It was obviously a major disappointment for Orlando earlier this week when we learned that we missed out on hosting the Florida-Georgia game in 2027, but the good news is this:

Orlando might just score the ultimate touchdown by landing Jacksonville’s biggest sporting prize — the NFL’s Jaguars.

In fact, after a conversation with Jaguars president Mark Lamping earlier this week, I’m more convinced than ever that Orlando should and will be the city that temporarily hosts the Jaguars’ entire home schedule in ’27 while Jacksonville’s $2 billion project to renovate EverBank Stadium and the surrounding areas is completed.

Let’s hope Orlando’s city and county leaders put our own $400 million renovation of Camping World on the front burner and make sure the project is finished on schedule — well ahead of the 2027 NFL season.

“Like any project, particularly if it’s a municipally owned stadium, sometimes those endeavors take on a life of their own,” Lamping correctly pointed out. “But we are operating under the assumption that Camping World Stadium will be done in advance of the 2027 season, and the upgrades are going to make Camping World closer to the typical NFL-quality stadium.”

This is just an educated guess, but it seems logical that Camping World’s upcoming renovation cost us at least a chance at hosting the Florida-Georgia game. It will move out of Jacksonville for two seasons in 2026-27 during the EverBank overhaul with Atlanta getting the storied rivalry in ’26 for Georgia’s home game in the series and Tampa getting Florida’s home game in ’27. Atlanta was an easy choice for the Bulldogs’ home game, but city leaders in Orlando had hoped we would win the ’27 bid that went to Tampa.

Steve Hogan, CEO of Florida Citrus Sports and the man in charge of bringing big-time football events to Camping World, said he is confident that Orlando did not lose out because it was financially outbid by Tampa.

“I made it clear to [school officials at Florida and Georgia] that we don’t want to lose this game because of money so don’t let whatever decision you make be about money,” Hogan said. “We darn near offered them a blank check.

“But, hey, Tampa’s a good market with an NFL stadium that has hosted national championship games. There’s a lot of knowns for [game organizers] in Tampa. In Orlando, they’ve seen images of what we intend to do with Camping World Stadium, but, in some cases, until it’s built it’s not built. I think there was probably some of that thinking that went into the [Florida-Georgia] decision.”

No doubt about it, it would have been a once-in-lifetime experience to see an iconic sporting event such as the Florida-Georgia game played in Orlando for the first and probably only time in history, but hosting an NFL team such as the Jaguars for an entire nine-game home schedule is a much more enticing possibility if you ask me. Especially since the Jaguars’ home schedule in 2027 includes home games with the Tampa Bay Bucs and the Miami Dolphins.

Seriously, can you imagine having Jaguars-Bucs, Jaguars-Dolphins, Jaguars-Bills in town for real, live NFL games? At least for one full season, we’d get a taste of being home to the king of American sports leagues.

Lamping says the Jaguars will likely make a decision on whether to play their ’27 season in Orlando’s Camping World Stadium or Gainesville’s Ben Hill Griffin Stadium by the end of this football season and then will present their recommendation to other team owners for their approval at the NFL League Meetings in March.

“There’s positives in both markets,” Lamping says. “Gainesville is [70 miles] closer, and we have a very close relationship with the University of Florida. We’re thankful that [UF] continues to commit to Jacksonville for the Florida-Georgia game. On the other hand, Orlando has experience working with the NFL, which is very valuable. The renovations to Camping World are a real positive. And the logistics — the hotels, the airport, the attractions as it relates to the experience of the teams as well as the fans — are superior in Orlando.”

Let me just say this: I love Gainesville. I was born in Gainesville. I grew up in Gainesville. Hell, I’ll probably even die in Gainesville. I also graduated from the University of Florida and will acknowledge that the Swamp, when it’s rocking, is the loudest stadium I’ve ever been in.

However, the Swamp is a college stadium and Gainesville is a college town. Orlando and a renovated Camping World Stadium is more of an NFL destination.

Lamping acknowledges there’s only one hotel in Gainesville that fits the needs of an NFL traveling party. He also acknowledged that the Swamp’s visiting locker room is not up to NFL standards and the sidelines are too narrow to accommodate the TV camera carts the networks use to televise games.

But even if there are temporary workarounds to these issues, it sure sounds like Orlando is the odds-on favorite to be hosting the Jags in ’27. If the league itself and the other owners have to vote on it then it seems like a no-brainer that they would choose Orlando based on infrastructure alone. For instance, are there enough hotel rooms in Gainesville to accommodate a UF home game and Jaguars home game on the same weekend? And what sort of shape would the field be in if a college game was played 18 hours before an NFL game?

“Orlando is far superior for both teams and fans alike,” Lamping says. “The league does want to make sure that, to every degree possible, the experience for the teams and the fans is NFL quality.”

Orlando, we’ve got the ball in the red zone.

Sure, losing out on the Florida-Georgia game stings, but hosting the Jaguars for a full season?

Now that’s a game-changer we can’t afford to fumble away.

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