Florida, Georgia game moves to Atlanta, Tampa for two seasons before return to Jacksonville, per report

Football

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Image Credit: Kelsi Bevington / UAA

The Florida Gators and Georgia Bulldogs meet for the 102nd time on Saturday in Jacksonville, Florida. The annual series, once known as the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, has been played in Jacksonville all but two times since 1933, though it will take a two-week respite from Duval County over the 2026-27 seasons due to the game’s home, EverBank Stadium, undergoing significant renovations.

The Florida-Georgia game will instead be held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta (2026) and Raymond James Stadium in Tampa (2027) during those seasons before returning to Jacksonville in 2028, according to Action Network’s Brett McMurphy.

It is expected that Jacksonville will remain the game’s permanent home at that time, sources close to the situation have previously told OnlyGators.com. Orlando’s Camping World Stadium and Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium were also considered as hosts of the 2027 game.

The decision to play in Atlanta and Tampa — rather than home-and-home series at the teams’ respective campus stadiums in Athens, Georgia, and Gainesville, Florida — came for one simple reason: money. The Gators and Bulldogs are each being paid $1.5 million to play their game in Jacksonville this year, and it stands to reason the teams will command similar site fees from those venues.

The Florida-Georgia game will be played in Atlanta for the first time in series history, though the 2027 contest will mark a return to Tampa for the first time since a 1919 meeting, the third game in series history. The Gators are 2-0 over the Dawgs in games played outside Jacksonville since 1933.

Florida trails Georgia 44-55-2 in the all-time series with the Dawgs having won three straight and six of the last seven meetings since 2017. The Gators had won 21 of the prior 27 meetings and still hold a 22-12 series lead since 1990.

The 2024 game will mark the fourth straight in which UF is unranked while UGA enters as a top-five team nationally. Florida has lost the last three meetings by an average of 24 points.