Contract Extension To Keep Florida-Georgia Game In Jacksonville Likely Coming Soon

Jacksonville officials have been quiet about when and if a new five-year contract extension will be signed to keep the annual Florida-Georgia football game at EverBank Field, but "all indications point to it being a matter of time before a deal is struck," according to Gene Frenette of the FLORIDA TIMES-UNION. UF AD Jeremy Foley said, "We haven't verbally agreed yet, but it's gonna happen." Frenette notes there has been a "little more concern than usual about the extension of this contract," which expires after the '16 game on Oct. 29, in part because the parties "typically finish a deal at least a year in advance." A big reason negotiations "took longer this time is the schools wanted to see how the Jaguars’ planned renovations to EverBank Field club seat areas in the east and west stands might impact stadium capacity." The Jaguars are "reducing club seats from 11,000 to about 8,000 for NFL games, but the schools are adamant about capacity remaining at 82,917" for their game (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 1/18).