Georgia-Florida game moving to Atlanta? World’s Largest Cocktail Party mulls moving up I-75
UGA fans tailgate during the "World's Largest Cocktail Party," aka the Georgia-Florida game, in the RV parking lot outside Jacksonville's Alltel Stadium. (Brant Sanderlin / AJC)
Tradition defines the Georgia-Florida game as technically being played on neutral turf – “neutral” being Jacksonville and Jacksonville being in Florida.
“No, there are no talks going on,” Evans said Friday. “Gary Stokan of the Atlanta Sports Council has expressed interest in and approached us about moving the game to Atlanta. That’s the extent of it. I wouldn’t call it talks.”
“We’re not asking to move half the games or all of the games to Atlanta,” Stokan said. “We respect tradition. We’re just looking for one of the four.”
Georgia’s contract to play Florida in Jacksonville — a location that has long rankled Dogs fans — expires next year.
“Obviously, we have heard of these kind of discussions before,” Florida Athletics Director Jeremy Foley said. “We have been strong proponents of keeping the game in Jacksonville and that has not changed.”
WHAT’S YOUR OPINION? Should the Georgia-Florida game call the Dome home every four years or is the annual trip to Jax just too much of a tradition to alter in any way, shape or form? Economically speaking, how much of a boost to the metro economy would this be? Would you be as inclined to go to the game in Atlanta?
Related story: Evans dismisses talks of moving Ga.-Fla. to Atlanta
Photos: ATL vs. JAX: Who’d be the better Ga-Fla host? Vote for the better city!
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365 comments Add your comment
coastal dawg
March 20th, 2009
2:20 pm
It’s heresy to say this around my neck of the woods (Saint Simons Island) but I say it’s time to take this game to home and home basis. No Dome, no more Jax. “Goin Back to Athens Town” as the old song says.
Reality Check...
March 20th, 2009
2:32 pm
Home and Home enough said!!!!!
SSI gator
March 20th, 2009
2:46 pm
coastal dawg -
Did you go to the Athens/Gainesville games in the 90’s? Just not the same as it is in Jax.
puppydawg
March 20th, 2009
2:47 pm
If ever a series needed to be on a home-and-home basis, this one is it. Meanwhile, until that happens, is it really asking too much to have a home game once every 4 years or so? I think not.
Music City Dawg
March 20th, 2009
2:47 pm
Huh,
The only one who is dellusional here is you. Location has nothing to do with it. We used to beat UF there all the time in previous decades, proving that location is irrelevant.
Gen Neyland
March 20th, 2009
2:49 pm
Does the Jacksonville Police Department share the revenues from this event with ACCPD..?
Navy Chief
March 20th, 2009
2:49 pm
I don’t mind the game being held in Jax. AS LONG AS either BOTH teams have the week off prior to the game to rest, or BOTH teams schedule SEC games the week prior so BOTH teams are as close to equally beat up prior to the big game. I am tired of seeing Georgia run two or three SEC games in a row prior to playing Florida and yet Florida gets the week off prior to the Georgia game. Of course this is a counter point for the 2009 season since Georgia has the week off prior to the game and Florida has to play (but it’s Mississippi State so that won’t really count).
Music City Dawg
March 20th, 2009
2:50 pm
Navy,
We get the bye week next year. UF doesn’t.
Exley DAWG
March 20th, 2009
2:50 pm
Bad idea. Lets tailgate with panhandlers in the hood!! College football is about tradition. Leave it in Jax.
Franklin
March 20th, 2009
2:58 pm
I hate going to Jacksonville, even when UGA wins. We drive hours and spend hundreds of dollars on hotel rooms while Florida fans make the trip for the day. The only stadium in the SEC that I have never been to is Florida, so I would love for us to play there sometime. I would also love for Florida to play in Sanford Stadium. I could care less if we ever went back to Jacksonville or the Georgia Dome!
Jack
March 20th, 2009
3:09 pm
For God’s sake keep it in Jacksonville. Once your in the game it becomes completely neutral, and theres no use in abandoning tradition.
