A nearly $400 million upgrade to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium is expected to hold about 84,000 people upon completion, per Swamp247’s Graham Hall. Construction on the project will begin in 2027 and is scheduled to be done in February 2030, according to UF Planning, Design and Construction.
Construction will not impact seating capacity for Gator football games for the first two years of the project. However, fans will see a loss of roughly 6,300 seats during the 2029 season before the scheduled completion the following year.
Upon completion, the upgraded stadium will hold about 5,500 less fans than the current one, Swamp 247 reported — a decrease of about 4.7%.
The Swamp currently holds about 88,500 people and was originally built in 1930. The upgrades first appeared on UF’s website four years ago.
The UF Planning, Design and Construction meeting will hold a public meeting Thursday, Oct. 23, to narrow down a commissioning agent for the renovation.
Contact Alissa Gary and Zoey Thomas at agary@alligator.org and zthomas@alligator.org. Follow them on X @AlissaGary1 and @zoeythomas39.
Zoey Thomas is a UF media production senior and the Spring 2026 editor-in-chief of The Alligator. She has previously been data editor and engagement managing editor, as well as a reporter for three semesters. She was also a intern at the Orlando Sentinel. In her sparse free time, Zoey enjoys reading a good book, going for a run or waking up her roommates with the sound of her espresso machine.
Alissa is the Fall 2025 editor-in-chief of The Alligator. She has previously been engagement managing editor and university editor, and she has covered stories across UF and Gainesville. She was also an intern at the Orlando Sentinel and The Chronicle of Higher Education. In her free time, she likes to spend time with her cat and take care of her plants.
