In this week’s Swampcast, The Sun’s Kevin Brockway and Andrew Abadie discuss the Florida baseball offseason, Florida basketball summer workouts and the $1.45 billion Swamp Renovation with Edgar Thompson of the Orlando Sentinel.
Thompson said there’s “sticker shock” in the renovation cost, which is the largest undertaking for any college stadium. But Thompson said UF athletic director Scott Stricklin is confident that the school will reap the rewards in its ability to monetize the stadium better due to the nicer amenities
“I’m sure they’ve put pen to paper endlessly figuring out this,” Thompson said. “How they are going to pay for this, the debt they are going to carry and how they are going to make it up on the back end long term. It’s ambitious.”
Abadie wonders whether Florida would have been better off building a new stadium in a new location, considering Florida is going to have to spend $500,000 million of the $1.45 billion renovation to make it compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“It’s surprising and I think the part that people should be scratching their heads about the most is how did they let it get this bad in terms of maintenance and ADA requirements that it built up to a $500 million price tag,” Abadie said.
Later in the podcast, Brockway discussed the preseason expectations for Florida basketball and how with the return of four starters, UF could go into 2026-27 as the preseason No. 1 team in college basketball.
“With four starters coming back, I would say, anything less than a Final Four, second weekend of the NCAA Tournament would be a major disappointment,” Brockway said.
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Worth it? Swampcast talks $1.45 billion Swamp renovation impact on Florida football
Reporting by Kevin Brockway, Gainesville Sun / The Gainesville Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Kevin Brockway, Gainesville Sun | USA TODAY Network
