I don't see how it can be that expensive if they do 3 weeks of shows there (say tournament and a week of regular or celebrity shows) and you do it at a college near a large city.
Have you ever rented a moving truck?
Now multiply that by forty and pay a bunch of guys to move your cargo (make sure they don't drop or scratch anything, for Pete's sake!)
and buy a bunch of airline tickets to send the crew there.
Now you need to buy up an entire floor at the Holiday Inn to make sure people have a place to stay.
And you need to book a venus, which isn't cheap.
I can completely understand why Jeopardy would choose to stay home and ride out the downturn. The show is more interesting for being "away," but it isn't any worse at home.