| Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at Florida Field | |
|---|---|
| "The Swamp" | |
| Former names | Florida Field (1930–1989) |
| Location | Stadium Road, Gainesville, Florida 32611 |
| Broke ground | April 16, 1930 |
| Opened | November 8, 1930 |
| Renovated | 2003 |
| Expanded | 1950, 1960, 1966, 1982, 1991, 2003 |
| Owner | University of Florida |
| Operator | University Athletic Association |
| Surface | Natural grass (1930–1970) Astroturf (1971–1989) Bermuda grass (1990–present)[1] |
| Construction cost | $118,000 (1930) |
| Architect | Rudolph Weaver[2] |
| Capacity | 88,548 (2003–present)[3] 83,000 (1991–2002) 72,000 (1982–1990) 62,800 (1966–1981) 46,164 (1960–1965) 40,116 (1950–1959) 21,769 (1930–1949) |
| Record attendance | 90,907[4] |
| Tenants | |
| Florida Gators (NCAA) (1930–present) Tangerine Bowl (NCAA) (1973) Gator Bowl (NCAA) (1994) |
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Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at Florida Field (popularly known as "The Swamp") is the football stadium for the University of Florida and the home field of the university's Florida Gators football team. It is located on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus. The stadium was originally built in 1930, and has been regularly expanded, renovated and improved since then. Although it is the eleventh largest college football stadium as measured by its official seating capacity of 88,548, attendance for the Gators' home football games regularly exceeds 90,000 people.
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Ben Hill Griffin Stadium is located on the northern edge of the university's campus, bordered by West University Avenue on the north side, Gale Lemerand Drive (previously named North-South Drive) on the west side, and Stadium Road on the south side. On the east side are the Racquet Club fitness center, Florida Gym and Murphree Hall, one of the oldest residence halls on campus. Directly across Gale Lemerand Drive from the Swamp is the Stephen C. O'Connell Center, the indoor home arena of the Florida Gators men's basketball, women's basketball, gymnastics, volleyball, and swimming and diving teams. Just beyond the O'Connell Center are the football team's practice facilities and Alfred A. McKethan Stadium, home field of the Florida Gators baseball team.
The name of the playing surface has remained "Florida Field" since the stadium's original construction in 1930. The university renamed the stadium, but not the playing surface, in honor of citrus magnate Ben Hill Griffin, Jr., an alumnus and major benefactor of the university and its sports programs, in 1989.
In the early 1990s, in describing Florida's home-field advantage, then-coach Steve Spurrier noted that ". . . a 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. Only Gators get out alive." [5] Ben Hill Griffin Stadium has been commonly known as "The Swamp" ever since.
From the establishment of UF in Gainesville in 1906, the university's football and baseball teams played their on-campus home games at Fleming Field. This facility was simply a grassy field flanked by low bleachers and was located along University Avenue immediately north of the present stadium site. Because of the limited fan capacity of Fleming Field and the relative inaccessibility of Gainesville in the early 20th Century, some Gators home games were hosted in Jacksonville,[6] St. Petersburg, Tampa, and even the Madison Square Garden corporation's former winter sports facility in Miami.[7]
After the Gator football team earned its first national prominence in the 1920s, new university president John J. Tigert began the drive to construct a new and larger stadium facility shortly after accepting his position in 1928.[8] In the midst of the Great Depression, Tigert was determined to build a permanent football stadium without state funds.[9] Tigert and ten friends and supporters of the university's athletic program took out personal loans to cover the $118,000 required to build the original 21,769-seat facility.[9]
Construction began on April 16, 1930, and immediately faced serious engineering and geotechnical obstacles related to natural ground water and drainage.[9] The stadium was built in a shallow ravine, and the lower thirty-two rows of the east, west and north stands were built below ground level of the surrounding land.[9] When excavation reached the water table, water began to pour into the construction site from the north end, and men, mules and mule-drawn equipment became mired in the resulting mud.[9] The drainage challenge was ultimately resolved by the installation of massive underground culverts leading to Graham Pond, two blocks south of the stadium site.[9] Problems solved, the construction team of eighty laborers and mules completed "Florida Field," as it was first known, in time for the November 8, 1930 homecoming game against Alabama, the dominant Southern Conference team of the day.[10] Florida Field was rededicated in 1934 to the memory of Florida servicemen who died in World War I, and a plaque was placed on the outside wall behind the old north endzone as a memorial.[3]
