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Where is the SEC championship? Why conference title game is always held in Atlanta

sahil kurup, usa today network
·4 min read

The SEC championship game is here, with familiar participants in the Alabama Crimson Tide and Georgia Bulldogs. They will face off in the latest edition of the conference title game on Saturday in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

The city has hosted the game since 1994, with the past six games being held at Mercedes-Benz following the November 2017 demolition of the Georgia Dome.

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Mercedes-Benz Stadium has seen three Alabama SEC championships and two Georgia wins (plus an LSU win in 2019). The two heavyweight programs also faced off in 2018 and 2021, with the Crimson Tide winning both games in dominant fashion. However, Georgia is going for its 30th straight win, an SEC record that belongs to the Bulldogs after their Week 13 victory against Georgia Tech.

Here's everything you need to know about the SEC Championship Game and its location.

Where is the SEC championship game?

The SEC championship game is currently held at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The stadium has been the host venue for the game since 2017, which pitted Georgia vs. Auburn for conference supremacy.

Indeed, Mercedes-Benz Stadium has never seen an SEC championship game without at least one of Alabama or Georgia as a participant: Alabama has left Atlanta victorious in 2018, 2020 and 2021; Georgia took home the title from Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2017, made appearances in 2018, 2019 and 2021, and won another title in 2022.

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Why is the SEC championship game in Atlanta?

The first two SEC championship games took place at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama, which made sense at the time considering the conference is headquartered in Birmingham. However, former commissioner Roy Kramer, the mastermind behind college football's first conference title game, quickly pivoted from Birmingham to Atlanta after just two seasons.

“It wasn’t very popular in Birmingham,” Kramer told The Florida Times Union in 2016. “[Atlanta] is such a natural location, you get away from bad weather and every team can get there easily.”

From 1994 to 2016, the venue shifted to the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Even anticipating the Georgia Dome's demolition after the 2016 season, the SEC opted to keep the title game in Atlanta, transitioning to Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Per a 2015 release from the Southeastern Conference, the latest deal betwen the SEC and Mercedes-Benz Stadium was set to run through 2026 and had the option of adding two successive five-year extensions:

"Atlanta has served as an outstanding host for the SEC Football Championship Game for more than two decades and has been the perfect venue for one of the premier events in college sports," SEC Ccommissioner Greg Sankey said in a statement. "We look forward to continuing a very positive relationship with Mercedes-Benz Stadium and the Georgia World Congress Center as the home of our football championship."

Added Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank:

"We are tremendously excited to continue the SEC legacy in Atlanta in the years to come," Blank said. "The SEC Football Championship Game is a premier sporting event and is representative of the marquee events we will host at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. We look forward to working with the SEC toward their goal of producing national championship winners."

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Previous SEC championship game locations

Below is a list of the lengthy history of the SEC Championship Game across three historic venues:

Legion Field (Birmingham, Alabama)

  • 1992: Alabama 28, Florida 21

  • 1993: Florida 28, Alabama 13

Georgia Dome (Atlanta)

  • 1994: Florida 24, Alabama 23

  • 1995: Florida 34, Arkansas 3

  • 1996: Florida 45, Alabama 30

  • 1997: Tennessee 30, Auburn 29

  • 1998: Tennessee 24, Mississippi State 14

  • 1999: Alabama 34, Florida 7

  • 2000: Florida 28, Auburn 6

  • 2001: LSU 31, Tennessee 20

  • 2002: Georgia 30, Arkansas 3

  • 2003: LSU 34, Georgia 13

  • 2004: Auburn 38, Tennessee 28

  • 2005: Georgia 34, LSU 14

  • 2006: Florida 38, Arkansas 28

  • 2007: LSU 21, Tennessee 14

  • 2008: Florida 31, Alabama 20

  • 2009: Alabama 32, Florida 13

  • 2010: Auburn 56, South Carolina 17

  • 2011: LSU 42, Georgia 10

  • 2012: Alabama 32, Georgia 28

  • 2013: Auburn 59, Missouri 42

  • 2014: Alabama 42, Missouri 13

  • 2015: Alabama 29, Florida 15

  • 2016: Alabama 54, Florida 16

Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta)

  • 2017: Georgia 28, Auburn 7

  • 2018: Alabama 35, Georgia 28

  • 2019: LSU 37, Georgia 10

  • 2020: Alabama 52, Florida 46

  • 2021: Alabama 41, Georgia 24

  • 2022: Georgia 50, LSU 30

  • 2023: Georgia vs. Alabama

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: SEC championship game location: Why conference finale is in Atlanta