Reality Check....
March 20th, 2009
3:17 pm
Gator fans why don’t you want to do a home and home series. Let UF and FSU play in Gainsville FL. Watch out dawg fans, here comes all of those, we will play you any where comments. SOS changed it UF advantage and it will never change until we go to a home and home. But be prepared to lose the first one at home. And that thing in the 90’s. You had SOS and some heisman trohpy winner at QB. That didn’t do squat in the NFL. So let’s look to the present and future. The teams are dead even in talent. We do a home and home with every other team in the East. Why should UF be any different?
T. Young
March 20th, 2009
3:24 pm
I agree with Terry, home and home basis is the way the game needs to be scheduled! Its not the same going to Jacksonville. The times they are a changing. As for tradition, why should it be @ UGA’s expense. IF it needs to be played @ a true neutral site, move it somewhere in the state of Alabma.
sj
March 20th, 2009
3:24 pm
Not a single Fl official or fan wants a home and home or even Jax – Atl. What does that say?
GATORZONE
March 20th, 2009
3:26 pm
Reality check, you are funny!
DEAD EVEN IN TALENT?!?!?!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
YEAH, KEEP TELLING YOURSELF THAT!
2 IN 3 YEARS! VS. 1980?
YEAH, DEAD EVEN….
sj
March 20th, 2009
3:27 pm
I think the Ga people who want to keep it in Fl have personal motives…own condos there, relatives, girlfriend hookups, can get drunk and relive their college days w/o being reported, etc.
GATORZONE
March 20th, 2009
3:30 pm
SJ, I think most Florida fans would agree to play UGA home and home, atlanta or Jax. in fact, ANYTIME, ANYWHERE.
17 out of 20 should tell you something.
Boss Hogg
March 20th, 2009
3:31 pm
The UGA fans are hilarious. It was no problem going to play in Jacksonville prior to 1990, because UGA won most of the time. But since
Steve Spurrier came back to Gainesville, it has been a different story. Spurrier 11-1 vs UGA @ UF, Zook 2-1 vs UGA, & Urban Meyer 3-1 vs UGA. It does not matter how close the games are, UF still has OWNED UGA in the last 2 decades. All the UGA fans were saying after they won in 2007, the tide has turned. What was the score last year? Oh yes 49-10 UF. Maybe they should go home & home. This would give Urban the chance to match Spurrier & drop half a hundred on the dawgs!
Reality Check....
March 20th, 2009
3:33 pm
Oops I forgot those all cap guys. They really know there football. Believe it or not we are even with you in talent. You guys know you are the media and offical darlings of the SEC. You have gotten more than your fair share of the breaks over the past few years. I wish UGA could have played OU and OSU for the ship like you guys did.
Huh?
March 20th, 2009
3:33 pm
“Huh,
The only one who is dellusional here is you. Location has nothing to do with it. We used to beat UF there all the time in previous decades, proving that location is irrelevant.”
We beat them in previous decades because we had BY FAR AND AWAY the better team. You’re right. Location didn’t matter. It also didn’t matter in the 90’s when Florida had by far and away the better team. But in case you didn’t notice, its 2009. The 70’s, 80’s and 90’s are gone. These two teams are more competitive than they have ever been and EVERY advantage possible counts. I think its insulting to our team to just tell them to simply try harder, which is essentially what most are saying. They are already busting their a$$es in that game every single year. You don’t think they want to win it more than anything in the world? Get real. Florida is a great program just like we are a great program. You give any great program an edge and you can bet your a$$ they are going to take advantage of it. Go ahead and stick your head in the sand if you like, but I don’t want to see any head scratching when Florida keeps racking up close win after close win. Huh? has put you on notice. Good day.
dan
March 20th, 2009
3:35 pm
Keep it in Jacksonville. Great atmosphere, and especially now that the rivalry has intensified the last two seasons( endzone celebration and last second timeouts) this is becoming one of my favorite rivalries. I like the GA Dome for the Peach Bowl and SEC Championship, but I think the GA vs. FLA rivalry would lose something in the transition.
dawes
March 20th, 2009
3:37 pm
i think they should play home and home
Reality Check....
