Details on what Georgia football is facing as Florida rivalry could move from Jacksonville

The contentious decision to keep Georgia football's annual football rivalry game with Florida in Jacksonville or move it may be made for the powers that be at both schools.

At least for a couple of seasons.

Upcoming major stadium renovations for TIAA Bank Field — if approved — would send a game known as the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party elsewhere.

That's could be Athens and Gainesville or given the finances it could swing the decision to other neutral sites, including Atlanta.

Jacksonville mayor Lenny Curry said in a radio interview that the “best-case scenario” is the renovations would be over two years and indicated games in 2025-2026 would need to be played elsewhere, but Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin told The Athletic he was under the impression it would be 2026-2027.

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While there has been sentiment by some to move the games on campus, including by Georgia coach Kirby Smart, after the current deal ends after this season — the schools have an option to extend it through 2025 that seems likely they will do — it's not a sure thing the games would move to Sanford Stadium or Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

Curry said on 1010XL that Georgia and Florida could each host a game on campus during the stadium renovations, but neutral site games are a boost to the bottom line for both schools.

It’s worth about $6 million more over a two-year period for Georgia.

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Under the current arrangement, Georgia is getting a $1.25 million guarantee on top of the ticket revenue for this year’s game that would go up to $1.5 million the next two years.

It also gets $410,000 a year to cover travel costs, $400,000 for not setting up temporary north end bleachers in the Jacksonville stadium and gets a percentage of alcohol sales in the stadium.

Georgia’s highest projected ticket revenue for an SEC home game last season — Auburn — was at $5.18 million, but that game will be played this season in Auburn so that’s nearly $2 million less that Georgia would make for two games in Jacksonville that bring in about $7 million.

The neutral site game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium against Oregon last season was projected to bring in $4.25 million for a single year.

“When it comes down to it, there's a very, very basic element of everything comes back to, number one money and number two, recruiting and getting good players,” Smart said before the Florida game last year. “I firmly believe that we'll be able to sign better players by having it as a home-and-home because we'll have more opportunities to get them to campus. But, I also think there's a financial factor that factors into that, with having the game there, and being able to make more money for the university, possibly, there. You have to weigh both those and make really good decisions.”

The Georgia-Florida rivalry has been played each year in Jacksonville since 1933 except for 1994 and 1995 when the stadium was also being renovated. The 1994 game was held in Gainesville and the 1995 game in Athens.

Mercedes-Benz Stadium — where Georgia also played last season in the SEC championship game and Peach Bowl — would naturally be the preferred neutral site for Georgia outside of Jacksonville for the Florida game.

“You all tell Florida, you call the AD and ask him to come to Atlanta and come plays us and we’ll play them any time they want to play,” Smart said last summer.

There are other neutral sites in Florida if Jacksonville isn’t available including Camping World Stadium in Orlando and Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

Jacksonville chief administrative officer Brian Hughes is in regular communication with the schools as they work to negotiate future games, said Curry who is leaving office.

Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks in a statement said more talks about how stadium construction in Jacksonville could affect the Florida game are still to be held.

“We look forward to having conversations with the appropriate City of Jacksonville officials which will provide more information on the scope of construction, the timeline of the project, and how it would impact the future of our game vs. Florida,” he said.

The possibility of playing the game elsewhere could put the schools in a good position to increase its take for continuing to play the series in Jacksonville.

Curry, who will leave office at the end of June, said the venue will be more attractive for the schools and the NFL team, the Jacksonville Jaguars, who play there.

“When it’s done, you will think you’re in a brand new stadium,” Curry said. “We’re basically renovating because the bones are good. It will be a completely different facility. It will be state of the art. It will be something that other cities look at and say Wow, look at what Jacksonville just did.”

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Georgia football games vs. Florida could move from Jacksonville