium is further south.

[edit] See also

• Golden Panthers
  

  

  Miami FC plays the Montreal Impact during their first home game at FIU Stadium in 2009.
• Golden Panthers Football
• Shula Bowl
• University Park Stadium (FIU Baseball)
• U.S. Century Bank Arena (FIU Basketball)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• FIU Stadium Construction- Official Website
• FIU Facilities Planning & Construction Site
• Florida International University - Official website

v • d • e FIU Golden Panthers football Playing field FIU Stadium (Miami, Florida) Coaches Don Strock (2002-2006) • Mario Cristobal (2007-present) • Other coaches Seasons 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • Future schedules Conference affiliation Sun Belt Conference Rivalries Florida Atlantic Florida International University • Miami, Florida