The city of Orlando is plunging nearly $200 million into the Citrus Bowl, a 68-year old stadium that sorely needed not only a face lift but an entirely new skeleton.
At present, the Citrus Bowl hosts the Capital One Bowl on New Year's Day, the Russell Athletic Bowl between Christmas and New Year's, the Florida Citrus Parade in between those games, the Florida Classic between Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman in late November... and that's it. The brand new Cure Bowl launches this December, and the city's MLS franchise plays there as well, but Orlando isn't plunging nearly a quarter of a billion dollars into a stadium with its grandest designs on keeping three bowls and a soccer franchise.
Orlando isn't hosting a Super Bowl without an NFL franchise, but it wants the next best thing - the College Football Playoff Championship. Simply put, that wasn't happening without massive upgrades to the Citrus Bowl.
Even with the new stadium, Orlando faces tough competition for the title game. Tampa is already set to host the 2016 championship in January 2017, and Atlanta figures to be the favorite for the 2018 game. Miami will be in the mix as well.
