Florida's Ben Hill Griffin Stadium to undergo significant renovations

One of the more raucous venues in college football is undergoing a facelift, one that has a $400 million price tag. 

Monday, Florida announced via release that Steve Spurrier-Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium is set for a renovation. Per the release, the University Athletic Association will begin the process of selecting an architect for the project this month.

“'We've conducted a number of studies over the last five-plus years about what the future could look like for Ben Hill Griffin Stadium,” Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin said. “We've engaged with vendors that specialize in iconic venues and stadium experience for both fans and players while offering a variety of solutions. It is now time to take that information and engage with an architect who can present renovation, construction and phasing options for The Swamp.”

The project will be a substantial undertaking and will include changes to the concourse, entry gates, seating, concessions, restrooms, video boards and sound system. The release stated that with those alterations in mind, the project will have “a focus on maintaining the nearly century-long romance Gator fans have with Saturdays in the Swamp.”

Ben Hill Griffin has been the home of the Gators since 1930 and currently holds over 88,000. It has been expanded in 1950, 1960, 1966, 1982, 1991, 2003 and 2008, and has been renovated in 2003, 2011, 2015 and 2017. The AP reported Monday that, as part of the next round of construction, “capacity is expected to be reduced by thousands.”

Through those changes, the venue has remained one of the most intimidating in the country, particularly in the 1990s and 2000s under former head coaches Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer.

Florida has not won the SEC since 2009, but fans still come out in droves. Despite a disappointing 6-7 season in head coach Billy Napier’s first year, average attendance sat at 87,180 for the Gators’ seven home games. 

Clearly, those fans deserve an improved gameday experience.

“It needs to be a multigenerational solution to continue to give that stadium for future generations a chance and watch the Gators here,” Stricklin said at the SEC spring meetings last month, per the AP.