March 20th, 2009
3:39 pm
Gatorzone it’s called Karma. We woned you guys prior to 1990. This is pay back for those years. All I have to do is ask my UF fan cousins that. I want the millions of dollars that the game produces to go to Athens and Gainsville businesses. It’s really simple math. When it comes to UGA and UF it is all about the streaks. One day it will change back and we will own you. will it happen to next year, who knows, that why they play the game.
pdawg
March 20th, 2009
3:41 pm
i hate fla. and i have never been to that game .i do not like the fact that we have to go fla.every year to play. im not an alum. but herschel made me fall in love w/ the dawgs .i was only 4yrs. old.i bleed red and black. they should have to bring their a$$ up here every other yr. d**n once every 4 yrs. damon needs to make a stand.GO DAWGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Don't Spend Money in FL
March 20th, 2009
3:46 pm
Florida has been fighting Georgia on the water rights. Why don’t we move the game to Gainesville/Athens so that we can keep money from Florida? While Atlanta has suffered with severe water restrictions for years now, Florida and Alabama have not.
dan
March 20th, 2009
3:46 pm
Boss Hogg
“All the UGA fans were saying after they won in 2007, the tide has turned. What was the score last year? Oh yes 49-10 UF. Maybe they should go home & home. This would give Urban the chance to match Spurrier & drop half a hundred on the dawgs!”
I think the scores to the last two games are misleading. I didn’t think the dawgs were as good as that 42-30 score might indicate, nor do I think the Gators are 39 points better than the Dawgs last year. What is interesting in this rivalry is the pychology of both teams. The team that has the mental edge wins, period. UGA lost last year because of turnovers, not because Florida was marching up and down the field on them. UGA shot themselves in the foot and didn’t show up mentally, period. This wasn’t like the 90’s where Spurrier would win every year by 30 points. In 2007 UGA totally burst FLA bubble with the endzone dance. Cheap shot or not, FLA got hit in the mouth and didn’t respond. Did UGA deserve the beating this year after the stunt last year? Perhaps. But Miami Hurricanes used to do far worse things to intimidate opponents and they still won because they had that swagger. Bottom line, it doen’t matter where the game is played, or who cheap shots who. What matters is which teams shows up more mentally tougher and more prepared. In 2007 it was UGA, in 2008 it was FLA.
FloridaDawg
March 20th, 2009
3:50 pm
It’s embarrassing to read that Georgia fans want to move the game out of Jacksonville.
Why…because we loose? Dooley could wint….he wouldn’t have any part of the word “CAN”T”.
Moving it would be a disaster…remember the home and home in the 90’s…wow, wasn’t those two looses exciting to watch…especially in Athens?
Why don’t we just get it done like we did in ‘07? Should we start hiding from GT too? I mean why play Ga Tech? Not in our conference…can’t win now.
Where are the REAL Georgia fans, the one’s with competitive pride?
Move it and say goodbye to some good quality recruits and a loss of interest to many fans.
Reality Check....
March 20th, 2009
4:00 pm
FloridaDawg, what town do you live in. Moving the game would help Athens and Gainsville with revenue, period. We play a home and home with GT, and sho said we can’t win against GT. Please. We weren’t out schemed that day. CMR told us what the problem was and he fixed it. UF deserves the mutual respect of a home and home series. You mean to tell me that moving a game, we will loose recruits? Are they allowed to come to the game as recruits? I am not so sure.
jawaan
March 20th, 2009
4:05 pm
i think it should alternate between the dome and jacksonville yearly with the site still technically being “neutral” but having it in the dome in UGA’s “home” years and in jacksonville in UF’s “home” years, not only is it fair its just a good shake-up and just adds another dimension to the game.
Atlanta Gator
March 20th, 2009
4:12 pm
Speaking as a University of Florida alumnus who lives in Atlanta, I will be happy to see the game played wherever the UGA athletic department and fans want it played . . . every other year. The University of Florida intends to keep its series home games in Jacksonville.
