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Award: Stadium upgrade
Value: Project budget of $398.5 million
Location: Gainesville, Florida
Customer: University of Florida
Brasfield & Gorrie will serve as general contractor on a $398.5 million renovation of “The Swamp,” home of the University of Florida Gators football team, according to public project documents.
University planning documents for the stadium renovation, more formally known as Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, list the Birmingham, Alabama-based contractor along with Kansas City, Missouri-based Crawford Architects as the project team.
The university’s athletic association in Gainesville, Fla., is looking to upgrade the facility, first built in 1930 and last renovated in 2003, through multiple phases to preserve the stadium’s history while improving and enhancing the spaces, according to documents that outlined the stadium’s goals for potential builders.
These goals include adding additional space at stadium entrances, throughout the venue and in special areas where fans congregate. The project team will also improve circulation for vertical movement; seating, restroom and concession access; and limit room congestion in general.
Areas of the stadium formerly used for the Gators football program have been vacated as the team moved to Heavener Soccer Training Center in August 2022, following a two-year construction of this facility. Recommendations to fill that space, now vacant after the show’s move, include a central kitchen and commissary and premium clubs or lounges.
A public meeting to discuss the project is scheduled for Thursday at 2pm in Gainesville. Brasfield & Gorrie declined to comment, referring questions to the University of Florida, which did not respond to Construction Dive by press time.
The 2003 renovation of the stadium added 2,900 club seats and luxury suitesby Swamp247, a news outlet focused on all things Gators athletics.
Construction is slated to begin in April 2027, Swamp247 reported, with the university targeting February 2030 for final completion. When finished, the stadium’s capacity will reach 84,399, Swamp247 reported, down from the currently indicated capacity of the site of 88,548.
