Florida-Georgia game will stay in Jacksonville

City Council approves contract extension Tuesday

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville City Council unanimously approved a new contract on Tuesday to keep the Florida-Georgia game in town through 2022.

The new agreement includes guaranteed payouts for both schools. Taxpayer dollars will cover those costs.

The arrangement will last five years and replaces the old contract, which expired in 2015.

Part of the deal calls for each school to be paid $250,000 for the duration of the five-year contract. Also included is a one-time signing bonus for $125,000. The agreement calls for the city to provide each school with 1,500 parking spaces at no cost and also foot the bill for game day operations and security.

City leaders said the Florida-Georgia game brings in around $30 million in revenue annually. Some believe the payouts are necessary to keep the game in Jacksonville, while others have concerns.

"We love the idea of having anything, like, any event we can have down here, we like," said Dana Atkins, owner of Public House Coffee. "Everyone tells me Florida-Georgia is the event to be outside the store, pushing sales out, pushing alcohol sales to the door. We're looking forward to it."

Atkins said business has been great since he opened the Public House Coffee shop earlier this year. More art has recently gone up and the menu is expanding to include more food and beverages.

Councilman Reginald Brown initially had questions about some of the numbers. But he also said Atlanta is fighting to get the game, and for Jacksonville to compete, the city has to show the money.

"We do great with what we have, but we can do better," Brown said. "And I know it's going to take dollars, big dollars to compete against these large cities."

READ: The City Council legislative summary of the proposal

The game was first played in Jacksonville in 1915. Georgia recognizes a game played in Macon, Georgia in 1904, won by the Bulldogs 52-0, although Florida disputes that game, saying that the university did not have an official varsity football team at that point because the school was not established by the Florida Legislature until the following year.

Since Florida-Times Union sports editor Bill Kastelz dubbed the event "the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party" in the 1950s, the game has held that moniker, despite the city of Jacksonville's wish to have the reference dropped.

Although the game was held in Jacksonville in 1915, 1927 and 1929, the game was played in Athens, Tampa, Savannah and Gainesville as well in its early years. The game has been played in Jacksonville since 1933, with the exception of 1943, when it was canceled because of to World War II, and 1994 and 1995, when Jacksonville Municipal Stadium was under construction in anticipation of the first season of the Jacksonville Jaguars.