TIAA Bank Field, city council debate over removing seats for Florida-Georgia

There might be fewer fans in TIAA Stadium this year for Florida-Georgia, the annual SEC rivalry game played in Jacksonville,. The Jacksonville City Council is considering the removal of 6,000 temporary seats.

Instead of the 6,000 seats, which would be in the North endzone, the stadium would expand availability to more “premium seating.”

The city council will vote on Tuesday whether or not to remove the temporary seats, just a handful of days before the Oct. 30 matchup.

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 it is owned by the city.

The stadium has a five-year deal to host the Florida-Georgia game.

Even if the city council votes to reduce capacity on Tuesday, the game will still have at least three times the number of fans than last season. Due to COVID-19, TIAA Stadium reduced capacity to 19,000 fans.

The decision does not come without consequences. Removing the 6,000 seats could cost an estimated $800,000. However, the Florida-Georgia game always draws large crowds to Jacksonville, even if it’s just for the tailgate. It should be especially busy in 2021 after last year’s limited capacity and given Georgia’s No. 1 ranking.

Dan Mullen offers encouragement ahead of Florida-Georgia

The Florida Gators season appears is heading the wrong direction, at least compared to preseason expectations. Following disappointing losses against Kentucky and LSU, the Gators now prepare to face Georgia. It’s an opportunity to snag a major upset over the top team in the country.

Facing criticism from every angle, Florida coach Dan Mullen addressed the current situation, offering words of encouragement for everyone.

“I think we’re headed in a good way with the attitude of the program,” Mullen said. “Our kids here on the team have a great attitude, great focus. The energy we’ve had at practice has been really good. I’m pretty pleased with the mindset of the guys on the team are right now.”

After starting the season 2-0, Florida suffered a close loss against Alabama. They failed to convert a late two-point conversion, falling 31-29 at the end. After an encouraging win over Tennessee, the Gators were upset by Kentucky, failing to score on the final drive. A bounce-back win over Vanderbilt appeared to put Florida in position to roll over injury-depleted LSU, but they fell in Death Valley 49-42, again failing to score at the end.

Dan Mullen’s encouragement comes at an opportune time. The schedule does ease up after Georgia, with South Carolina, Samford, Missouri and Florida State on tap. But a three or four-loss season is already a failure based on preseason expectations.

On3’s James Fletcher contributed to this report.