Pitbull Stadium is the home football venue for the FIU Panthers on the campus of Florida International University in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida. The 20,000-seat stadium has worn several names since it opened in 1995, but its 2024 rebrand made headlines nationwide for an unusual reason: it became the first college football stadium in the country named after a recording artist.
Miami-born rapper Pitbull (Armando Christian Pérez) struck a five-year, roughly $6 million naming-rights agreement with FIU in August 2024, putting his name on the field his hometown Panthers play on. The deal also gave him naming rights to the stadium’s club level, end zone concourse, and student section, continuing a long run of corporate and donor-driven renames for the facility.
Stats at a Glance
- Team(s): FIU Panthers football; Miami FC (soccer, select seasons)
- Location: Miami (unincorporated Miami-Dade County), Florida
- Opened: September 24, 1995
- Capacity: 20,000
- Surface: FieldTurf
- Notable fact: First U.S. college football stadium named after a recording artist
From FIU Stadium to Pitbull Stadium
The venue started life in 1995 as FIU Community Stadium, a modest 7,500-seat facility built for about $3 million. A major expansion completed in 2008 rebuilt most of the structure and pushed capacity toward its current 20,000 seats, and the stadium has carried several names along the way: Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium, Riccardo Silva Stadium (honoring a longtime athletics donor), and FIU Stadium again before the 2024 Pitbull rebrand.
The stadium’s biggest crowd on record came on October 1, 2011, when 22,682 fans packed in for an FIU homecoming game against Duke that also featured a Goodyear Blimp flyover.
What Happens There Today
Pitbull Stadium hosts FIU Panthers football each fall and has also been a home pitch for Miami FC’s professional soccer club in multiple seasons. Its FieldTurf surface and Miami location have made it a repeat host for international soccer, including matches during the 2009 and 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup tournaments.
The first game played under the new name was FIU’s matchup with Central Michigan on September 7, 2024, officially opening the Pitbull Stadium era for Panthers football fans.
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Pitbull Stadium FAQs
Why is it called Pitbull Stadium?
Miami rapper Pitbull (Armando Christian Pérez) signed a five-year naming-rights deal with FIU in August 2024, paying roughly $1.2 million per year to put his name on the school’s football stadium.
How big is Pitbull Stadium?
The stadium seats about 20,000 fans, following expansions from its original 7,500-seat capacity when it opened in 1995.
What was Pitbull Stadium called before?
It has previously been known as FIU Community Stadium, Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium, Riccardo Silva Stadium, and FIU Stadium.
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Photo: Evill72 / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.