FIU Stadium (or “The Cage”) is the stadium for the FIU Golden Panthers football team, and is located in Miami, Florida. The facility opened in 1995, replacing nearby Tamiami Field, which was used for many years as a university recreation field and by local high school football teams. When FIU began its football program in 2002, FIU Stadium became the home venue for the team and has remained that way since. As of the 2008 season, FIU Stadium is solely used by the football team as the FIU track and field teams no longer use the facility.

FIU Stadium underwent an expansion beginning in March 2007, and completed in September 2008, for the 2008 football season. Upon completion, seating capacity was increased to 20,000 seats, including 1,400 club seats. In addition, the stadium has a 6,500 square-foot Panther Club on the ground level, an upper concourse for additional fan seating and concessions, a new press box, new lighting, a jumbotron scoreboard, new coaches’ offices, locker rooms, expansion of the weight room, and 19 suites. Seating includes chairback seats and bench seating, all with backrests for fan convenience. Additional phases of construction will include a student support complex and will bring the stadium’s seating capacity to approximately 45,000 by the 2011 football season.

With the removal of the track, the artificial turf field now meets the dimensions prescribed by FIFA for a full soccer field. FIU is teaming up with Miami businessman R. Marcelo Claure and Spanish soccer team FC Barcelona to bring a Major League Soccer franchise back to Miami.

The new stadium opened for FIU’s 2008 football season against the South Florida Bulls. For the 2007 season, the Golden Panthers played in the Miami Orange Bowl, with the final college game of the stadium’s history being won by FIU 38-19 on December 1, 2007 against North Texas.

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