Hotly contested rivalry games are one of the defining features of college football.
But the landscape of the sport is shifting in this new era.
And college football fans were up in arms after the Florida Gators upended this SEC rivalry.
The world’s largest outdoor cocktail party is on the move
The annual clash between the University of Florida Gators and the University of Georgia Bulldogs is one of the fiercest rivalries in college football.
It was nicknamed the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” for the raucous tailgating that accompanied the game before the woke mob stepped in and squashed that nickname.
The Georgia-Florida game has been played at a neutral site in Jacksonville, Florida every year since 1933 except for 1943 when the game was halted because of World War II and for the construction of Alltell Stadium, now known as EverBank Stadium, in 1994 and 1995.
Gator Bowl Stadium was the home of the game from `1933 until 1993 when the stadium was torn down to build AllTell Stadium which would become the home of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars.
The 1994 edition of the rivalry game was played at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Florida’s campus and then it moved to Georgia’s Sanford Stadium.
Florida confirmed that its rivalry game against Georgia is on the move because of upgrades being made to EverBank Stadium.
Everbank Stadium is undergoing a $1.4 billion renovation that will force the Florida-Georgia rivalry game to hit the road for two seasons.
The game is moving to Mercedes Benz Stadium, the home of the Atlanta Falcons in Atlanta, Georgia for the 2026 season. In the 2027 season, the game will be moved to Raymond James Stadium, the home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Tampa, Florida.
The future of the Florida-Georgia game
Some fans have been pushing for the game to ditch the neutral site in Jacksonville to become a permanent home and home series.
A neutral site game costs season ticket holders at each school a prime home game every other season.
The Iron Bowl rivalry game between the Auburn Tigers and the Alabama Crimson Tide was played for decades at a neutral site in Birmingham, Alabama before it returned to the campus sites for good in 2000.
Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier welcomed the chance to play at two NFL stadiums.
“We’re excited about the opportunity to play in both Atlanta and Tampa,” Napier said. “Both great venues. Both will be well-ran operations. We all understand the revenue this game generates for both athletic departments. It’s going to be unique, and certainly, we’re excited about that opportunity.”
Napier might not be coaching the Gators for those games with his seat getting hot.
Georgia Bulldogs head Kirby Smart praised Jacksonville for the effort the city put into hosting the rivalry game.
“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.
“I think the parties involved did a great job managing it, and I think Jacksonville did a great job stepping up and making it worthwhile for both universities and I’m excited about the opportunity to play at two different locations,” Smart continued. “That’ll be unique and maybe we learn from those two experiences.”
The Florida-Georgia game looks set to be a neutral site clash for at least the next decade.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.
