USF announces construction management team for football stadium project

Plans for USF’s new football stadium have taken a step forward with the selection of Manhattan Construction Company, H.J. Russell & Company and DuCon as the construction manager for the project.

The team has previous professional stadium experience including more than $1.2 billion in projects with USF’s design team, Populous. Some of the other projects include football stadiums for the Dallas Cowboys, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech and ongoing renovations at Florida State. Manhattan also provided management services for renovations at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa in 2016.

“Choosing a construction management team is big step forward in our process to deliver a world-class stadium that will transform the future of our university and the on-campus experience,” said USF Vice President of Athletics Michael Kelly and USF Foundation CEO Jay Stroman, the co-chairs of the stadium planning committee in a joint statement.

“After conducting a thorough review of each proposal we received for the project, we’re excited to get started on our partnership with a team that brings a proven track record of success in Manhattan Construction Company, H.J. Russell & Company, and DuCon, LLC.”

Among the projects highlighted by DuCon on the company’s website is a $32 million new construction project at Bartow High School. Atlanta-based H.J. Russell & Company includes Mercedes-Benz Stadium and the Atlanta Hawks practice facility in its portfolio as well as construction management for the UNC-Charlotte football stadium build, a 15,000-seat stadium.

USF’s on-campus stadium is scheduled to open in time for the 2027 college football season. The university expects to host six to seven football games each fall in the facility and also use the stadium to host university and private events including seasonal concerts, sporting events and festivals.

The stadium is planned to be a 35,000-seat venue. Playing in Raymond James Stadium during the 2023 season, the Bulls averaged 37,944 attendees for six home games, though the average was skewed by a game against Alabama that sold 65,138. In the other five games, USF averaged 32,505 attendees.

In 2022, the university opened a new indoor practice and performance facility with a full-size field, strength and conditioning center, nutrition center and player lounge.

USF is coming off a 7-6 campaign in Alex Golesh’s first season as head coach. The seven wins were the most for the program since 2018. It was the fifth winning season since the Bulls left the Big East for the American Conference in 2013.