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Sanford Stadium
Sanford Stadium has long been considered one of
the most impressive and attractive football arenas in college football.
Built in 1929, Sanford Stadium and its famous hedges have been the home of
Georgia football for more than 60 years. The seating capacity of 86,117
makes it one of the largest on-campus college stadium in the country and the
Bulldogs have been among the nation's top six teams in average home
attendance 12 of the past 13 seasons. It has been the spawning ground to
such champions as Frank Sinkwich, Charlie Trippi, Herschel Walker and Eric
Zeier, it was only fitting that the history of this stadium would include
the 1996 Olympic soccer medal games.
 For
66 years, from Oct. 12, 1929, until Nov. 11, 1995, a hedgerow of ligustrum
sinense, better known as "common privet," encircled the football playing
field at Sanford Stadium. As a result, playing Georgia in Athens became
synonymous with playing "between the Hedges." And that phrase has become as
much a part of University of Georgia tradition as the Arch, the Chapel Bell
and Uga himself. But the Hedges had to be removed, much to the dismay of
some of the most staunch Georgia supporters, to accommodate the construction
of a soccer pitch at the stadium for the 1996 Olympics.
Named for the late Dr. S. V. Sanford, former president of the University
and Chancellor of the University system, the Bulldogs' home has held crowds
of 86,520 on fall Saturdays.
Completed in 1994 was a $6 million addition which provides 30 luxury
SkySuites atop the South side upper deck. This project, along with the 1991
West end zone addition has brought the stadium capacity to 86,117.
These most recent expansions are quite an improvement from the overflow
crowd of 30,000 which saw the stadium's first game on October 12, 1929, when
Yale University made its only trip South. Georgia won the now famous game
when a young sophomore end from Macon, Vernon "Catfish" Smith, scored all 15
of the Bulldogs points. Final score, Georgia 15, Yale 0.
Through the years, the stadium has experienced various expansion
projects. In 1940, lights were added to the field level paving the way to
the first Sanford Stadium night game, a 7-7 tie between Georgia and Kentucky
on October 26, 1940. The Stadium was doubledecked in 1967 at a cost of three
million dollars.
Eventually, the East end of the stadium was enclosed, more lights added,
and the capacity increased to 82,122. The 1991 project cost the University
Athletic Association $3.7 million and enclosed the West end. The price tag
was rather hefty, considering that the original price to build the stadium
was a mere $360,000.
The Bulldogs claim it is the best "spectator stadium" in the South, more
good seats on the sides of the field than any other stadium in Dixie.
Legendary Sanford Stadium added yet another chapter to its history by
hosting the medal round of the 1996 Olympic soccer competition watched via
television by over 3 billion people around the world.
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