“Between the Hedges” | |
![]() Sanford Stadium, September 2019 | |
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Full name | Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium |
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Location | Sanford Dr and Field St, Athens, Georgia 30602 Coordinates 33°56'59.29"N 83°22'24.11"W |
Capacity | 93,033 (2024–present)[3]
Former List
|
Record attendance | 2019 vs. Notre Dame (93,246) |
Surface | Tifton 419 Bermuda Grass |
Construction | |
Broke ground | 1928 |
Opened | October 12, 1929 |
Renovated | 1994, 2018, 2024 |
Expanded | 1949, 1964, 1967, 1981, 1991, 1994, 2000, 2003, 2018, 2024 |
Construction cost | US$360,000 ($6.39 million in 2023 dollars[2]) |
Architect | Atwood and Nash Heery International (1967 expansion)[1] |
Tenants | |
Georgia Bulldogs (NCAA) (1929–present) |
Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium is the on-campus playing venue for football at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, United States (also known as UGA). The 93,033-seat stadium is the ninth-largest football stadium in the NCAA (and in the United States), and the 17th-largest such stadium in the world. Games played there are said to be played "between the hedges" due to the field being surrounded by privet hedges, which have been a part of the design of the stadium since it opened in 1929. The current generation of hedges were planted in 2023 after the originals were taken out to accommodate the football tournaments for the 1996 Summer Olympics.[4] The stadium is often considered one of college football's "best, loudest, and most intimidating atmospheres".[5]
Whereas many college football stadiums have artificial playing surfaces, Sanford Stadium from the outset had, and continues to have, a natural grass surface, planted with Tifton 419 Bermuda Grass.[citation needed]