- Jun 11, 2014
- 21,148
- 33,987
Founding Member
We’ve officially become Kentucky. Maybe Vandy.
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium renovations set to move forward at UF
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium renovations set to move forward at UF
"There was a time when, probably when the north endzone was done in the early ‘90s was part of that time, when seat count is all anyone cared about," Stricklin said in 2018. "Just cram as many people as possible in there. Obviously that is not, when you talk to people who do facilities and stadiums theses days, that’s not as important as quality and making sure you’re creating an environment that people want to come and participate in.
"The days of fans being OK sitting three hours on really a piece of aluminum I think are gone. So we’ve got to find ways to upgrade the overall quality."
According to the documents listed at UF's Planning, Design & Construction website, Florida is looking to hire a construction manager for the outlined upgrades before the end of November.
Scoreboard and sound system upgrades are first on the docket with a completion goal tentatively set prior to the 2023 season, followed by seating renovations that tentatively would be complete before the 2024 season. The current Daktronics scoreboards in both end zones were completed in August 2009 as part of a $5.6 million renovation. The sound system in the stadium was installed prior to the 2004 season.
It's unclear how many seats Florida will lose in the seating renovations, but Stricklin has previously provided an outline.
"We want to be north of 75,000," Stricklin said in an interview with the Gainesville Sun in 2019. "Essentially, we have 88,000 seats. Of those, we hold 8,000 for the visitors. The way visiting teams travel now that’s probably 5,000 seats too many so right there you get rid of 5,000 seats and you’d never miss them because visitors aren’t coming.