Image Credit: @NaturalWorks_ / Twitter
It is not often that the No. 12 Florida Gators make changes to the playing surface at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, but Steve Spurrier-Florida Field will look quite different on Saturday when the Missouri Tigers come to town. For the first time in recent memory, the Gators will have their end zones painted orange for the game.
Twitter user @NaturalWorks_ came across the new paint job on Wednesday and shared his photographic proof online. Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin retweeted him shortly after he posted the photo.
On Friday, the Gators confirmed that not only will the end zones be painted orange for homecoming but the final three home games of the regular season. The last time UF had orange end zones in The Swamp was 1989.
Orange end zones 👀 pic.twitter.com/SsdilnyHDZ
— NWF (@NaturalWorks_) November 2, 2018
👀#TheSwamp 🐊 #GoGators pic.twitter.com/bOPoRxr1nd
— Gators Football (@GatorsFB) November 2, 2018
#TheSwamp pic.twitter.com/HtzBP0zXGD
— Gators Football (@GatorsFB) November 2, 2018
The Florida-Missouri game is homecoming for the Gators. Florida has already announced it will wear traditional blue jerseys with white pants and orange helmets for the game.
The end zones in The Swamp are normally color-less outside of the words “Florida” and “Gators,” which are painted blue and outlined in white and orange.
The last time the Gators made a substantial change to the field was back in 2012 when the Gator Head logo replaced the block “F” at midfield and the “Fast F” took its place at the 35-yard lines. Since then, Florida has changed the walls of The Swamp quite often, including adding lights to the signage on the orange walls ahead of the 2017 season.