The location of the Georgia-Florida college football rivalry game in 2026 and 2027 could be made official in the near future.
Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan noted Tuesday that both schools have made serious strides in negotiations in recent months while teasing that an announcement could happen “very soon.”
“We’d love to have an announcement this week,” Deegan told the Jacksonville Florida Times-Union. “We’re pushing to try to wrap things up. ... Don’t know if that will happen.”
The NFL recently approved stadium renovation plans in Jacksonville that would limit seating in 2026 and render the current stadium unusable for the 2027 season. The current Georgia-Florida contract with the city of Jacksonville runs through 2025.
With the stadium renovations expected to be complete by the 2028 season, that would leave a hole for the 2026 and 2027 seasons. Atlanta and Tampa are considered most likely site options.
“I do know what’s going to happen with it, but it’s not my place to talk about,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said last week on the the SEC coaches teleconference. “So I don’t know what’s going to happen past, you know, this year, next year. But, I mean, it’s going to go somewhere else for sure. So I don’t worry about things I don’t control.”
The annual meeting between Georgia and Florida dates back to 1933, with all but two games being played in Jacksonville. In the 1994 and 1995 seasons, the game was a home-and-home. Florida won both of those games.
Georgia will play Georgia Tech in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta during the 2025 season.
