The Army-Navy football game could soon be visiting two of the most famous sporting venues in the world. The Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees have both submitted formal bids to host the Army-Navy football game in 2018.
The news was confirmed by Navy athletic direct Chet Gladchuk who said the two Major League Baseball organizations responded to the Request for Proposal that was issued jointly by Army and Navy. As you would expect from the two teams involved, the bids call for the rivalry game to be played at Fenway Park in Boston and at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx respectively.
At this point it is too soon to predict which of the bids will get the game in 2018 and then moving forward. The 2017 version of the game is set to be held at the Linc in Philadelphia, a city that will have hosted 88 of the 118 Army-Navy games when the contest is played this fall. This tradition means that Philly is likely to be awarded another chunk of games in the upcoming cycle.
This game has always been one full of tradition and rivalry, but with Navy being so good over the past five years (and with Army upsetting the Mids this fall) the clash has a renewed importance. Bids are have also been entered by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority for a game at The Meadowlands, along with Baltimore (Baltimore Ravens, M&T Bank Stadium),
Foxborough (New England Patriots, Gillette Stadium) and the District of Columbia (Washington Redskins).
If you are wondering why all the bids come from cities within the East Coast corridor it is because host entities are required to transport the Brigade of Midshipmen and Corps of Cadets to the game. This is a requirement not extended to the Navy/Notre Dame contests, which is why those games can take place all over the country (world).
Expect an announcement on this one sometime in May.
Thanks for chiming in Seth. Sorry it took so long to approve your comment.
Don
Thanks for dropping by Ken. Great to have your input.
Don Yates
Have to think Fenway Park is too small and Foxboro a long ride from Annapolis. Meadowlands and Redskins Stadium make sense as they both have 75k or more seats available. Philadelphia and Baltimore both offer more as far as 70k seats and cloiser access to hotels, restaurants. Yankee Stadium is possible, but again will only have 55K seats available.
Both stadiums are too small in terms of seating capacity and are not conducive to football. I say move on and pick a football stadium from the nominees.