Sanford Stadium complex - UGA 678. The Sanford Stadium character area is located on the eastern side of campus along East Campus Road. It is edged to the north by Memorial Hall quadrangle, to the east by East Campus Road, to the south by Field Street, and to the west of Sanford Drive. The principal feature of the character area is the stadium. Also located within the character area is a restroom to the north of the stadium, paved plazas and walks, gate features, and plantings.
Sanford Stadium replaced the use of Herty Field, which was used between 1892 and 1911 for sports activities, and a second field with a roofed wooden grandstand erected in 1911. In 1929, to accommodate the growing football program, the University decided to build a dedicated stadium in a wooded valley that separated the North and South campuses. In establishing the stadium, the University used convict labor to redirect Tanyard Branch, which ran through the ravine, and seal it into a concrete culvert. Concrete stands large enough to seat 33,000 people were built to the north and south of the field, the south stands above the creek, while the east and west ends remained open. An upper tier of stands was built in 1967, increasing the capacity of the stadium to nearly 60,000 seats. In 1981, the east end was enclosed to increase seating to 82,000; lights were added in 1982. The stadium was named in honor of Steadman V. Sanford, who served as president of the University and chancellor of the University System, and was also on the faculty for 42 years.
Building Resources
North Stands – UGA 685 (1929, 1967, 1981; Category 2); South Stands – UGA 686 (1929, 1967, 1982; Category 2); East Stadium Dressing Rooms – UGA 694 (1971, Category 5). Sanford Stadium plays an important role in University life due to the importance of football to students, alumni, and the general public.
Since the stadium’s initial construction in 1929, periodic upgrades and expansion of been necessary to keep pace with the size of the football program, number of attendees at games, and need for a high level and competitive program.
The original stadium was set into the opposing slopes of Tanyard Branch with no apparent concrete structure. A major expansion was undertaken in 1967 at a cost of $2,969,000, apparently including the construction of a concrete upper deck.
During the 1970s, limited additions and changes additions were undertaken in 1971 and 1978. Another major expansion of the stadium was undertaken in 1981/1982 at a cost of $10 million. Other additions were made later in the decade.
With a $25 million expansion completed in 2003 and another $8 million in 2004, Sanford Stadium added a second upper deck on the north side and twenty-seven new north side SkySuites bringing the new stadium capacity to 92,746—the fifth largest on-campus stadium in the country.
Sanford Stadium is significant to the University over the decades primarily in its location, orientation, general configuration, and use. Portions of the 1929 construction remain, and the 1967 part of the stadium is no more than fifty years old. It is thus assessed as Category 2.
Landscape Resources
Located within the character area are a restroom to the north of the stadium, paved plazas and walks, ticketing gate features, and plantings. Within the stadium there are hedges that have been a part of the field for several decades, a bust of Steadman Sanford (1945, assessed as Category 3), a bulldog mascot burial ground, and the Tanyard Branch corridor.
