Georgia-Florida Game To Remain in Jacksonville Through 2025
After serving as the home of the Georgia-Florida series since 1933 - save for a two-year interlude from 1994-95 when the game was played on campus while the stadium in Jacksonville was rebuilt to host the city's new NFL expansion team. There has been much speculation in recent years regarding the future of the rivalry game in its long-time home. On Wednesday, however, Georgia and Florida announced a two-year extension for the series to remain on the First Coast through the 2025 season.
The agreement does not represent a new deal, but rather an extension of the most recent contract that was signed in October 2021. That deal, struck days before the 2021 edition of the game affectionally known as the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party - secured TIAA Bank Stadium as the home of the matchup between the two bitter rivals through at least 2023, with an option to extend the deal for an additional two-years through the 2025 season. The current contract stipulated that the two-year option must be picked up by June 30 or the contract would expire. As that deadline approached, speculation that 2023 would be the final edition of the Georgia-Florida series in Jacksonville intensified. However, the decision by both athletic departments to exercise the two-year option has quieted the conjecture, at least temporarily.
Still, while the extension of the current contract through 2025 provides a short-term answer to the increasingly complex question of where to play the Georgia-Florida series, a long-term solution remains elusive. In his somewhat cryptic statement announcing the two-year extension, Josh Brooks, the J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics at the University of Georgia, avoided committing to continuing the series in Jacksonville beyond 2025.
"We are pleased with the decision to exercise the option that will keep the game in Jacksonville for 2024 and 2025," Brooks stated. "We look forward to discussions that I'm sure will continue over the next couple of years exploring all of the options for 2026 and beyond. We continue to be appreciative of the working relationship we have with the University of Florida and the City of Jacksonville," Brooks continued.
Georgia fans celebrate a victory over Florida in Jacksonville in 2021.
Brooks' counterpart at Florida, Athletic Director Scott Stricklin also remained ambiguous about the future of the long-running series in Jacksonville beyond 2025 in his terse statement on the latest extension of the series.
"The City of Jacksonville has been a historic host for one of the great rivalry games in all of college football," Stricklin said. "We are excited to have the game in Jacksonville for another two seasons."
Georgia Head Football Coach Kirby Smart has been openly supportive of moving the game to each school's respective campus on a rotating basis. At SEC Media Days in Atlanta last July, Smart made his most pointed public comments to date regarding his preference to move the series to campus sites, citing recruiting considerations as the most prominent factor influencing his position.
"It's more about for me, I'm competing against guys all across the SEC who host kids at their biggest game," Smart said on the SEC Network set. "When Auburn plays Alabama, guess where the recruits are. They're at Auburn. When LSU and Alabama play, guess where the biggest recruits want to go. It's an opportunity for us to bring these kids who fly in from all over the country. What game do they want to see? They'd like to see Georgia play Florida but they can't do that."
Georgia Head Coach Kirby Smart has been a proponent of moving the Georgia-Florida series to campus sites.
This past October, Smart softened his stance as he sought to clarify his position on the subject when asked to expound on that position during a press conference leading up to the 2022 edition of the Georgia-Florida game.
“There's really quality benefits to both,” Smart said. “When it comes down to it, there’s a very, very basic element of everything comes back to, number one money, and number two recruiting and getting good players. I firmly believe that we’ll be able to sign better players by having it as a home-and-home because we’ll have more opportunities to get them to campus. But, I also think there’s a financial factor that factors into that, with having the game there and being able to make more money for the university, possibly, there. You have to weigh both those and make really good decisions.”
Further complicating the future of the Georgia-Florida series in Jacksonville are the impending wholesale renovations to TIAA Bank Stadium to modernize the stadium for the Jaguars. In an interview earlier this month on 1010XL radio, the outgoing Jacksonville Mayor revealed that the renovations to TIAA Bank Stadium could force the series to temporarily relocate for the 2025 and 2026 seasons, potentially paving the way for the game to move out of Jacksonville permanently.
Under the current contract, both schools will receive a $1.25 million payment from the City of Jacksonville in 2023. The two programs split the gate for each game, which typically amounts to $3.3 million per game. The contract also provides for a $60,000 travel allowance for Florida and a $350,000 travel allowance for Georgia, which requires air travel for the official traveling party in order to make the trip.
While speculation regarding the future of the Georgia-Florida series will likely rage on until a new long-term deal is signed, the decision to exercise the two-year extension through the 2025 season will at least provide a brief respite from the debate.
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