Thousands of country music fans poured into Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Friday night for the first night of Morgan Wallen’s concert, a turnout law enforcement called Gainesville’s biggest event in decades. Wallen took the stage around 9:30 p.m. at The Swamp, where the crowd included fans from across Florida and even some who traveled from Canada.
The concert had been in the works for months, and officials spent that time planning for the traffic, crowds and heat that came with two nights at the stadium. University Avenue between 17th Street and Gale Lemerand Drive was closed for the event and was set to reopen at 1 a.m. before shutting down again for the second show on Saturday.
That scale showed up before the music started. Country fans gathered near the stadium ahead of the show, and bar owners in Midtown opened earlier than usual to handle the expected rush. One attendee, Loren Nienajadlo, said it was her first concert and that she wanted this one because it was in the swamp. Another, Jone Brown, described the night as fun with friends and family, even if the group was not actually related.
The lineup around the stadium made clear this was more than a standard tour stop. Former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow appeared, along with Florida basketball coach Todd Golden and Florida football coach Jon Sumrall, adding to the hometown feel around a concert officials had already labeled as one of the city’s largest in years. Law enforcement urged attendees to stay hydrated and alert in the heat and the crowds, and asked anyone planning to drink to secure a ride.
Not everyone was headed straight to the seats. Tavian Sorval said the plan was to bar hop before the show, get a little buzz going and then head into the stadium to dance with Wallen on stage. The second concert was scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, with downtown Gainesville again bracing for a surge that stretched well beyond the stadium gates.
For Gainesville, the weekend is a rare test of how the city handles a crowd this large around Florida Gators Football territory. For the fans, it is simpler than that: a long-planned night at The Swamp, with another one still to come.