Over the years, Florida Field has undergone many renovations, almost always adding more seats. First, 11,200 permanent seats were added to the west stands in 1949–1950, which, together with temporary bleachers, yielded 40,116 seats for fans.[3] Then 10,000 more permanent seats were added to the east stands in 1965–1966,[11] and temporary bleachers added to the south endzone in 1966, to bring total capacity to 62,800.[3] With the permanent enclosure of the south endzone in 1982, the addition of the north endzone upper decks in 1991, and expanded club seats and luxury boxes in 2003, the Swamp had grown to be the largest football stadium in the state of Florida, and the second largest sports facility in the state behind only the Daytona International Speedway.[3] The current official seating capacity is 88,548, although the actual attendance has averaged over 90,000 since the addition of the new skyboxes, in 2003.[3]
Before the 2008 season, the Heavener Football Complex opened on the southwest corner of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. The $28 million addition, which was funded entirely with private donations, is meant to be the "front door" of the football program and houses a museum highlighting Gator football history along with offices, meeting space, a new weight room, and other facilities for the football program[12][13]
Following the Gators' 2008 BCS Championship, new video replay boards were installed in both endzones before the start of the 2009 season. The new scoreboards feature all-digital screens with high-definition resolution.[14]
The playing surface of Florida Field has also changed over the years. It was natural grass until 1971, when Astroturf was installed and nicknamed "Doug's Rug" for then-coach Doug Dickey[15] The original artificial surface was replaced with an updated version in the mid-1980s. It remained until 1990, when newly hired coach Steve Spurrier insisted it be removed and replaced with the current natural grass surface.[5]
The Gators have played the overwhelming majority of their home contests at Florida Field since it opened in 1930. The most notable exception is the annual Florida-Georgia game, which has been held in Jacksonville since 1933 with the two teams alternating being the official home team. The only seasons in which UF and UGA did not meet in Jacksonville were 1994 and 1995, when the old Gator Bowl was being rebuilt as Jacksonville Municipal Stadium for the NFL's expansion Jacksonville Jaguars and the contest was held at Florida Field and Georgia's Sanford Stadium, respectively.[16]
In years past, Florida would occasionally move a home game to Jacksonville or to Tampa every few years. But besides the annual meeting with Georgia, the Gators have not played a regular season home contest anywhere besides Florida Field since 1980, when they defeated the California Golden Bears in old Tampa Stadium.[17]
The Swamp has acquired a reputation for being a very difficult place for opposing teams to play, and has regularly been ranked at or near the top of lists of top home field advantages and/or best game day experiences in college football[18][19][20][21]
One of the major reasons is the stadium's design. Originally built in a shallow sinkhole, the playing surface is below ground level. Various expansions over the years have enclosed the playing area on all sides with steep stands, and the fans are within a few feet of the action.
The enclosed playing area also enhances the effects of Gainesville's warm and humid fall climate. Game-day temperatures at field level have been known to exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius), creating a swamp-like atmosphere. (This was the impetus for a University of Florida researcher Robert Cade to develop Gatorade as a way to combat dehydration.) Furthermore, during hot and sunny day games Florida's sideline on the west side of the stadium is in the shade provided by the press box while the visiting team's sideline on the east side is exposed to the sun.
Florida Gator fans are both loyal (having sold out every home contest from 1979 until the first game of the 2011 season, when the streak ended against Florida Atlantic University) and loud, thus creating a tremendous home field advantage for the Gators.[22] The size and exuberance of the home crowds, when combined with the stadium's close-in design of the seats, concentrates the fan noise at field level, making the Swamp one of the loudest stadiums in America.[23]
Combined, these factors create an intimidating environment which can rattle and disrupt opposing teams, making it difficult to hear playcalls and execute assignments. Florida Field has been repeatedly ranked by various publications as being the toughest stadium in which to play for opposing teams.[24][25][26]
The Gators' performance at home illustrates this effect. From Spurrier's arrival in 1990 until the end of the 2009 season, Florida posted a 113–13 home record, which is the best in the nation during that time period.[22] The Gators enjoyed a 37–5 home record under Urban Meyer from his arrival in 2005 until his retirement after the 2010 season.[27]
Like many other college football venues, the Swamp has its own unique features and gameday traditions:
Even big-time college football teams play only 6 or 7 home games per season. Ben Hill Griffin Stadium is mainly a place for fitness-motivated students to jog or run stadium steps during the time when no events are scheduled. However, the stadium does occasionally host events other than Florida Gators football.
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