Mark C.
March 20th, 2009
4:14 pm
Keep Athens gator-free! If playing a home game in Florida every other year is what it costs, it’s well worth it.
Atlanta Gator
March 20th, 2009
4:20 pm
BTW, the Atlanta Business Chronicle put a very different spin on these discussions:
http://atlanta.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2009/03/23/daily1.html?ana=e_du_pap
John Schotta
March 20th, 2009
4:26 pm
It is time to move away from the so called “Neutral” site!!!!!! At the very least then let’s make so they alternate between Jacksonville in Florida’s home game year and Atlanta when it is Ga.’s home game years.
If you “REALLY” want to play on a “NEUTRAL” site then move the game to Tuscaloosa and play on Alabama’s field. Now that would be neutral. There is nothing, and I mean nothing neutral about playing in Jacksonville. Never has been, Never will be. Not to mention if you read the ratings of major U.S. cities this year, Jacksonville rates as the 9th MOST DEPRESSING city and is ranked 6th is suicides. Now that is where I want to go to watch a football game. Ha!Ha!
Move the GAME and be done with it. Make it FAIR if Florida and Urban Cryer even knows what that means.
DawginLex
March 20th, 2009
4:26 pm
Move the game?
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
Atlanta Gator
March 20th, 2009
4:30 pm
Dawg Sling—-You do understand that in order to have a contract, both parties have to agree to it, right? Can you explain to me why the University of Florida would ever agree to what you just proposed? Sure, and the school will mail you the warranty deed to campus, too. With negotiating skills like yours, I hope you’re not a lawyer, or your children are going to starve. LOL
FloridaDawg
March 20th, 2009
4:30 pm
Reality Check….I can’t believe that I’m responding to this but I will
I threw the GT thing in to make a point…I think most people would get it…where does hiding from an opponent stop?
I lived in Jax half my life. Move the game and we distance ourselves from a rich recruiting base. North Florida and Southeast Georgia is important for recruiting.
We get tons of local media coverage, especially the weeks leading into the game.
Want to guess what that costs if you wanted to buy air time on TV or radio or ads in a major daily paper?
Jacksonville is a big city…the loss of “media exposure” would be costly. You are going to get the Atlanta exposure anyway.
The Jax media covers Georgia year around because of the huge base of fans that live in North Florida. We contribute for heavens sake…why is that hard to figure out?
Players go to both Georgia and Florida to “play” in an atmosphere provided by the Jax venue.
They can get the GT game “atmosphere” each year up there…while we north Florida & South Ga fans can do the 5 hour drive…for EVERY home game.
Josh
March 20th, 2009
4:36 pm
If the dome is going to be included, alternate between Atlanta and Jacksonville every year. Also, a comment above reminded me that the AJC reported some months ago that Arthur Blank was planning to move to Snellville. Waiting for a follow-up AJC, and why wouldn’t he build a stadium in Alpharetta or Flowery Branch. Why move even further away from the majority of the fanbase?
cajdawg
March 20th, 2009
4:40 pm
Look it isn’t 1980 anymore. To UF’s credit, their program is stronger now more than ever. They have a monopoly on thug talent in the state of Florida. Years ago players that steal credit cards of the deceased and rapists on Florida’s squad would have gone to FSU or Miami. Not anymore, Urban has locked down talent in the state. UF will continue to be a force to be reckoned with and UGA needs every advantage possible.
Someone pointed this out earlier: consider why UF officials are adamantly opposed to moving the game out of Jacksonville? Because, like mindless lemmings, we have been hiking down to Fla. one hour from their campus for our semiannual “home” game. They have gotten used to our idiotic support of this tradition.
UGA VI
March 20th, 2009
4:40 pm
Why give a strong UF team any sort of advantage? It’s common sense….alternate jax and atl.
richtfan
March 20th, 2009
4:44 pm
colossal mistake leaving it in jax forever. need to have some variety in this game. it’s all in uf’s favor. no travel for them. it’s time to stop catering to the dooleyites in south georgia. grow some gonads damon and start talking about taking it on a rotational basis either to the dome or to sanford stadium. nut up!
