Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, or “The Swamp,” is widely recognized as one of, if not the toughest, environments for a visiting team in all of college football. Several facelifts after the stadium’s original construction in 1930 have made Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium the state-of-the-art facility you see at today’s game. Without a bad seat in the house, "The Swamp" ranks as the largest stadium in the state of Florida. The Gators average home attendance last season of 90,511 ranked ninth in the country. Florida’s home record of 113-13 (.894) since 1990 is the best mark in the country during that time, proving that at “The Swamp,” only Gators get out alive!
Time line[]
April 16, 1930: Construction begins on original Florida Field
October 27, 1930: Construction completed on original Florida Field (capacity 21,769). The original stadium consisted of the first 32 rows on the west, east and north sides of the current stadium
November 8, 1930: Dedication of Florida Field as sellout crowd of 21,769 watches Florida vs. Alabama. The legendary Red Barber, a UF student, calls the play-by-play
October 13, 1934: Florida Field dedicated to memory of servicemen who died in World War I.
December 16, 1949: Plans drawn to add 11,200 seats to west stands. Expansion completed for 1950 season, bringing total capacity, including temporary bleachers, to 40,116.
September 23, 1950: The first night game is played at Florida Field versus The Citadel.
December, 1965: Construction starts on east-side 10,000-seat addition, bringing permanent seating to 56,164. Also, temporary bleachers moved to south end zone for total capacity of 62,800 during 1966 season.
April, 1971: Artificial surface installed.
August, 1982: Completion of south end zone, bringing capacity to 72,000. Athletic training center, skybox tower and modern press box also involved in this project
September 9, 1989: Football stadium named Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at Florida Field during dedication ceremonies. The stadium is named in honor of Ben Hill Griffin Jr., a life-long Gator supporter and fan who had been extremely benevolent and generous to several sectors at the University of Florida.
June 30, 1990: Natural grass replaces artificial turf at Florida Field.
September, 1991: Construction completed on new north end zone. Capacity now stands at 83,000, making Florida Field one of the eight largest on-campus collegiate football stadiums in the nation and the largest in the state of Florida. The north end zone addition costs $17 million, but involves no state funding.
November 30, 1991: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium is the site of the largest football crowd (collegiate or professional) in state of Florida history (85,461 vs. FSU). During the 1991 and 1992 seasons, the stadium will be the site of the 12 largest crowds in state history.
October 12, 1991: The official dedication of the new north end zone is held, as Florida meets Tennessee. Red Barber, who called the original dedication game in 1930, is UF's special guest of honor.
End of 1991 Season: Head Coach Steve Spurrier tags Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at Florida Field "The Swamp". Spurrier says, "The Swamp is where Gators live. We feel comfortable there, but we hope our opponents feel tentative. A swamp is hot and sticky and can be dangerous."
Prior to 1998 Season: Florida completed a $5 million renovation of the Ben Hill Griffin Training Complex in the south endzone, making the facility one of the nation's elite.
Prior to 2003 Season: Construction was completed on a two-year, $50 million stadium expansion/renovation that includes the addition of 2,900 luxury club seats, expanded press level, renovated and enlarged Bull Gator Deck, enlarged President’s Suite and 34 additional suites that was funded by private support from Gator Boosters and fans.
Prior to 2004 Season: A high-resolution video board highlights the brand new Daktronics scoreboard in the north end of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. In addition, a state-of-the-art sound system is installed throughout the stadium. The project cost is $2 million.
February 2007: Construction to the Southwest area of the stadium begins. The $28 million project includes the expansion of the strength and conditioning room, a new Gator Room and renovation to the football offices.
August 2008: Construction of James W. "Bill" Heavener Football Complex is completed.
August 2009: Construction is completed on a $5.6 million project installing Daktronics HD-16 high resolution screens to replace the old north and south end zone scoreboards.
April 2011: Statues unveiled outside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium honoring Florida's three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier, Danny Wuerffel and Tim Tebow.
Florida Field Quick Facts[]
- Seasons: 81 (first season was 1930)
- Record: 298-95-13 (.750)
- UF vs. SEC: 137-59-7 (.692)
- Capacity: 88,548
- Largest Crowd: 90,907 - Nov. 28, 2009 vs. Florida State
- Longest Winning Streak: 30 games (Oct. 29, 1994-Sept. 18, 1999)
- Largest Margin of Victory: 76 (82-6 vs. Central Michigan, Sept. 6, 1997)