Steve Spurrier recalls decision to play the Cocktail Party vs. Georgia in Jacksonville
Florida Gator football legend Steve Spurrier has an endless amount of experience in the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, one of the biggest rivalries in college football between the Florida Gators and the Georgia Bulldogs.
On Wednesday, he stopped by the Paul Finebaum Show to talk about the game and the decision to play it in Jacksonville, Florida.
“Us Gators are happy it’s in Jacksonville now, but I can tell you back in the 70s and 80s, the Bulldogs were happy the game was in Jacksonville. Because back in ’90, when I was hired, some of the University sort of big people (boosters) said, ‘We can’t beat Georgia in Jacksonville, we need to go home-and-home.’ And I said, ‘Well, let’s try and see if we can beat them in Jacksonville before we do that.’
“So then we had a lot better teams than they did in the early ‘90s, so we enjoyed playing in Jacksonville. But they’ve certainly won their share, maybe more than we have, with the game in Jacksonville.”
The game will stay in Jacksonville until at least 2023
Jacksonville City Council voted unanimously Tuesday evening to approve a contract that would keep the annual Florida-Georgia football game at TIAA Stadium through at least 2023.
The agreement with the city, the University Athletic Association and the University of Georgia Athletic Association has Jacksonville hosting five games, starting with Saturday’s game through the 2023 game and includes a two-year extension option for the 2024 and 2025 games.
“Pleased to see our City Council unanimously approved a new contract that will keep one of our great traditions in #Jacksonville through 2025,” Mayor of Jacksonville Lenny Curry tweeted. “Many thanks to my City Council colleagues, @UF, & @UGA for keeping this rivalry where it belongs.”
As part of the agreement, the schools and Jacksonville voted to remove 6,000 temporary seats in the north end zone of TIAA Bank Field, which means each school will be compensated $400,000.
TIAA Stadium has a capacity of 67,814 fans and is expandable to 82,000. The stadium is the home of the Jacksonville Jaguars but is owned by the city.
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart voiced his displeasure on Tuesday with the neutral site location of the game.
“I don’t concern myself with things that I don’t control,” Smart commented on the location of Georgia’s upcoming game with Florida. “All I will ever say is that the home atmosphere we have is incredible and the ability to bring recruits in is big. And if I knew every year we would have home games like we’ve had this year it probably would be less of an issue.”
The Florida-Georgia game is this Saturday in Jacksonville, Florida. Kickoff is set for 3:30 PM EST.
On3’s Tim Verghese also contributed to this report.