Stricklin: UF Hosting Jaguars 'Worth Exploring' Amid Possible Stadium Upgrades

If Jacksonville mayor Lenny Curry's vision to upgrade the Jacksonville Jaguars' leased stadium comes to fruition, the Florida Gators would be open to aiding the NFL franchise during the project.

Photo: UF athletic director Scott Stricklin; Credit: Alex Shepherd 

Jacksonville, Fla. mayor Lenny Curry suggested in a Wednesday radio interview with 1010XL, offering little in terms of specific detail, that the Jaguars "will have to play somewhere else" as a result of the team and city's desire to renovate TIAA Bank Field in the coming years. 

No renovative plans have officially been agreed to, although ambitious project renderings (in and around the downtown athletic complex), lofty cost projections, negotiations and debate between the franchise and City Council have been commonplace since Shad Khan took ownership of the Jaguars in 2012. 

Still, Curry — who is set to leave the mayor's office at the expiration of his second term on July 1 — expressed the previously undisclosed idea of the Jaguars playing their home games elsewhere while the stadium receives improvements in the future. His preference would be to keep the games local, but it is unclear if it would be logistically possible to play elsewhere in Jacksonville. 

“Best-case scenario, I expect that the renovation will take two years, two seasons. And the team will have to play somewhere else,” Curry said. “The goal would be to play somewhere in Jacksonville. Those discussions are happening. But two years is the goal.” 

Curry floated the 2025-26 seasons as a potential timeline. The team's current lease on the stadium runs through the 2029 season. 

Although plans to renovate TIAA Bank Field and temporarily move the Jaguars out of the stadium are considered conjecture at this point, University of Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin appears intrigued by the idea of hosting the NFL team in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium should such proposals move forward. 

The franchise has communicated the possibility of subsequent discussions regarding the topic with the University Athletic Association. 

“The Jaguars have shared their exciting vision for their stadium renovations with us and also expressed interest in having future conversations about where they would play games during the renovation," Stricklin said in response to media inquiries on Thursday. 

"It would be worth exploring hosting games in The Swamp. There are a lot of Jags fans in Gainesville given the close proximity to Jacksonville.” 

To Stricklin's point, "The Swamp" is a 74-mile drive from "The Bank," and it is the closest stadium to TIAA Bank Field with a capacity equal to or greater than that of Jacksonville's own (67,838). 

According to the Florida Times-Union, the next-biggest constructed stadium in Jacksonville — Hodges Stadium at the University of North Florida — can fit up to 12,000 people. Seating options would be reduced by over 82% if the Jaguars were to play in Hodges Stadium in its current form.

Beyond the impact renovations would have on the Jaguars, the Universities of Florida and Georgia would also be forced to adjust under these circumstances.

TIAA Bank Field (and all of its former names) has been the home of the annual matchup between the Gators and Bulldogs since 1933, with exceptions in 1994 and 1995 when the stadium was being rebuilt for the Jaguars. 

Curry said that the SEC rivalry would move to UF's and UGA's campuses amid the proposed project. Stricklin did not offer confirmation of Curry's comment but made note of the contract between the universities and the city that guarantees the game will be played in Jacksonville this October.

“Jacksonville has been a great host city for this storied rivalry and the game is scheduled to be played there this year with an option to extend two more years," Stricklin said. 

The option, however, has yet to be picked up. The deadline to put the two-year extension into effect is an unspecified date this June, which All Gators reported in Oct. 2022.

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