UF and Jacksonville may add more safe zones outside Jacksonville Municipal Stadium this year during the UF-Georgia game.
Officials from the two parties, including UF President Bernie Machen and Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton, met Wednesday to talk about ways to make the scene outside the stadium safer.
Two UF students died while attending the game in recent years, one in 2004 and one in 2005.
The zones have been in place for the past three years. They offer things like first aid, water, snacks, coffee, phone service, universal cell phone chargers and directions for lost fans.
Patricia Telles-Irvin, UF's vice president of Student Affairs, said students have been appreciative of the safe havens, with more than 300 people using them last year.
But with UF and Jacksonville in the middle of budget crunches, cost is on officials' minds.
"We're always concerned about budgets," Telles-Irvin said.
She said she didn't know if UF would contribute more money for the zones this year .
In a 2008 interview, Myra Morgan, UF's director of external relations for Student Affairs, said the zones cost UF at least $8,000, including hotel expenses for the UF officials who volunteered their time, in 2007.
But safety zones can only help so much.
Students should take precautions as well, Telles-Irvin said.
In both of the recent deaths, she said the students were intoxicated and alone.
"The message we want to try to send to the students is stay with your friends and please do not overindulge in alcohol."
