The Georgia-Florida rivalry will be temporarily leaving Jacksonville in the next few years, but on Wednesday we learned it will still be a neutral-site game in the meantime.
Kirby Smart confirmed that Georgia’s annual rivalry game with Florida will be played in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2026 and in Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium in 2027. The two-year move is necessary as Jacksonville’s EverBank Stadium undergoes construction, and the plans are for the series to return to Jacksonville once the project is complete.
The Action Network’s Brett McMurphy initially reported the news.
“It’s been talked about and debated for a long time — for a while, since we’ve known the Jacksonville renovation was going to occur,” Smart said on Wednesday. “I think the parties involved did a great job of managing it. I think Jacksonville did a great job stepping up and making it worthwhile for both universities. I’m excited about the opportunity to play at two different locations, so that’ll be unique. Maybe we learn from those two experiences.”
Georgia and Florida have played in Jacksonville every year since 1944 save the 1994 and 1995 meetings when the games were moved on campus due to stadium construction. There have been 91 meetings in Jacksonville, with the first being back in 1915.
The 2025 season will mark the first time the game was played in the Peach State since 1995, when the Bulldogs lost to the Gators 52-14.
Smart was asked if there were discussions about moving the game to the Athens and Gainesville campuses, but Smart said he did not remember.
“I’m so engulfed in this — in the game,” Smart said. “I recognize why it’s a story for you guys, but I’m so consumed by, you know, our team. We’re trying to get our team better for Florida that that’s my focus. I mean, I really hadn’t been involved in those discussions. I think that was a consideration maybe, but I don’t even remember when and I can’t even tell you why it did go one way or the other, to be honest with you.”
Florida head coach Billy Napier expressed his excitement about the Gators playing in Atlanta and Tampa. While Napier said he and Smart agree that a home-and-home setup would be an awesome experience, Napier pointed to the financial opportunities as important in the decision-making process.
“We also know that there’s a tremendous amount of revenue created by having this game at a neutral site. Money makes the world go round and certainly, the amount of revenue, there’s a significant difference in the revenue that’s generated,” Napier said. “We play in Jacksonville. There’s a historical context to that, but there’s also a revenue component as well. I think the neutral site will present the same revenue opportunities and ultimately why the decision was made.”
NFL owners unanimously approved Jacksonville’s $1.4 billion “stadium of the future” on Oct. 15. Back in the June the Jacksonville city council passed a proposal that will see the city and the Jacksonville Jaguars pay $625 million for renovations to Everbank Stadium. The renovations, which includes adding a roof to the existing stadium, are expected to be finished ahead of the 2028 NFL season.
Per the latest projections, Everbank Stadium will have a limited capacity of approximately 43,500 in 2026 and will not be available at all in 2027.
According to the Associated Press, construction on the project would begin following the 2025 season with the Jaguars playing in front of a reduced capacity in 2026 and playing elsewhere in 2027.
The 63,000-seat, open-air stadium includes a translucent covering that’s the equivalent of “wearing shades in the sun,” Jaguars president Mark Lamping told the AP. It’s expected to lower outside temperatures by 15 degrees.
The stadium plan also includes 140% more concourse space, 190 new points of sale, 16 new escalators, 12 new elevators, and 12 new restrooms.
Capacity could be expanded to 71,500 to accommodate Georgia-Florida as well as the Gator Bowl, a College Football Playoff game or the Final Four. Pools and a party deck are expected to remain in the north end zone.
Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks spoke about the future of the Georgia-Florida rivalry in May. Brooks acknowledged that upcoming construction means the series will have to be moved temporarily, but he made it clear that Georgia is interested in returning to the city once the work is complete.
“For the immediate we’ve got to look at other options, whether that’s home-and-home, whether it’s neutral sites. So we’re looking,” Brooks said. “We’re working with Florida to look at the options for those two years and then beyond that, once that construction’s complete, we’re excited to go back there and see the potential and opportunities to make it a really special game with what they’re talking about doing there [with the stadium]. It looks like it’s going to be an amazing project.”
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