RE: UCF vs Orlando
Fans and donors at UCF had been pushing for an on-campus stadium since the late 90s and early 2000s. UCF's President, Dr. Hitt, always had the vision of one day having an on-campus stadium but his stance on it was that we'd stay downtown until there was a reason to leave. He loved the relationship between the City of Orlando and UCF. It was indeed a working partnership. UCF would cover rent and expenses, with Orlando covering security and allowing free parking for students.
With increased attendance following our journey up the conference ranks, former AD Steve Orsini tried to negotiate a share of the advertising revenue from the stadium, primarily from the new video board. Florida Citrus Sports, a group that still rubs a lot of UCF people the wrong way, told Orsini that the value of UCF fans in terms of their advertising revenue share was nothing. Zero. That didn't sit too well with Dr. Hitt and that's what primarily got the ball rolling.
At that time, while Buddy Dyer (UF grad) was mayor of Orlando, Richard Crotty (UCF grad) was mayor of Orange County. Orange County is the one who charges the tourist tax so Dyer knew all renovations to the Citrus Bowl would have to go through Crotty first. With talk of UCF moving to their own on-campus facility, Crotty figured the tax money would be better served building the Orlando Magic a new arena to keep them in Orlando. After all, the Citrus Bowl had just recently been passed on by the BCS for a BCS Bowl and the ACC for its title game. This was an awesome time in terms of UCF alums having the city by its balls.
Dyer had a goal of renovating the Citrus Bowl, building a new arena for the Magic, and building a new performing arts center. He stressed that the Citrus Bowl was a better option for UCF than an on-campus stadium. In reality, FCS and the city didn't think UCF could afford to build its own stadium, let alone build it within two years after announcing it. Dr. Hitt, on the other hand, figured both parties could do what they wanted. UCF would build its own stadium and Orlando could renovate the Citrus Bowl. He didn't think one needed to necessarily hinge on the other. FCS, who was the one who belittled UCF fans, never stopped using UCF as a political selling point as to why they needed the funds to renovate the stadium. Funny how things work. Pimp UCF and its fans to appeal to your audience when you need to but ****-talk them behind close doors.
For perspective, UCF had lost its last 4 games of the 2003 season, lost all 11 games of the 2004 season, and lost the first 2 games of the 2005 season. The perception of the program wasn't necessarily at an all-time high around town. But Dr. Hitt always had the vision of what UCF could become and never let up. And with a growing number of powerful UCF alums both locally and in the state legislature, UCF was in a position to take advantage of the situation. State Reps David Simmons and Lee Constantine (both UCF grads) helped make the point that UCF was much more important than the Citrus Bowl.
During a road game at Marshall, their AD showed UCF's AD a new endzone expansion they had recently completed. Our AD was shocked to hear they completed it for about $2.5 million. This led to more research and pitches which eventually led to UCF's official announcement that they would build an on-campus stadium. Dr. Hitt no longer wanted to be a tenant. FCS had the gall to still try to woo UCF back. Backhandedly, of course, saying that UCF playing in a nice and renovated Citrus Bowl would be better than the city having two mediocre football stadiums.
Fast-forward to now. UCF's on-campus stadium has done wonders for the program. Since announcing that a stadium would be built on UCF's campus and through the past 7 seasons of playing in it, UCF has won 4 Division Titles, 3 Conference Titles, played in 6 bowl games including a BCS Bowl, and finished in the Top 25 twice including a Top 10 finish. How many of each accomplishment did UCF have prior to the stadium announcement? Zero.
Between 2007 and 2010, Dr. Hitt managed to build a football stadium, a basketball arena, and a performing arts center on UCF's campus. On the other hand, Buddy Dyer has completed just one since announcing his goal nearly 10 years ago. This should give you an idea as to the political clout Dr. Hitt has in Central Florida.
This quote from a 2011 article in the Orlando Sentinel said it best:
"Now, it seems, the city needs UCF more than UCF needs the city."
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