DLR Group has finalized its design for the Camping World Stadium renovation, with the centerpiece being a new outer skin of 19 LED ribbons running the east and west sideline walls. The ribbons sit behind silver metal panels that diffuse the light, so the wall reads as a surface rather than a video board while still carrying messages and images in high fidelity. Each panel works as a pixel.
Weather-Resistant Design with Dual Purpose
Tucking the LEDs behind metal shields them from Florida weather and lights the concourse inside the facade after dark. In daylight the silver is meant to catch the sun the way the ponds and lakes around Orlando do. The skin also serves as the hurricane bracing the building code requires.
"They wanted to redefine the identity of the stadium, this new, contemporary destination," said Ryan Freeland, sports design leader at DLR Group.
The 90-year-old venue has no permanent tenant, which is why the facade was built to change character by event. EDC Orlando draws about 100,000 people a day across its three days on the site, the largest annual electronic music festival on the East Coast. Rolling Loud, which debuted there in May, and Warped Tour each pull around 60,000 daily. The Jacksonville Jaguars move in for the 2027 season while EverBank Stadium is rebuilt.
$400 Million Project Timeline and Scope
The overall project runs $400 million, funded through Orange County's tourist development tax. Roughly $330 million covers the stadium itself. A separate $61 million events center next door accounts for most of the rest, and that building cleared its demolition permit in July, with construction possible by the end of the year. Barton Malow and AECOM Hunt are managing the stadium work, which began in late 2025 and is expected to finish by summer 2027.
The 650,000 square foot job pushes capacity past 65,000 and replaces upper bowl bleachers with chairback seats. A new north end zone tower encloses the bowl and links the suite and terrace levels. Retractable seating in the south lower bowl clears room for concert stages and speeds up changeovers between events.
The design is approved, but nobody has been hired yet to build the wall that lights up. Orlando is still selecting a contractor for that scope, said Allen Johnson, the city's chief venues officer.
"More people see the outside of the venue than the inside," Johnson said. "Why shouldn't they get a special experience as well?"
EDC Orlando 2026 Proceeds as Scheduled
Events run through construction on a phased schedule, so EDC Orlando 2026 lands November 6 to 8 as planned, with David Guetta, Martin Garrix and Hardwell headlining. The 2027 edition would be the first with the skin finished and lit.
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