"The loudest, most obnoxious and notorious piece of real estate in all of college football."
-- a description of The Swamp in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution


Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, more commonly known as The Swamp, has been tabbed one of the toughest places to play in all of college football. With recent expansion, The Swamp now hosts more than 90,000 fans and is now even louder than before.

The Swamp; Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium



Timeline of The Swamp (Courtesy of GatorZone.com):
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 lower half of the current stadium
November 8, 1930: Dedication of Florida Field as sellout crowd of 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... Also athletic training center and skybox tower and modern press box 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."
August of 1998: A $2.1 million video project allows fans to catch game action on the new Daktronics LED Video Board located in the SEZ or on one of the 23 monitors located underneath the North and South endzone mezzanines. A $4.8 million renovation of the South Endzone complex expands the locker room, strength and conditioning area and medical training area to 51,000 square feet. The complex, which features displays on Gator Greats, also includes a 130-seat amphitheater squad meeting room.
May 14, 2001: A $50 million construction project begins to expand the press level, add chairback seats on a new club level, renovate existing suites and add additional luxury suites. The press level will be expanded to more than 200 working press seats and six TV/radio booths. More than 2,900 chairback seats, dubbed the "Champions Club" will be added on the west side of the stadium. Twenty-eight existing suites will be renovated and an additional 28 suites will be built. The entire project, built with no state money, will be complete just prior to the 2003 football season.



Gator Greats .//. About Josh