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Citrus Bowl History
The Citrus Bowl in Orlando is one of college football's signature events, a burst of Florida sunshine on New Year's Day. The game, traditionally played on January 1, usually pits an SEC team against a representative from the Big Ten.
The event was born in 1947 as the Tangerine Bowl, with the Catawba Indians beating the Maryville Scots, 31-6. The initial sponsors were members of a local Elks Lodge who each put up $100 to cover expenses. Proceeds went to the Harry Anna Children's Hospital, which is why the bowl would come to be known as the "Little Bowl with the Big Heart." The stadium, built in 1936 under the auspices of the Works Progress Administration, accommodated just 8,900 fans.
Today the stadium — now called Camping World Stadium — is a fully modern, 65,000-capacity facility, and the Citrus Bowl is a centerpiece of the bowl season. While it lacks the pageantry of the Rose Bowl on the other side of the country, the game is rich with the sport's history, both bad and good. The unbeaten 1955 Hillsdale College football team refused an invitation to the bowl after officials said the school's four black players would not be allowed to play. Likewise, University of Buffalo players in 1958 elected to skip the game because its two black players would have been kept off the field. But by 1966, the color line had been lifted, and Morgan State became the first historically black college to play in the bowl. The Bears went on to beat the West Chester Golden Rams, 14-6.
Other memorable games include the 1996 Citrus Bowl, in which fourth-ranked Tennessee beat fourth-ranked Ohio State, 20-14, and the 1969 edition, in which Toledo hung 56 points on Davidson, a bowl record that stands today.
The Capital One plastic bags were placed on the seats and since there was an early rain the seats underneath were wet at game time. The bags also generate a lot of trash. The seats had a good bit of bird droppings on them, and were dirty as well- the stadium didn't seem all that well maintained. Having a stadium shuttle is a good feature. I went because of the teams playing.
Getting to and from the game was a little bit of a hassle on the shuttle, the shuttle bus driver didn't seem to know where to go or who was in charge. Fanfest was fun to see the teams, bands and coaches...fun games and good food. The big shock was the food prices once in the stadium! Ridiculous! $4.00 for a bottle of Diet Coke????? Come on! The stadium was VERY clean and the staff was very helpful. I did notice there were no hotdog vendor's selling in the stands. This was my first Bowl game, and I would recommend the Capital One Bowl to fans who have not been here before.
Awesomeexperience , great parking, stadium and overall atmosphere.
Game was great but sat in the Upright Club. Food adequate, staff was very nice, not a wide choice of liquor(not big Jack Daniels fan) and seats not very good. Tents was good and bathroom facilities were also good. Back to the food, thought selection of foods was not very varied enough and taco meat okay but carving station meat had very little taste. I did enjoy myself and probably would sit there again but the quality, in my opinion, of food and drink could have been better.
We won. That was the best. Food was bad and cold but overpriced by a lot! The little pep squads from the high schools were great. And thank you for playing "Sandstorm". All the citrus bowl staff were the friendliest and most helpful we've seen.
What a great place to watch a football game! I was impressed with the fans from both sides of the ball. The facilities are in need of some repair but all in all it was a great week of fun and festivities!
Ballgame resulted in a win for the Gamecocks over an outclassed Nebraska team
The organizafion of the bowl was effective. Security was well controlled as well as the medical facilities. With this said, the food was rather expensive. Additionally, my section 120 we could not drink alcoholic beverages and that was a very negative experience. Otherwise, we had a good time and was an awesome bowl.
My problem was not with the event itself. According to the Ticketmaster web site, I thought the "Fan Fest" ticket came with a hot dog and a drink of some kind but there was no indication of that offer on the tickets or with the insert in the ticket envelope. The concession people in the stadium must have thought I was nuts when I asked them about it.
It was awesome ! My wife and I had a great time, And our two year old son was cheering non -stop
All good, just wish it was made clear that we were sitting with opposition fans.
It was a beautiful day, and great seats for a good game created a very nice experience. This year you produced a good halftime show and the Liberty Singers doing the National Anthem is always a special treat. Thank you for not wasting money on some teenage idol for halftime. I do wish you would have spent the money you saved on halftime to improve the painfully blown speakers in you jumbo-tron. Your extremely poor jumbo-tron management, trying for volume with junk for equipment combined with terrible decision making on timing and the absence of replays on review plays is just plain embarrassing. For the past three years, I have been seated next to people from out of town that just do not understand why their home stadium provides such a fan friendly scoreboard experience, and the Capital One Bowl looks like it is being run by someone that has never done it before. You need to send your scoreboard manager to sit next to an SEC scoreboard manager for a minimum of 5 games next fall, and then you need to LISTEN to the suggestions for improvement brought back.
My husband and I found it incredibly easy to park and we caught a golf cart to the stadium. Food is priced too high but we ate anyway. (soda, too). This is the first year we didn't have trouble with drunken fools. They have managed to ruin several of our outings. I do think the reason things were not as wild is because of the people and where they are from. I will be happy when the day arrives when alcohol will no longer be available at sporting events. We walked back to the parking garage and must say it was nice walk. We were able to get out of the garage quickly and home in no time. I was happy to see and hear that most of the people working that day were friendly. I like that and it makes me proud to be from Orlando.
everything was awesome except the food and beverage prices in the stadium. $20 for a sandwich and beverage when you are not allowed to bring in your own is a little, no alot, rediculous
Loved the game. However, after the game, fans invited on the field but security wouldnt let us. Also should have signs out to get to shuttle bus. Walked several blocks to get right place to board shuttle.
Gamecocks won! The pep rally was very well organized and the crowd was electric.
We had a good time at the game and enjoyed our seats. Had a great view of everything. I only have two complaints/recommendations. First, the video board and score board need to be updated. More importantly, there needs to be more variety in the concessions area. The food was ok (albeit expensive, $10 for 4 chicken fingers and fries) but there needs to be more items for those not wanting to purchase an entire meal. Maybe add popcorn, peanuts, etc to the concessions.
Seats were amazing and tickets arrived on time. Parking pass was slow but we recovered nicely thanks to technology. Would do this again in a heart beat. Box seats in the end-zone with buffet and open bar was most excellent. Food was sufficient in quality and quantity. Everyone (both sides) was in good spirits. Great time. Hospitality by the event staff was outstanding and the parking was close with abundant restrooms.
Great seats for the price, Our team won!!!Go cocks!!!
My first time at the Citrus Bowl. Definitely not my last! Gamecocks won the game even though the Huskers put up a valiant effort. The Citrus Bowl was a great place to watch a game.