ATLANTA — Georgia Tech and Georgia will not move their 2011 game to the Georgia Dome.
Georgia did not want to give up a home game and play the rivalry game between the two schools two straight years in Atlanta, said Georgia athletic director Damon Evans in a statement released Tuesday night.
"After careful consideration, we did not think in the final analysis it was in the best interewt of our football program to play the game as a season opener in 2011," Evans said.
The game is traditionally played at the end of the regular season on campus sites. Officials from the schools discussed playing the game in the Georgia Dome in 2011 as a neutral-site game.
Georgia Tech spokesman Dean Buchan said Tuesday night he was not aware of Evans’ decision. Georgia Tech athletic director Dan Radakovich did not have an immediate comment.
Georgia Tech is scheduled to host the Bulldogs in 2011 under the normal home-and-home format. Radakovich said last week Georgia Tech would not give up a game at Bobby Dodd Stadium and that he would agree to play the game at the Georgia Dome only if the 2012 game was played at Georgia Tech.
The Chick-fil-A Bowl committee stages an annual kickoff game at the 70,000-seat Georgia Dome. The game matches a Southeastern Conference team against an Atlantic Coast Conference team — the same formula the bowl uses for its postseason game.
Alabama played in the first two season-opening games, beating Clemson last season and Virginia Tech this year. LSU is set to face North Carolina in 2010. Tennessee is scheduled to play North Carolina State in 2012.
Georgia and Georgia Tech are scheduled to meet this season on Nov. 28 at Bobby Dodd Stadium and next year at Sanford Stadium in Athens.
Radakovich said last week the proposal to move the 2011 game to the Georgia Dome was an "intriguing discussion from a long-term schedule standpoint."
The Yellow Jackets currently play three of their most lucrative games — Georgia, Clemson and Virginia Tech — at home in the same season on alternate years. By moving the Georgia game, Radakovich would have achieved better scheduling balance.
Evans decided the proposed move was less attractive for Georgia, which faced the prospect of closing a regular season with three straight road games against Kentucky, Auburn and Georgia Tech.