The event formerly known as the world’s largest outdoor cocktail party is about to become the largest traveling show in the South. Just a few days before the last installment of Georgia vs. Florida, it was learned that the long-standing rivalry will be played in Atlanta in 2026 and Tampa in 2027.
the news, First reported by Action Network’s Brett McMurphyIt’s neither shocking nor surprising, but it’s still a bit depressing. Jacksonville’s EverBank Stadium (formerly known as TIAA Bank Field, EverBank Field, AllTel Stadium and Jacksonville Municipal Stadium) will undergo a major, long-planned renovation during that period, making it unsuitable for the type of momentous party that accompanies every Florida-Georgia game.
The series has been played in Jacksonville almost every year since 1933. The 1994 and 1995 games were played in Gainesville and Athens, when the old Gator Bowl was demolished and EverBank was built to house the then-expansion Jaguars.
Which leads to a pretty obvious question: why not play this glorious, cruel, sprawling, chaotic rivalry on the two challengers’ campuses? Campuses that are A) beautiful, B) host their own pretty nice stadiums, and C) surprisingly close to the vast majority of students who attend these excellent universities. So why take the show on tour?
You already know the answer: money. Big money. Like the decision to move the annual Georgia-Georgia Tech game, another massive rivalry, to Mercedes-Benz Stadium for a year, money trumps tradition and nostalgia.
Typically, in home-and-home situations, rivals trade revenue opportunities back and forth, with the home team claiming the dawg’s (or crocodile) share of the ticket revenue. But at a neutral site, both teams share those revenues, and in the case of Georgia-Florida, the host city also contributes some cash incentives and takes care of the logistics. It’s a win-win for both universities, even if it means a lot of travel for the blue and orange and red and black faithful.
The contract between the schools that runs through the 2025 game calls for each school to receive $1.5 million a year from Jacksonville. This adds up to a 50-50 split of total ticket revenue, which in recent years has been reported at around $3.75 million a year. Jacksonville also reimburses each team $60,000 for travel, lodging and game-day expenses, and Georgia receives an additional $350,000 on top of that for air travel.
Two years ago, Georgia’s Kirby Smart complained about the fact that hosting a big game outside of Athens cost him valuable recruiting opportunities, but that was just sound and fury. Smart knows very well how much money is made by playing at a neutral site, whether in Jacksonville, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta in 2026 or at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa in 2027.
“I think the parties involved did a great job of stepping up and making (the stadium tour) worthwhile for both universities,” Smart said Wednesday on the SEC coaches’ teleconference. “I’m excited for the opportunity to play it, you know, two different locations, so it will be unique and maybe we’ll learn from those experiences.”
You don’t have to read between the lines to understand what it means to “step up and make it count.” Jacksonville wrote a number on a piece of paper, Georgia and Florida added a zero and happily accepted. Or something similar.
“Look, Kirby and I probably agree that it would be great to play a home-and-home game, but we also know that there’s a tremendous amount of revenue generated by having this game at a neutral site,” Florida’s Billy Napier added. “Money makes the world go around, and certainly the amount of income, there is a significant difference in the income that is generated.”
As nice as it would have been for each campus to welcome its hated rival into its lair, the financial realities were impossible to overcome or avoid. But there are some small signs of hope for traditionalists.
The first round of the College Football Playoff will be held in the home stadiums of the 5th through 8th seeds against the 9th through 12th seeds. Schools have the option of moving the game outside of their home stadium, but on Wednesday, the director said CFP executive Rich Clark. that none of the programs that could potentially host a game were willing to take it off campus. So there could well be some playoff games in Columbus (Ohio), Athens (Georgia), College Station (Pennsylvania), Clemson (South Carolina) or other notable campuses.
Florida-Georgia moving to other NFL stadiums for two years isn’t necessarily a significant blow to tradition. Hey, at least it means the Jaguars won’t be the second-best team in their own building for a while. But the more comfortable we become with college teams playing in NFL stadiums, the more likely it will be that college teams will play more games in NFL stadiums.
This year’s version of Georgia-Florida begins at 3:30 pm on Sunday. The all-time series is 55-44-2 in favor of Georgia. The Bulldogs have won six of the last seven and are 16.5 point favorites to extend that streak.