Sanford Stadium holds 93,033, the ninth largest college football venue in the country, and it sits in a ravine, which is why walking out of it is uphill in every direction. It opened in 1929 with 30,000 seats and privet hedges planted around the field, and the hedges have defined the place for nearly a century.
| Official capacity | 93,033, since 2024 |
| Record attendance | 93,246 vs Notre Dame, September 21, 2019 |
| Opened | October 12, 1929, Georgia 15 to 0 over Yale |
| Original cost | $360,000, repaid in five years |
| Named for | Steadman Sanford, university president, and Vince Dooley for the field since 2019 |
| Surface | Natural Bermuda grass |
| Home record under Kirby Smart | 56 wins, 5 losses |
The Record Crowd
The largest crowd in stadium history was 93,246 for Notre Dame in September 2019, a night game between top ten teams that Georgia won 23 to 17. It was Notre Dame’s first visit to Athens, and the university added temporary seating and standing room to push past the official capacity, which was 92,746 at the time. No crowd since the 2024 renovation has approached it.
How the Capacity Changed
| Year | Capacity | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| 1929 | 30,000 | Opened, both ends open |
| 1949 | 36,000 | Sideline additions |
| 1964 | 43,621 | Dooley’s first season |
| 1967 | 59,200 | Upper decks added |
| 1981 | 82,122 | East end enclosed after the 1980 title |
| 1991 | 85,434 | West end enclosed |
| 2003 | 92,058 | North side upper deck and suites |
| 2004 | 92,746 | Held for twenty seasons |
| 2024 | 93,033 | Two phase renovation, small increase |
The Yale Game
Georgia persuaded Yale, then a national power, to make its first trip south for the dedication game. Thirty thousand paid three dollars each, the governors of all nine Southern states attended, and a sophomore end named Vernon Catfish Smith scored all fifteen points in a 15 to 0 win. Yale donated its share of the gate to help pay off the construction loan, which was retired within five years.
The Hedges
Privet hedges were planted around the field for the 1929 opener and have been there since, which is where Between the Hedges comes from. They grow around a chain link fence, which is why nobody rushes the field. They were removed for the 1996 Olympic soccer tournament, held at the stadium, and replanted from cuttings afterwards. Fans still call the period during which they were gone the Hedgeless Summer.
The Ravine
The stadium was built in a natural valley between Lumpkin Street and the Oconee River, which made construction cheaper in 1929 and makes leaving the building an uphill walk in every direction today. The west end has stayed lower than the rest and is open toward the Gillis Bridge that carries fans over the railway tracks, one of the few sightlines into a major stadium from outside it.
Dooley Field
The playing surface was named for Vince Dooley in September 2019, forty years after he took over as athletic director and thirty after his last season as coach. He won 201 games, six SEC titles and the 1980 national championship on it. Our head coaches page covers his tenure.
Home Field Under Smart
Georgia won 33 consecutive home games from 2019 to 2025, a school record, and is 56 and 5 at Sanford Stadium under Kirby Smart, including 9 and 0 against top ten opponents. The stadium has ranked among the ten best attended in the country for more than two decades. Our Georgia all time record page covers the wider picture.
The Bottom Line
Sanford Stadium holds 93,033 and drew a record 93,246 for Notre Dame in 2019. It opened in a ravine in 1929 with 30,000 seats and a win over Yale, has been expanded nine times, and the hedges planted for the first game are still there. Georgia has lost five home games in ten seasons under Kirby Smart.