The Swamp, an ancient and historic stadium in the center of Florida’s campus, is getting a facelift, a massive restoration that is anticipated to cost at least $400 million and be a “multigenerational solution.”
In the first public step of a lengthy process, the Gators revealed plans to hire an architect on Monday for the redesign of Florida Field. In July, the school will start its official application period.
The exact price, the number of seats, and a particular date are all “premature to speculate,” according to athletic director Scott Stricklin. However, he was clear that the project’s primary objective is to improve fans’ game-day experiences while preserving many of the factors that helped the Gators become one of the most intimidating home-field advantages in the Southeastern Conference.
“Whatever work we do there doesn’t need to be a Band-Aid,” Stricklin said at the league’s spring meetings last month. “It needs to be a multigenerational solution to continue to give that stadium for future generations a chance to come and watch the Gators there.
“It has to be everything from how fans experience when they’re outside the stadium, when they walk through the gate, concourse, concession, restrooms, inside the seating bowl, new premium options, better premium options. But you also want to keep what’s special about it.”
In 1930, the stadium’s initial capacity was 22,000 spectators. It has since undergone many expansions, bringing its capacity up to about 90,000, but it lacks many of the current NFL stadium comforts.
Wider concourses, fewer benches, more food options, bigger video boards, a new sound system, and better lighting are all proposed improvements. Thousands of capacity reductions are anticipated.
The Swamp renovation would be the most recent and priciest campus facilities improvement.
The Gators have invested more than $300 million in the previous ten years to construct or repair fields for basketball, track and field, tennis, softball, soccer, and lacrosse. The list also includes a new academic center for student-athletes, a stand-alone football complex, and an indoor practice facility.
“We’re in the service business; we don’t make widgets,” Stricklin said. “We create experiences, whether it’s for our student-athletes, our staff and ultimately for Gator Nation. So, when you are in the service business, there’s not a lot of tangible results. It’s a lot of intangible results.
“It’s what kind of experience are you creating on game day? What kind of memories are coming from those experiences? Do people want to plan their lives around coming back to enjoy that experience again? We sell tickets and we sell T-shirts. Beyond that, it’s we want to create experiences — and winning is a big part of that experience — but you’ve got to have all the other pieces.”
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Melissa’s career in writing started more than 20 years ago. Today, she lives in South Florida with her husband and two boys.
