Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at Florida Field (aka The Swamp) is the American football stadium for the University of Florida’s football team, nicknamed the Gators. The stadium and the university are located in Gainesville, Florida. Regularly holding just over 90,000 fans per game, it is the 12th largest college football stadium by capacity.

The stadium is on the northern edge of the UF campus, bordered by West University Avenue on the north side, Gale Lemerand Drive (still called North-South Drive by many Gator fans) 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 oldest buildings on campus. Across Gale Lemerand (North-South) are the Stephen C. O’Connell Center, home of the UF basketball, gymnastics, and volleyball teams, and the football team’s practice facilities. Just beyond is Alfred A. McKethan Stadium, home of the UF baseball team.

The Florida Gator football team has played all of their home games on Florida Field with very few exceptions since 1930. The most notable example is the annual contest against the Georgia Bulldogs, which has been played in Jacksonville, Florida almost every year since the 1930s.

	Capacity		88,548
	Opened		1930
	Owner		University of Florida
	Operator		University of Florida
	Surface		Natural Grass
	Location		University Ave & Gale Lemerand Dr, Gainesville, Florida 32604

Florida Field has acquired a reputation for being a very difficult place for opposing teams to play, widely considered by the media and fans of college football the toughest place for any opposing team to play in the country. There are several reasons for this.

For one, The Swamp lives up to its nickname. Game-day temperatures at field level have been known to exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius) with high humidity. (This was the impetus for a University of Florida researcher to develop Gatorade as a way to combat dehydration.) Teams from cooler climates sometimes wither in the heat, while the Florida players have become accustomed to it due to daily practices.

The heat is compounded by the stadium design. The various expansions over the years have enclosed the playing area on all sides with steep stands, cutting off the breeze and giving the playing surface a closed-in, claustrophobic feel and bringing the fans to within a few feet of the action. Those fans are probably the main ingredient in the Gators’ home field advantage. Gator fans are loyal, having sold out every home contest since 1989.

They are also loud. The exuberance of the crowd combined with their proximity and the bowled-in shape of the stadium concentrate the noise at field level, making The Swamp one of the loudest stadiums in sports.

Combined, these factors create an intimidating environment which can rattle and disrupt opposing teams, making it difficult to hear playcalls and execute assignments. Florida Field has been repeatedly ranked by various publications as being the toughest stadium to play for opposing teams. In EA Sports’ college football video game franchise, NCAA Football, The Swamp has been ranked as the #1 toughest place to play in every version in which home field advantage has been included.

The Gators’ stellar performance at home illustrates the effect. Florida enjoyed a 68-5 record in The Swamp under Head Coach Steve Spurrier (1990-2001). Under current coach Urban Meyer, they were 27-2 as of end of the 2008 home schedule.

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