Emilia
March 20th, 2009
4:47 pm
I say lets switch it every other year! Jacksonville smells like the Swamp to me, stinky! Time to keep Georgia money in Georgia. Downtown especially could use the economic boost. I am all for the lottery and Fulton Co. approving the hotel and casino in underground as well, which is also good for the hope scholarship. Go Dawgs!
Charles
March 20th, 2009
4:48 pm
It sickens me to see gutless ‘dawg fans want to go and change one of the great games of all college football and turn it into just another home and away series, just like the gutless gator fans wanted to do back when the tables were turned and uGa was dominant.
The simple fact is that the game in a neutral site does favor one team over the other…it favors the BETTER team.
The only thing having the game occur as a home game will guarantee is that the better team will embarass the other, no matter whether it is a home game or an away game.
P.S. Careful what you wish for: The home and away thing didn’t work so well when Spurrier hung 50+ on you in Sanford Stadium.
mtraininjax
March 20th, 2009
4:50 pm
50 car pileups? Did the AJC just makeup news?
No mention of Golf? TPC, World Golf Village, #17 compared to BS Classic, some nice courses, but nothing in comparison to Jacksonville.
When was the last time you went to a sports game, for the Skyline? Are UGAg grads writing copy again?
Enough Already
March 20th, 2009
4:51 pm
When is this argument going to end? This is truly one of the greatest atmospheres in all of college football. Recruits, television, players and MOST fans love it! One team is going to have to travel further for this event. This was a non issue in the 70’s and 80’s. Only when GA starting having problems winning this game did this really gain strength. Do you really think the TEAM having to travel an additional 300 miles has really had an effect on the outcome of the last 20 games? NO! A season ticket holder from Valdosta travels this distance every home game of the year without complaining. All this boils down to is GA Atlanta fans used to getting their way. Hopefully Mr. Evans will not submit to Atlanta pressure and remember that UGA is the STATE school.
Howard
March 20th, 2009
4:53 pm
Since my son lives in Atlanta I come there and a group of us drives down for the game every year. IF it is moved to Atlanta I Would NOT attend the year it was there.
puppydawg
March 20th, 2009
4:54 pm
sj
“Not a single Fl official or fan wants a home and home or even Jax – Atl. What does that say?”
What it says to me is that UF officials and fans are embarassed to host a game in that POS Gainesville. Although the game should be played home-and-home, I would never make the trip to that $h!+h01e. The only thing that would stop me from p!$$!ng on that place would be if it was on fire.
DawgGirl32
March 20th, 2009
5:24 pm
Anyone who thinks that it doesn’t matter where we play the game is dilusional. That’s why it’s called “home field advantage.” Jacksonville is far from a neutral site no matter who is the “home” team that day. You can talk all you want about how “it never mattered when we were winning” and blahblahblah but the truth is, the Gators have an edge. Of course it didn’t matter in the 1980s because we were far superior to them in talent and coaching. Then when Spurrier came, the trend was reversed and they were superior. This decade, we’re not losing because of talent. We’ve had very equal talent and I’d say very equal coaching. Any slight edge can make a difference when the teams are evenly matched and the Gators have that edge psychlogically. Jacksonville is their turf and they’re playing like they’re defending it. I don’t know how I feel about having a home and home series and I definitely don’t think Atlanta would be an ideal place either but something has to change.
The definition of crazy is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.
We’re crazy and our arch rival is taking full advantage of it.
DawgSling
March 20th, 2009
5:25 pm
If they have the game at the Ga Dome, will they rename it the “World’s Largest Outdoor Street Crime”?
Gators 49 UGA 10
March 20th, 2009
6:07 pm
Never will happen too much $$$ for the teams to lose. The weather is great in Jax is a plus. The season tickets holders have the most say where to have the game, not those UGA bandwagon fans.
DawgGirl 32 is crazy
March 20th, 2009
6:09 pm
LOL