Neither stadium which has occupied these grounds has ever been used as a permanent location for a college football team, though both have hosted the Florida-Georgia rivalry game for many years. The site has also been home to the Gator Bowl post-season game since 1947.

Overall, NC State has a record of 1-5 at this venue, going 0-3 at the former venue and 1-2 at the latter stadium. The Wolfpack are 1-4 in post-season bowl games at the location, and 0-1 in conference games. That conference game, played in 1928, remains the only regular-season game NC State has played in Jacksonville.

  * Non-conference games
  ** Attendance limited due to COVID pandemic

The area which eventually became Jacksonville's most enduring spot for football started life as a city park. The land was originally developed by Jacob S. Parker, a New York carpetbagger who acquired over a hundred acres of property in Jacksonville in the wake of the Civil War. He established the city Fairgrounds in 1876, and incorporated the town of Fairfield in 1882; this was annexed by Jacksonville after just half a decade [1].

In 1910, Fairfield Park opened on the grounds between East Duval Street, Weare Street, and Victoria Street, just north of the banks of the St. Johns River. This recreation area was partially developed into a football field in 1924, when a gridiron and clubhouse for nearby Duval High School were constructed. The field was virtually nonexistent prior to that season: as explained by Milton E. Bacon, president of Jacksonville's Playground and Recreation Board, "One month before the first [high school] football game of the season played in Jacksonville there was neither seats nor field -- two days before the first game we were equipped with a seating arrangement for 7,500 persons, a field house with hot and cold showers -- and a wire, non-climbable fence on the Fairfield lot." It was erected primarily to give the local high school teams a place to play.

That same December, the grounds hosted their first collegiate game when Washington & Lee and Florida met there*. By that time, the field held 9,250 persons with the addition of a considerable number of temporary bleachers. Ahead of the game, the city had already been considering the purchase of the grounds for the construction of a municipal stadium and considered the game a litmus test for the establishment of a stadium; the city gave a resounding "yes" and okayed construction on an improved venue, sometimes called Jacksonville Municipal Stadium rather than its previous monicker [2].

In March 1925, those thoughts began to yield to actions when the city elected to purchase land adjoining the existing park for the construction of a concrete and steel stadium. Original intentions called for the construction of one side of what was designed to be a horseshoe-style stadium, with the initial unit holding 7,800 people, though wooden bleacher seats along each sideline could push the capacity upwards of 20,000 persons. Work on the stadium started in July 1925 and continued through the football season, with the concrete stand incomplete even into early April 1926, months after the promised date of October 1st. Instead, games were played at the foot of the rising south stand, with the field running east to west along it, though the seats did hold spectators for the 1925 Florida-Washington & Lee game. The initial bill was $106,211.04 (just shy of $1.9 million in 2024), less $1,500 for delinquancy. In 1929, 6,801 metal bleacher seats were built on the north side [3].

Though the stadium sometimes hosted events with upwards of 20,000 persons, this was certainly not the norm; as made clear in a 1945 editorial covering Georgia coach Wally Butts's threat to return the game to a home-and-home series due to the increasingly antiquated nature of the stadium, "Many persons labor under the impression that the stadium seats a lot more folks than it does. Actually, the seating capacity for the concrete stands is just slightly in excess of 8,000, while no more than 6,500 can be accommodated in the steel stands on the other side of the field." At that time, it noted, there were no wooden stands along the endzones. Salve was applied in 1946 by constructing 2,580 seats in the form of "field boxes" along the foot of both the north and south sidelines, but still this remained insufficient. At that time, a wall was also erected behind the north stands in an effort to keep gate hoppers out.

That all changed in December 1947, when all the stands besides the concrete south bleachers were demolished, including that brand new wall; the north endzone bleacher was disassembled during construction and retained for future use. The stadium was reoriented so that the remaining south bleacher viewed the field from the endzone, rather than the sideline; in addition to saving money, this was done so that the City Recreation Department, who still owned the venue, could host smaller acts, such as circuses, without opening the new metal bleachers, if so desired. Curved metal bleachers, compatible to form a U configuration at a later date, were erected along the new east and west sidelines, each seating about 12,652 for a total capacity of 36,304 persons.

The new construction lagged somewhat: it was obvious even by late May that the full stadium would not be ready by the start of football season in late September. The first games were played with work continuing on one of the new sets of sideline stands; the earliest games of the season had seats only on the north and south endzones and the west sideline stands for a capacity of about 23,500 persons. The full stadium was completed ahead of the November 6th, 1948 Florida-Georgia game -- the plant was filled to the gills with a reported attendance of 34,129 persons [4].

The venue was expanded once again from 1956-1957, when 6,000 seats (in 21 rows) and a new press box were added to the west side stands, bumping the capacity up to 42,000. Unfortunately, work was delayed due to a steel strike, so the 1956 bowl season was their last with a sub-4k capacity. A few years later, in 1960, a matching addition was made to the east side; with temporary wooden bleachers, the stadium held up to 50,000 persons by the December 1960 Gator Bowl. Unfortunately, work again fell behind schedule. Construction continued throughout the 1960 football season; about two-thirds of those seats were ready for that years' edition of the Florida-Georgia game, which drew a crowd of 48,622 to see the Gators emerge victorious 22-14 [5].

