funds and oversee the project, and Tigert and ten supporters of Florida's athletic program took out personal loans to expedite construction of the $118,000, 22,000-seat football stadium. Construction began on April 16, 1930, and soon faced serious engineering and geotechnical obstacles related to natural groundwater and drainage. The chosen site was a shallow ravine, with approximately 30 rows of the current seating area below the level of the surrounding land. During preliminary excavation and leveling work, water from a previously unknown underground stream began to pour into the construction site from the north, miring the future playing surface in mud. The problem was resolved with the installation of massive underground culverts that diverted the stream to Graham Pond two blocks south of the stadium site, and ultimately, to Lake Alice in the then-undeveloped southern side of the UF campus. The groundwater issues delayed completion of the stadium and forced the Gators to play the first several home games of the 1930 season at Fleming Field. A construction team of 80 laborers and mules finally completed Florida Field in time for the homecoming game on November 8, 1930, against Alabama, the dominant Southern Conference team of the day. In 1934, Florida Field was dedicated to the memory of Florida servicemen who died in World War I, and a memorial plaque to that effect was installed on the outside wall behind the north end zone. Expansions As originally designed, Florida Field had a capacity of 21,769 and consisted of a gently-sloping, U-shaped concrete grandstand encompassing approximately the lower half of the current seating area. The first row of seats is quite close to the sidelines, so when the university decided to add a running track a year after the stadium opened, it was installed perpendicular to the football field beyond the open-ended south endzone. This adjoining track facility, which was used by the Florida Gators track and field program beginning in 1932, had its own set of bleachers and was known as Graham Field. Since then, Florida Field has undergone many renovations and expansions, almost always adding more seats: In 1949–1950, capacity was almost doubled to about 40,000 with the addition of a second tier to the west stands and the installation of bleachers in the open south endzone. A press box was also added atop the west stands and stadium lights were installed, allowing the 1950 season to kick off with