REPORT: Future sites set for Georgia-Florida during Jacksonville stadium project
The future of Georgia-Florida is set. With the city of Jacksonville and the NFL approving plans for the “Stadium of the Future” – a move that’ll force the Jaguars to play in front of reduced capacity in 2026 and out of town entirely in 2027 – the Bulldogs and Gators will have to play their annual matchup elsewhere those two seasons too.
According to Brett McMurphy of Action Network, Mercedes-Benz Stadium and Atlanta will host the rivalry game in 2026 followed by the city of Tampa and Raymond James Stadium doing so in 2027.
Georgia and Florida are under contract with the city of Jacksonville through 2025. The move to Atlanta in 2026 will put the game outside of Duval County for the first time since 1994 (Gainesville) and 1995 (Athens) when the stadium the Jaguars’ stadium was being built.
Georgia has a long history of games played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Since its opening in 2017, the Bulldogs have appeared in six SEC Championship Games, two Peach Bowls and a pair of season-opening kickoff games. The 2018 National Championship Game was also played there, and a 2025 rivalry game against Georgia Tech will be played there as a Yellow Jacket home game.
As for Raymond James Stadium, it’s been since 2012 when Georgia played Michigan State in the Outback Bowl for the last time the Bulldogs took the field in Tampa. UGA played in the Outback Bowl in 2000 and 2005.
The location of the rivalry game has long been a talking point. Georgia head coach Kirby Smart understands the benefits of playing in Jacksonville, primarily an expected $4.2 million in ticket revenue plus the payment that comes directly from the city and coverage of travel costs. However, to him, having it on campus would add the ability to host recruits for the rivalry game.
“There’s really quality benefits to both,” Smart ahead of a Georgia-Florida matchup in 2022 when asked about playing on campus as opposed to at a neutral site. “You guys, I get it, you want to make a story. You need a story. Everybody wants to talk about it. It’s really not a big debate for me. It’s been made really big by the media because they’ve made it out to be a really big deal. I enjoy the pageantry of going down there and playing. I enjoyed it as a player. I enjoy tradition. I enjoy all those things.”
“Don’t really even think about it anymore,” he added last season. “We are where we are. That really has not even crossed my mind besides the offseason when I get asked about it. A lot more concerned with how we play than where we play.”
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As for once construction is complete in 2028, the plan is for the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party will return to Jacksonville. No contract has been announced, but it was part of the message athletics director Josh Brooks shared when previously discussing what would occur in 2026 and 2027.
“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],” Brooks said. “It looks like it’s going to be an amazing project.”
All-time, Georgia owns a 56-44-2 record in the series against Florida, winning the last two and six of eight under the direction of Kirby Smart. This year’s game between the Bulldogs and Gators kicks off on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC. UGA enters as more than two-touchdown favorites according to VegasInsider.