As the bowl continued to surge in popularity, more work had to be done. In 1965, the north endzone was "bowled in" to make a horseshoe, replacing 8,500 of the old seats with 13,500 new ones; the revamped capacity was said to be 60,000 persons with the assistance of portable "field boxes" holding roughly 1,500 persons. Referencing the difficulties of the previous two expansions, Tampa sports editor Tom McEwen quipped that the work should be finished ahead of the coming holiday season, "Barring a steel strike or whatever." Ahead of the 1967 season, the feat was replicated with the staid south endzones, the sole remaining piece of the original stadium, besides perhaps the grass itself. The revamped facility could seat over 70,000 people, including 2,000 temporary spots [6].

In 1984, the west side was made double deckered with the addition of both a "sky box" level and a new set of bleachers. The addition ended up being much more work than the City of Jacksonville had initially bargained for: several portions of the old metal support beams had rusted and were in serious need of replacement. While the work was done, the seating of the stadium was revamped to consolidate seating layout and access aisles. The entire project boosted the capacity to 80,000 persons. New suites could be rented for $7,200-$9,600 ($23.5k-$31.4k in 2024) a year, though the prices were variable if the city managed to land a professional sports team [7].

That caveat began to materialize as the eighties became the nineties. In 1991, local interest groups had devised a plan to lure a prospective team to the revitalized Bold New City of the South, using the Gator Bowl as a base of operations -- sort of. "The truth of the matter is [that] renovation's not the right word," explained Rick Catlett, one of the group's proponents. "We will tear the stadium down from goal line to goal line and rebuild it." On top of the sparkling new facilities was the alluring promise of a million-dollar per-game payout for visiting NFL teams (almost double that of the next best paying NFL venue), as well as fan-focused club-style seating, which was at that time an innovative idea.

Everything came to fruition in December 1993, when Jacksonville was selected as the NFL's second expansion team slated to join the league for the 1995 season. Simultaneously, Florida and Georgia began bandying about the stadium's dilapidating condition. Starting in January 1994, the stadium was torn to the studs -- literally. "Basically, we saved the structural elements," explained Don Nickell, one of the lead architects in the new Jacksonville Municipal Stadium job, "and ripped out everything inside. One of the few elements retained in the work was the upper portion of the west deck, which was said to have saved the $137 million project about $10 million alone. The old stadium, which was nearly entirely bleacher seating, was replaced entirely with chair-back seats. The new stadium opened ahead of the 1995 NFL season to a capacity of 73,000 persons, including 11,200 club seats. Two years later, it was renamed Alltel Stadium, which it retained through 2007; at that time, naming rights reverted back to Jacksonville Municipal Stadium [8].

In 2003, the stadium was renovated to remove roughly 600 "non-premium seats" by constructing a fan zone above south endzone's lower bowl, complete with a year-round bar which hosted watch parties during away-games. The renovation was two-pronged: by lowering the total "premium" seating but still increasing overall size (to 76,877), it became more difficult for NFL league officials to black-out low-attendance games, while simultaneously creating a blank slate capable of boosting the venue's capacity (using temporary stands) for their bid to host a Super Bowl. This proved prudent after the stadium hosted Super Bowl XXXIX in February 2005 between the Eagles and the Patriots; the stadium's 83,000 temporary capacity was not filled, though the event did host the largest NFL championship game crowd since 1993 [9].

The Jaguars' attendance continued to lag following the Super Bowl; desperate to improve their TV blackout situation, executives decided to paper over 9,713 spots, including each of the upper deck's four corners, as well as seven sections in the north endzone. The change put the NFL capacity of the stadium down to 67,164: "This is something that's a long-term decision," explained owner Wayne Weaver. "We want to build a waiting list and balance the supply and demand." Notably, these restrictions were removed for games not subject to the NFL's attendance stipulations, especially the annual Florida-Georgia game, which returned to Jacksonville following a two-year departure during the conversion from 1994-1995. Ahead of the 2009 football season, 82 seats were added to the listed capacity; it's not clear what work actually took place.

Similarly, the venue's reported capacity raised by a single seat in 2014 and was lowered again in 2015, to 66,851 seats, both for reasons not immediately apparent to me. The following season, club sections were renovated and replaced with "walkout patios" at the 50-yard line, further lowering capacity to 64,428 seats. In 2018, the reported capacity was bumped up to 67,814; this was possibly related to a plan to uncover upwards of 3,000 tarped-over seats announced back in 2015 as fan interest waxed larger. The venue also received a handful of new names, becoming EverBank Field in 2010 and TIAA Bank Field in 2018. EverBank once again became the sponsor in 2023, this time opting to call the venue EverBank Stadium rather than field. Attendance continued to be a recurring problem for the Jaguars throughout this period [10].

In mid-2023, rumblings began to emanate from Jacksonville that the stadium would once again undergo a major renovation. Early reports suggest the work will be, like the 1994 revisions, a major rebuild, though current public details are sparse. Work is expected to major enough that the Jaguars will play in Orlando or Gainesville in 2027 after a season of limited capacity, currently estimated at 43,500 persons. Similarly, the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party (the Florida-Georgia game) will relocate to Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium and Tampa's Raymond James Stadium in 2026 and 2027, respectively. The revamped stadium is expected to hold about 71,500 persons [11].

* Though sources like Wikipedia write that the game took place at J. P. Small Memorial Stadium / Barrs Field, the game can be definitively tied to the nascent venue; in addition to period articles stating the action took place at a venue called Fairfield Park, later articles on the development of the site made the tie clear. Commissioner Fred M. Valz was the major proponent of the site; a December 9th, 1924 (p. 4) article in Florida Times-Union wrote that Valz "said that that Saturday's game there [December 6th, 1924 vs Washington & Lee] convinced him him that it [Fairfield Park] was the proper place."

Photos of EverBank Stadium