The Georgia Bulldogs versus Florida Gators game won’t be played in Jacksonville, Florida, in 2026 or 2027. The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party will move to different neutral sites for two seasons.
The Georgia-Florida game is moving to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, for the 2026 season while EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville undergoes significant renovations. EverBank Stadium will still be the home of the Jacksonville Jaguars for the 2026 NFL season, but it will have a reduced capacity of approximately 43,500. The stadium normally expands its capacity for the Georgia-Florida game to 82,000, but it was expanded to only 76,307 for the 2024 matchup.
The reduced capacity of EverBank Stadium in 2026 is simply not enough for a Georgia-Florida game. Both Georgia and Florida have stadiums with capacities of over 88,000, which is more than double what EverBank Stadium’s capacity will be in 2026.
The 2027 Georgia-Florida game will be played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, Florida. Raymond James is where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers play and has a capacity of 75,000.
2026 and 2027 will offer rare opportunities for Georgia and Florida fans to catch their historic rivalry outside of Jacksonville. The last time Georgia and Florida met outside of Jacksonville came in the 1990s when the two schools did a home-and-away series. Georgia-Florida was played in Gainesville, Florida, in 1994 and Athens, Georgia, in 1995.
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The renovations on EverBank Stadium are expected to finish in Aug. 2028. The Georgia-Florida series will return to Jacksonville from 2028-2031 with Georgia and Florida receiving at least $10 million each from the City of Jacksonville per season.
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