Florida-Georgia game will remain in Jacksonville for 2024 and 2025
The Florida Gators and Georgia Bulldogs announced Wednesday that the schools have exercised the option to play their annual rivalry game in Jacksonville during the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
The most recent game agreement, which secured the matchup in Jacksonville through the 2023 season, included the option to extend the rivalry game at the neutral site for two more years. UF and UGA just had to notify the City of Jacksonville prior to June 30, 2023, which they are formally doing this week.
Florida athletics director Scott Stricklin, Georgia AD Josh Brooks and Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry released a joint statement Wednesday on the decision.
“The City of Jacksonville has been an historic host for one of the great rivalry games in all of college football,” Stricklin said. “We are excited to have the game in Jacksonville for another two seasons.”
“We are pleased with the decision to exercise the option that will keep the game in Jacksonville for 2024 and 2025,” said Brooks. “We look forward to discussions that I’m sure will continue over the next couple years exploring all the options for 2026 and beyond. We continue to be appreciative of the working relationship we have with the University of Florida and the City of Jacksonville.”
“Jacksonville has been the proud home of the Georgia-Florida game since 1933,” Curry said. “We are excited to welcome back the thousands of Dawgs and Gators to Jacksonville in 2024 and 2025. I want to thank the University of Georgia and University of Florida for their continued faith and investment in our city.”
During a radio interview earlier this month, Curry revealed that Jacksonville is exploring options to renovate TIAA Bank Stadium and that Florida and Georgia would “play at their campuses” during the two-year renovation. Curry said it would be a “two-year deal where they would be out of the facility for two years, most likely 2025 and 2026.”
With the game’s contract being extended this week, however, any potential renovations in Jacksonville will not affect the rivalry for at least the next three seasons. Florida coach Billy Napier was asked Monday about the possibility of playing the matchup elsewhere.
“I think a lot of these things are hypothetical to some degree,” Napier said. “You know, I think there’s some history here when the venue’s not available, we play home-and-home, but that’s to be determined. One thing I can tell you is it’s a phenomenal rivalry.
“Certainly got a ton of respect for the game, the history that’s behind where it’s located, where we play at. So, the underlying issue here is the economics, right? It’s very beneficial for both teams to play the game there. So, we’ve got some things to work through there, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”
One of the most storied rivalries in college football, the Florida-Georgia game has been played in Jacksonville since 1933 with the exception of the 1994 and 1995 seasons during the construction of TIAA Bank Field. The Gators and the Bulldogs are currently slated to meet on Oct. 28 for this year’s matchup.
![Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier celebrates with Florida Gators wide receiver Aidan Mizell (11) after a touchdown during the first half at the Orange and Blue spring football game at Steve Spurrier Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, April 13, 2024. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun]](https://on3static.com/cdn-cgi/image/height=215,width=393,quality=90,fit=cover,gravity=0.5x0.5/uploads/dev/assets/cms/2024/04/13155133/Untitled-design-65-2.png)
