What do latest Jacksonville stadium plans mean for Georgia football vs Florida in 2026?
GREENSBORO—The latest plans for major renovations to the stadium that hosts the annual Georgia football game against Florida call for the NFL Jacksonville Jaguars to only be displaced for one season there, but the game known as the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party still is expected to be moved elsewhere for both 2026 and 2027.
The Jaguars plan to play the 2026 season with reduced capacity of about 43,500 in EverBank Stadium with the upper deck closed as part of the $1.4 billion project, team president Mark Lamping said last week on 1010XL in Jacksonville.
That’s not feasible for Georgia-Florida which last season was played before a crowd of 76,251.
So playing the game elsewhere—most likely at another neutral site with home-and-home not off the table—is still needed for those two seasons. The schools are under contract to play in Jacksonville through the 2025 game.
"We're working with Florida to look at options for those two years,” Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks said Friday morning after a Georgia athletic board of directors meeting in which a $192.7 million fiscal year 2025 budget was approved as expected. “Beyond that, excited once that construction is 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. It looks like it's going to be an amazing project."
Orlando and Gainesville are being eyed by the Jaguars for game in 2027.
Playing the game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Raymond James Stadium in Tampa or Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte could be possibilities as neutral sites for Georgia-Florida.
“We continue to have conversations with the City of Jacksonville and the Jaguars about their exciting plans,” Florida senior associate athletic director Steve McClain said in an email to the Athens Banner-Herald last week. “Our understanding is that further approvals are required before next steps, so we should wait before commenting publicly about how this could potentially impact the Florida-Georgia Game. “
Georgia makes about $6 million more over a two-year period playing the game at the neutral site rather than home-and-home. Georgia this year is listing $4.2 million as the revenue for the Florida game.
The game has been played annually in Jacksonville since 1933 except for 1994 and 1995 when the stadium also was renovated.
In other scheduling news, Georgia and UCLA have been discussing whether scheduled games at UCLA in 2025 and against the Bruins in Athens in 2026 will be played.
"We're still working through it," Brooks said. "I would hope for an update on that soon."
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Georgia AD Josh Brooks on site for Georgia football vs. Florida in 2026
