Ben Hill Griffin Stadium

Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
at Florida Field

"The Swamp"
View from the south endzone
Former names	Florida Field (1930-1989)
Location	University Ave & Gale Lemerand Dr, Gainesville, Florida 32604
Owner	University of Florida
Operator	University of Florida
Capacity	88,548 (capacity) 90,716 (largest crowd)
Surface	Natural Grass
Construction
Broke ground	1930
Opened	1930
Tenants
Florida Gators (NCAA) (1930-Present) Tangerine Bowl (1973) Gator Bowl (1994)

Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at Florida Field, commonly referred to as "The Swamp", is the American football stadium for the University of Florida college team, and is located in Gainesville, Florida. The stadium was built in 1930 as Florida Field. In 1934, the stadium was dedicated to the memory of servicemen who died in the first World War. The stadium was renamed in 1989 in honor of citrus grower and University of Florida benefactor Ben Hill Griffin, Jr. The name of the playing surface remains Florida Field.

The stadium has expanded over the years from a seating of 21,769 to its current seating capacity of more than 90,000, making it the largest stadium in the state of Florida. The playing surface was artificial turf from 1971 through 1989. The artificial turf was removed and natural grass was restored for the 1990 season.

The Florida Gators football team, a member of the Southeastern Conference, plays all its home games at the stadium. Games played against the Georgia Bulldogs are played in Jacksonville, Florida at what is informally known as The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party; an exception is the 1994 and 1995 home-and-home series when the Gator Bowl was being upgraded to NFL standards as Alltel Stadium, the home of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Ben Hill Griffin also hosted the 1973 Tangerine Bowl as well as the 1994 Gator Bowl between Virginia Tech and Tennessee.

The stadium is best known as The Swamp, a nickname given to it by former head coach Steve Spurrier in the early 1990s. He 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." Befitting the nickname, the original stadium, which consists of the lower half of the current stadium, was built in a ravine placing the stands and playing surface entirely below ground level. Subsequent additions over the years have enclosed the playing area on all sides by high-angled stands that create a closed-in, claustrophobic feel on the field. Game-day temperatures at field level have been known to exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius), which added to Florida's normally humid climate eventually led to the creation of Gatorade as a way to combat dehydration. Every home game has been sold out since 1979, and there is a large and loud student section along the east side of the stadium. The student section is known as the "Swamp Things" after current head coach Urban Meyer held a contest to name the section. These factors create an intimidating environment that can hinder an opposing team's ability to hear playcalls and rattles nerves. The theme is completed by the pre-game video played shortly before the players run out on to the field that shows clips of alligators while playing the theme from Jaws and closes with the quote, "The Swamp...Only Gators get out alive!"

Outside the southeast corner of the stadium.

On the facade of the south endzone are painted the years of each of the team's Southeastern Conference championships and its 1996 & 2006 National Championships. Also painted inside the stadium are tributes to the school's two Heisman Trophy winners, Steve Spurrier and Danny Wuerffel complete with their name, jersey, and year of winning. Also are large messages saying "This is... THE SWAMP" and "This is... GATOR COUNTRY."

During the Spurrier years, the stadium gained a national reputation for having an incredible home field advantage. Many of the greatest games to have ever taken place in the stadium are from that era, including an upset of then-#1 ranked Florida State in 1997. The Gators enjoyed a 68-5 record in The Swamp under Spurrier's leadership (1990-2001) and are undefeated under Coach Urban Meyer's tenure, currently at 14-0 as of the end of their 2006 national championship season.

EA Sports' college football video game franchise, NCAA Football, has ranked Ben Hill Griffin Stadium the #1 toughest place to play in every version in which home field advantage has been ranked. Sports Illustrated ranked Ben Hill Griffin Stadium as the 3rd best college venue in the nation, and was the 1st overall for college football.

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The Swamp as seen with Google Earth (the Stephen C. O'Connell Center can be seen west of the stadium).

The stadium is located in the central part of the north side of campus, bordered by West University Avenue on the north side, Gale Lemerand Drive (still called North-South Drive by many a Gator fan) on the west side, and Stadium Road on the south side. On the east side are the Racquet Club fitness center and Florida Gym as well as Murphree Hall, one of the older dormitories on campus. Across Gale Lemerand (North-South) is the Stephen C. O'Connell Center, home of the UF basketball, gymnastics, and volleyball teams, and Alfred A. McKethan Stadium, home of the UF baseball team.

Traditions

Crowd in the stadium during a 2004 game against Eastern Michigan University.

As with many other college football venues, there are several popular game day traditions:

• Entertainment on game days includes the "Pride of the Sunshine", the University of Florida's Fightin' Gator Marching Band. The Pride was the first marching band in Florida. For many years, it was known for its very large bass drum, known as the "Biggest Boom in Dixie." It plays the Gator fight song, "Orange and Blue," after every Gator score.
• Jim Finch, the public address announcer at the stadium from 1966 through 2001, was known for his famously long "Here come the Gators!" announcement as the home team ran onto the field. An audio recording of this entrance has been used since.
• George Edmondson ("Mr. Two Bits"), wearing his trademark yellow super oxford shirt, blue seersucker trousers, orange-and-blue tie, and black-and-white saddle shoes, would run to different sections of the stadium leading fans in his "Two Bits" cheer from 1949 until his semi-retirement in 1998, though he returned later the following year.

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The Swamp on November 11, 2006.

• Fans swing and sway by rows singing "We are the Boys from Old Florida" at the end of the third quarter. The University of Florida was a men's school from 1905 to 1947.
• Fans attending join in on shout-outs and chants such as "ORANGE" (chanted in the East and South stands) and "BLUE" (chanted in the West and North stands).
• For many years, the Ship's Bell of the battleship USS Florida was mounted at the North End Zone wall of the stadium. After the North End Zone expansion in 1991, the Bell was moved to the North End Zone Concourse for

External links

• The Swamp - Official website
• Satellite Image

Preceded by Gator Bowl Stadium 1946-1993

Home of the Gator Bowl 1994

Succeeded by Jacksonville Municipal Stadium 1995-present

Preceded by unknown

Home of the Florida Gators 1930-present

Succeeded by incumbent

29°38′59.7″N 82°20′54.8″W