White City Stadium venue. Also in 1931, Queens Park Rangers F.C. began the first of two spells playing at the stadium, until 1933 (the second spell was from 1962–63). QPR eventually decided against a permanent move to White City and stayed at Loftus Road. Between 1932 and 1958 the stadium hosted major British boxing events, with attendances peaking as high as 90,000 for the second meeting between Len Harvey and Jack Petersen in 1934. The first major fight at the stadium was Len Harvey’s unsuccessful challenge for the NBA Middleweight Championship versus Marcel Thil of France. Future heavyweight champion Primo Carnera suffered his
Riccardo Silva Stadium taken down and construction began on the new, permanent stadium. The expansion was completed in September 2008 for the 2008 football season. Phase one increased the stadium's capacity from 17,000 fans to 18,000, including 1,500 club seats. During construction, the 2007 FIU Golden Panthers football team played its home games in the Miami Orange Bowl. The new facility opened for the first home game of the 2008 football season against the South Florida Bulls on September 20. The Golden Panthers lost 17–9 in front of a crowd of 16,717. The team won its first game in the new stadium on