A Tribute to 20 Years of the Bounce House

Highlights

• UCF opens the 20th season of Acrisure Bounce House when the football team hosts Bethune-Cookman on Thursday, Sept. 3, at 7 p.m.

• Longtime UCF Athletics and university administrator David Hansen, who was responsible for executing the stadium operational plan to bring game day to life on campus for the first time in 2007, reflects on the impact of Acrisure Bounce House.

• The football stadium became an anchor for what has evolved into the university's entertainment and retail district Kenneth G. Dixon Athletics Village. "Today, a lot of universities are building those for the first time. We launched ours 20 years ago," Hansen says.

• The village also serves as an extension of UCF's mission to equip students with the knowledge, skills and aptitudes that align with the workforce of the future, offering paid opportunities to gain industry experience.

There's a moment during every game day at Acrisure Bounce House that David Hansen pauses for a little perspective.

For the last two decades since he helped open the gates and usher in the sell-out crowd for the stadium's opening day in 2007, he has climbed to the highest row in a corner next to the student section to take in the view of the 40,000-plus in front of him.

"I wanted to see the big picture," says Hansen, who served several roles key for UCF Athletics from 2006-24 and now is the director of the Kenneth G. Dixon Athletics Village and general manager of Knights Plaza Retail and Entertainment District. "Game day brings people together. I've heard so many stories of alums that live 10 minutes from each other, but their lives are busy - kids are going to school, they're going to work, they're traveling and never get to see each other than game day.

"It's the one time that we put everything else aside. That's the great thing about sport and why the stadium and our athletics village have been so instrumental to our culture and rise as a university."

Hansen joined UCF in 2006 as senior associate athletics director for internal operations and was responsible for executing the stadium operational plan to bring game day to life on campus for the first time.

As the Bounce House celebrates its 20th season, Hansen reflects on the impact it has had on Knight Nation and the community at large.

Designs for the on-campus football stadium were provided by Kansas City, Mo.-based 360 Architecture, while the construction was managed by Wharton-Smith, Inc. of Sanford, Fla. The stadium seating was erected by Dant Clayton of Louisville, Ky.

Sprint to the Start

On Sept. 15, 2007, the stadium welcomed 45,622 through its gates for the kickoff against University of Texas. Hansen, who had been in constant motion since before sunrise, rushed to the field just in time for the national anthem and flyover.

He recalls seeing longtime athletics administrator Art Zeleznik with tears streaming down his face.

"I know everyone felt that way in the stadium at that moment. This university had been wanting this day for years, and we were all hit with the realization that it was finally really happening," Hansen says. "We're about ready to kick off game No. 1. That was special."

Beyond constructing the stadium, the operational blueprint was just as crucial to make game day on campus a reality. From parking logistics to implementing a credentialing system to managing traffic flow to public safety and everything in between, UCF personnel were navigating uncharted territory.

David Hansen (left) walks then-football head coach George O'Leary (center) into the stadium for its inaugural game in 2007. (Photo courtesy of UCF Athletics)

"We had a really good, young stadium operations support staff, but we had never hosted a major college football game before," Hansen says. "A lot of places get a several year runway for this. We had barely a year to put it together."

After the game, Hansen put together a five-page list of items that would need to get addressed or corrected before game two.

"I never had a list that long again," he says. "It was impossible to fully rehearse ahead of the opener, and there were several unknowns. But we knew it was going to be that way. We just had to work together and do our best. We've learned a lot in the last 20 years of executing game days at the scale and magnitude of the Bounce House, and it has been a truly collaborative effort between athletics, the university and community partners to build Orlando into a Power 4 town."

An Interactive Stadium

The legend of the "Bounce House" was born as the seconds ticked off the scoreboard clock in the lead up to kick off while fans bopped to Zombie Nation's Kernkraft 400.

Hansen felt Roth Tower moving. He saw people having fun with it. He also saw questions in their eyes.

