Gator Bowl Stadium The Gator Bowl was an American football stadium in Jacksonville , Florida . Originally built in 1927 , it was radically reconstructed in 1994 in preparation for the Jacksonville Jaguars inaugural season and became Jacksonville Municipal Stadium , now EverBank Field . It is most notable for hosting the Gator Bowl , a post - season college football bowl game which still bears the name . It also hosted the Florida – Georgia game , an annual college football rivalry game between the University of Florida and the University of Georgia , and was home to several professional sports teams , including the Jacksonville Sharks of the World Football League ( WFL ) , the Jacksonville Tea Men soccer team , and the Jacksonville Bulls of the United States Football League . Origins . Jacksonville ' s first football venue was built in 1927 and 1928 with a seating capacity of 7 , 600 . Known as Fairfield Stadium , its primary purpose was to serve as home field for Jacksonville ' s three new high schools — Lee , Jackson and Landon . At the opening of the stadium , Florida Governor John W . Martin called the stadium " the best place in Florida to watch a football game ! " On January 1 , 1946 , the stadium received national attention when it hosted the first Gator Bowl game . The stadium was expanded to 16 , 000 seats in 1948 , and the structure was renamed the Gator Bowl . Prior to the 1949 game , the seating capacity was expanded to 36 , 058 , at which it remained until 1957 . College and professional sports franchises that used the stadium . It was home to the World Football League ' s Jacksonville Sharks in 1974 and the Jacksonville Express in 1975 . It was the home of a team , the Jacksonville Tea Men from 1981 to 1982 and then a United States Football League team , the Jacksonville Bulls from 1984 to 1985 . Most notably , it was the site of the annual college football Gator Bowl from 1949 to 1993 . It also hosted the annual Florida – Georgia game between the University of Georgia and the University of Florida college football teams from 1933 to 1993 . The Gator Bowl hosted the 1968 and 1969 AFL All - Star Game s . The Beatles at the Gator Bowl . The Beatles played a concert at the Gator Bowl on their first American Tour on September 11 , 1964 . It is notable because once the Beatles found out that the concert was going to be segregated , they refused to play there unless they allowed the audience to be desegregated , as there was no segregation in Europe . Paul McCartney went on record about their disapproval of the situation and their lack of understanding of segregation in the first place . John Lennon said , " We never play to segregated audiences and we aren ' t going to start now . I ' d sooner lose our appearance money . " They did end up playing to a desegregated audience . The concert was also notable because it was held the day after Hurricane Dora struck St . Augustine and Jacksonville . Most of Jacksonville was without electricity and power was not restored for several days . Despite the hurricane , 23 , 000 fans attended , paying $ 4 and $ 5 for tickets . During the concert , Ringo Starr ' s drums were nailed to the stage because of 45 mph winds . Near - total demolition . The historic structure was almost entirely razed in 1994 , as part of a massive remodeling effort which essentially built a new stadium . The new stadium was renamed Jacksonville Municipal Stadium ( known as Alltel Stadium from 1997 through 2006 , and EverBank Field since August 2010 ) . Almost none of the original infrastructure remains , except for the west upper deck ( which was added in 1982 ) and the ramping system . While Jacksonville Municipal Stadium was being constructed , the Florida – Georgia game alternated between the two schools ' home stadiums , with Florida ' s Ben Hill Griffin Stadium hosting in 1994 and Georgia ' s Sanford Stadium hosting in 1995 . Ben Hill Griffin Stadium also hosted the 1994 Gator Bowl . The game resumed the following year in Jacksonville .