Kirby Smart defends stance on Florida-Georgia rivalry location: 'I'm all for Georgia'

Kirby Smart was a freshman defensive back in Athens the last time the Florida–Georgia rivalry game was played anywhere other than Jacksonville, Fla. Of course, that took place three decades ago, back in 1995, when the game once known as “the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” was played on each team’s respective campus in 1994-95 while the home site of the Jacksonville Jaguars was initially being built.

Saturday’s Florida-Georgia game will be the final held inside Jacksonville’s EverBank Stadium before a two-year hiatus while the NFL arena undergoes a $1.4 billion wholesale renovation. During that time, the game will be held inside Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium and Tampa’s Raymond-James Stadium in 2026 and 2027, respectively, with each team receiving approximately $7.5 million for moving the game, according to the Athens Banner-Herald. The “Cocktail Party” returns to Jacksonville in 2028 with both teams guaranteed to receive $10 million apiece in 2028-29 and $10.5 million for 2030-31.

Prior to finalizing the agreement, there was a strong push — including from Smart specifically — to play those games on each school’s respective campus as it was done previously in 1994-95, with Smart even joking “We got outbid, baby” when asked in May about the decision. The rivalry series alternated between Jacksonville, Athens, Tampa, Savannah and Gainesville throughout the first 11 games of the series before being held in Jacksonville exclusively beginning in 1933.

Ahead of Saturday’s game in Jacksonville, Smart was once again asked about his preferred location for the Florida-Georgia rivalry, with the 10-year Bulldogs head coach bemoaning the absence of a true home-and-home opportunity.

“The opportunity to play on these campuses and play in the location other teams play Florida and other teams play Georgia, I think there’s something lost on that (not happening),” Our kids will never travel to (Gainesville),” Smart said Wednesday on the SEC’s weekly coaches teleconference. “I did that when I played here and I thought it was something special within that. … But I’m all for Georgia, and I’m all for our kids having a positive experience.

“There’s positives in both scenarios, so I’m not looking to give a quote of ‘Kirby wishes it was this’ or ‘Kirby thinks it’s this.’ I think there’s positives and negatives to both,” Smart continued. “And financially, (neutral site games) can be rewarding. Yes, we’re in a financial climate where money matters in terms of your athletic budget and being able to support it, and that’s certainly a factor in this decision. But it’s not the only (factor).”