"I made some engineering friends real quick who said, 'This is normal. This is really more of a bridge than a building structurally, so it's designed to move like this.' That made me feel better," he says.

UCF students have helped Acrisure Bounce House build a national reputation as a unique game day environment.

The stadium has evolved through the years, but it continues to be the Bounce House - so much so that is has now become a part of the stadium's official name.

"I call it an interactive stadium. Fans can actually get it to move and most stadiums you can't do that," he says. "Having the home field advantage played a big part in the team earning multiple conference championships, a series of elite bowl games and ultimately inclusion in one of college football's premier leagues. Our fanbase has grown into one of the most passionate and disruptive in the country. And the on-campus stadium was a big facilitator of that."

Knightro and the spirit team lead the March to Victory through Athletics Village on game day.

Athletics Village Is Born

Most places would consider opening one stadium enough of an undertaking. Most places are not UCF.

In the same week the football stadium opened, the 10,000-seat basketball and event facility, Addition Financial Arena, living spaces for 2,000 students and the surrounding Knights Plaza with 80,000 square feet of retail space opened their doors, too.

"The Athletics Village has become a true entertainment and retail district and a great destination and asset for the university," Hansen says. "Today, a lot of universities are building those for the first time. We launched ours 20 years ago."

Now that the Roth Tower project is complete thanks in large part to Orange County's $90 million investment, Hansen's top priority is revamping the Knights Plaza district.

"We are working to noticeably enhance that area and make it more of a destination, not just for game day, but for every day," Hansen says. "We've got some special plans for that."

Top: Groundbreaking of the Roth Tower project in December 2024. Bottom: The completed Roth Tower in August 2026.

The Vision

When the stadium opened, UCF was in its infancy of Conference USA, but the university and athletics department envisioned one day reaching the top echelon of collegiate athletics. So the stadium and Athletics Village were strategically planned to evolve as UCF did.

Over the years, we've seen transformations to match our rise to the Big 12 with the addition of the Carl Black and Gold Cabana, field cabanas, the Stadium Club, west stadium loge seating, the new Nicholson Plaza and more.

"A lot of stadiums around the country can't do those things because they are older concrete structures that just can't change without massive cost or overhauls," Hansen says. "Here we can. We just proved it again with the new Roth Tower."

Every game day at UCF offers opportunities for students to gain industry experience in areas including facility and event management, game day operations, broadcasting and production, brand management and strategic communications. (Photo by Brooke Morris)

Game Day and Career Ready

Over the last 20 years, the Athletics Village has built community and provided student-athletes with opportunities to showcase their talent while representing UCF worldwide. The village has also served as an extension of UCF's mission to equip students with the knowledge, skills and aptitudes that align with the workforce of the future, offering paid opportunities to gain industry experience.

Ryan Gustafson '25 is just one of many success stories. He was a freshman majoring in biology who needed extra cash when he applied to a part-time job for the athletics facilities, events and operations team. The decision radically shaped his future.

He found purpose and switched his major to event management. In addition to learning from a global leader in hospitality education, he gained practical experience in producing UCF Knights' events and coordinating with some of the biggest brands in athletics.

"There's a culture here that people want to stay and do their part to make it the best." - Ryan Gustafson '25

He has supported the Roth Tower project since it broke ground. He has worked hand in hand with the United States Tennis Association at its national campus in Lake Nona where UCF's men's and women's tennis teams compete. When FIFA needed training sites in Orlando for its 2025 Club World Cup, Gustafson was one of the go-to personnel on hand to support the elite international soccer clubs using our facilities.

By the time he graduated in December 2025, he had made the most of the opportunities he experienced as a student and earned himself a full-time position as a UCF facilities, events and operations coordinator.

"There's a culture here that people want to stay and do their part to make it the best," he says. "I always told myself I would end up at UCF, and getting an opportunity right out of college was a dream."

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