Georgia-Florida game in Jacksonville through 2016

By Tim Tucker

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

ATHENS — Months of debate and deliberation about the future site of the Georgia-Florida football game ended Wednesday, when the UGA Athletic Board voted unanimously to keep the game in Jacksonville through at least 2016.

The board, acting on a recommendation from Georgia athletics director Damon Evans, authorized negotiations to be completed on a six-year contract with Jacksonville that will take effect when the current deal expires after the 2010 game.

Evans and UGA President Michael Adams said they considered other options, such as playing the games at campus stadiums or occasionally at the Georgia Dome, but in the end decided not to mess with the event's 75-year tradition in Jacksonville.

"I think there would have to be overwhelming reasons and overwhelming sentiment to change," Adams said.

Said Evans: "When I looked at it all-in-all, I really went back to what this game has meant for so many, many years — the long, rich history of the game. ... It is part of the fabric of college football."

In other action at Wednesday's meeting, the Athletic Board approved spending $1.9 million on design plans for expanding and renovating the concourses of Stegeman Coliseum and adding amenities behind the north stands of Sanford Stadium. Although further board action will be required before construction, Evans said he hopes to fast-track both projects and complete them next year.

The vote on Georgia-Florida ensures that the game will stay put, because the other parties — the city of Jacksonville and the University of Florida — have had no interest in moving it. Key deal points with Jacksonville have been agreed on, leaving mostly contract language to be worked out.

The major economic component of the deal will be the same as in the past: Georgia and Florida will get 41,000 tickets apiece to sell to their fans each year. Georgia executive associate athletics director Frank Crumley said Jacksonville has agreed to some new concessions, one being that the city will pay for three 50-seat planes to fly the Bulldogs directly from Athens to Jacksonville, and back, each year.

In the past, the Dogs have bused to Atlanta and flown from there to Jacksonville, creating complaints among some UGA fans that the team has a travel disadvantage vs. the Gators.

"I think this puts us on more of an equal footing as far as travel," Evans said. "We wanted to address that [issue]."

Other concessions UGA got from Jacksonville, Crumley said, are additional parking and "beefed up" marketing rights.

All but two Georgia-Florida games since 1933 have been played in Jacksonville, but the site has become a hot topic among Georgia fans in recent years as the Bulldogs have lost 16 of the past 19 games against the Gators. Evans told the board that record should not be a factor in deciding where to play the game.

"I'm not a believer we are losing the game because we are playing down in Jacksonville, Fla.," Evans said. "I truly believe our team can beat anybody anywhere."

Evans noted later that Georgia has an all-time winning record against Florida in Jacksonville (40-36-1).

In addition to tradition, board members cited other reasons for keeping the game in Jacksonville, such as the annual trip's popularity with UGA students and the event's importance to UGA fans and alumni living in South Georgia.

Evans conceded, though, that the decision is sure to draw strong reaction.

"I know tomorrow on the message boards there will be a lot of yay or nay on what we're doing," he said.