Florida Gators change the walls of The Swamp again

By Adam Silverstein
August 23, 2017
Florida Gators change the walls of The Swamp again
Football

Image Credit: @GatorsFB/Twitter

First, they came for the font.

For the second time in the last six years, the orange walls of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium will be changed as the Florida Gators have decided to promote the team’s success on the field in addition to its catchy slogans.

Previously, the walls read as follows. The North side of the stadium was adorned with “This is … Gator Country” on the East corner and “It’s Great to be a Florida Gator” on the West corner. The South side of the stadium read “This is … The Swamp” on the West corner and “Home of the … Florida Gators” on the East corner.

Well, the Northwest and Southeast corners are now being changed with the former displaying Florida’s three national championships and the latter showing off the Gators’ eight SEC Championships.

The image below is a rendering from Florida showing how the walls — all of which will be “highlighted with back-lit lettering,” presumably so they’re more visible at night — will look.

The championships were previously displayed above the South endzone of the stadium, which now features a brand new LED ribbon board that was also installed above the North endzone. Take a peek at that in the image atop this story.

Other changes to the interior of The Swamp include the SEC East titles being affixed to the upper North endzone facade, drink rail counters being installed in the concourses of each end zone and down and distance lines being displayed on video boards inside the stadium.

The font on the walls was changed ahead of the 2012 season, when the Gators also replaced the block “F” at midfield with the Gator Head logo and the Gator Head logos on the 35-yard lines were replaced with the new slanted “F.”

That block “F” at midfield at one time replaced the intertwined “UF” that is still used occasionally by the baseball team. The stadium walls were previously painted blue with orange letters in a different font prior to being repainted orange with the lettering that many grew used to over the last few decades. One of the walls also used to read “This is … Florida Field” before former head coach Steve Spurrier coined the term “The Swamp.”

Spurrier’s name, of course, was added to the playing surface in 2016. It is now called the “Steve Spurrier-Florida Field,” which is written above the skyboxes on the sideline.

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