The City of Orlando has officially initiated a massive $400 million capital improvement project at Camping World Stadium, a strategic infrastructure play with a strict, immovable deadline. The immediate catalyst for this massive mobilization is the city’s aggressive bid to host the Jacksonville Jaguars for the 2027 NFL season. Because the Jaguars’ home stadium (EverBank Stadium) will be undergoing its own major renovations, the franchise needs a temporary, NFL-compliant home. By pushing this $400 million package through now, funded largely by the Tourist Development Tax (TDT), Orlando is engineering the facility to meet stringent NFL facility standards. Beyond the immediate NFL relocation, this upgrade is essential to prevent the stadium from losing its marquee annual events—like the Citrus Bowl and Pop-Tarts Bowl—to newer, more modernized venues across the Sun Belt.

Jobsite Impact: Canopy Steel and Premium MEP

Translating the PR promises of an “enhanced fan experience” into jobsite realities reveals a highly complex structural and MEP (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) overhaul. The centerpiece of the renovation is the construction of a massive structural canopy designed to cover the seating bowl. This is not a simple awning; erecting a cantilevered steel roof over an existing, operational stadium requires immense heavy-lift cranes and deep micropile foundation reinforcements to handle the new wind and dead loads. For the fans, this translates to crucial weather shielding and a significant reduction in the extreme Florida thermal load during early-season games.

Internally, the project demands a total gutting and expansion of the lower-bowl concourses. The construction team must execute major plumbing and electrical upgrades to support a massive increase in point-of-sale concession nodes and modernized restroom facilities, addressing the stadium’s historic bottleneck issues. Furthermore, the “back-of-house” infrastructure is receiving a complete overhaul; locker rooms, media centers, and medical facilities are being expanded and re-wired to meet the exact square-footage and high-bandwidth data requirements mandated by the NFL and the College Football Playoff committee.

Camping World Stadium Renovation: Factsheet

Project Name: Camping World Stadium 2026-2027 Renovation

Location: Orlando, Florida

Owner: City of Orlando (Orlando Venues)

Construction Team:

Architect/Design: [HNTB / Populous – Pending confirmation of current phase lead]

General Contractor/CM: [Barton Malow / Gilbane joint venture typically handles CWS phases]

Total Investment: ~$400 Million (Funded via Orange County Tourist Development Tax)

Key Structural Additions:

Weather Canopy: Large-scale steel cantilever roof over seating areas.

Concourse Expansion: Widening of the 100-level concourse; total MEP replacement.

Premium Seating: Addition of new field-level club spaces and upgraded luxury suites.

Back-of-House: Expansion of locker rooms and media facilities to NFL specifications.

Construction Timeline:

Start: February 2026

Target Completion: Summer 2027 (Prior to NFL Preseason)

Strategic Driver: Hosting the Jacksonville Jaguars (2027 season) and securing future College Football Playoff bids.

A Sprint to the 2027 Preseason

Because the facility must remain operational for its contracted winter bowl games, the construction timeline is heavily phased, operating on a compressed schedule to ensure total completion before August 2027. This rapid mobilization requires a peak workforce of hundreds of skilled tradespeople, including structural steel ironworkers, commercial electricians, and concrete specialists. For the local Orlando economy, this influx of TDT capital directly supports the regional heavy construction sector. Once the steel is erected and the suites are finished, Camping World Stadium will shed its legacy constraints, transforming into a modernized, multi-purpose venue capable of temporarily housing an NFL franchise and permanently securing Orlando’s status as a premier destination for mega-events—a tier of high-stakes sports infrastructure similarly advancing in Nashville, where the Tennessee Titans celebrate the topping out of their $2.1 billion Nissan Stadium. With the final steel beam placed, crews are now shifting focus to enclosing the 60,000-seat venue with a translucent ETFE roof, keeping the massive project on track for a February 2027 opening.