One thing is certain, Florida State loves themselves some neutral-site openers.
Florida State and Boise State are scheduled to open the 2019 season at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee. However, FirstCoastNews.com first reported, the two football programs are actively engaged in ongoing negotiations about moving that game to Jacksonville’s EverBank Field.
“A deal has not been reached but ‘positive discussions continue,” an unnamed official told the website.
FSU has a return game to Boise scheduled for 2020; as of now, the Tallahassee Democrat reports in confirming the initial news, FSU has no intentions of canceling that game.
If the game is moved to Jacksonville, it would give FSU neutral-site openers in four of the next five seasons. They are already scheduled to open the 2016 season against Ole Miss in Orlando and the 2017 season against Alabama in Atlanta. Additionally, reports surfaced earlier this week that FSU is closing in on an agreement to open the 2020 season in Atlanta against West Virginia.
FSU would reportedly make in excess of $8 million combined for the 2016 and 2017 openers. The financial particulars for the 2019 and 2020 openers are unknown at this point.
One potential benefit of this spate of neutral-field games, the Democrat writes, is that it would “give FSU the opportunity to continue renovation efforts of Doak Campbell Stadium while boosting its strength of schedule against non-conference opponents.”