Stadium opening pushed back to 2027: ‘We don’t want a Bounce House. We want our house.’

TAMPA — USF football fans will have to wait at least one more year to start attending Bulls games on campus.

USF Foundation CEO Jay Stroman said supply chain issues drive the timeline. Those issues mean the stadium cannot open in 2026 as the Bulls have planned. Instead, 2027 is the new target date. The football training facility component, however, is expected to be ready in ’26.

Board of trustees chairperson Will Weatherford downplayed the delay. He said some stadiums have been built faster, but the Bulls want to do it right.

“We don’t want a Bounce House,” Weatherford said, referring to the stadium of USF’s rival, UCF. “We want our house.”

The delay will not affect USF’s lease at Raymond James Stadium; it runs through the ’27 season.

Those comments came during Tuesday’s board of trustees meeting.

He said the initial design phase is finished, with renderings expected to be presented later in the meeting. That phase finished after more than 60 interviews with stakeholders like fans and alumni.

The Bulls have planned on a 35,000seat, $340 million stadium. Athletic director Michael Kelly said Tuesday that it will be designed to add 10,000 more seats, if future expansion is warranted. The budget remains unchanged.

A few other details were also unveiled or confirmed Tuesday. Kelly said the field will run east-west instead of north-south. That configuration will provide more shade during noon games. The playing surface is expected to be grass, not artificial turf.

Stroman also announced a $6 million donation for the creation of the USF Federal Credit Union Champions Way. The Bulls have raised $43 million of their $50 million goal.

Earlier in the meeting, trustees approved a $30 million sale of eight broadband licenses to T-Mobile. Those proceeds will go to the stadium project.