The game will remain in the northeast corridor of the United States through 2027.
The Army-Navy game is shipping up to Boston.
Or, rather, Foxborough.
Organizers of the annual Army-Navy football contest announced Wednesday that the 2023 edition of America’s Game will be played at the home of the New England Patriots. It’s the first time ever that the game has been played in the state of Massachusetts.
Along with the 2023 game, Naval Academy Director of Athletics Chet Gladchuk and Army West Point Director of Athletics Mike Buddie announced the locations for the game through 2027. Here’s where the game is headed:
- 2023: Foxborough, Mass. | Dec. 9
- 2024: Landover, Maryland | Dec. 14
- 2025: Baltimore, Maryland | Dec. 13
- 2026: East Rutherford, N.J. | Dec. 12
- 2027: Philadelphia, Pa. | Dec. 11
Philadelphia is also set to host this year’s Army-Navy game, set for Dec. 10.
Boston is a newcomer to the rotation for the game, but it winning the bid for the 2023 Army-Navy game is notable because it means the game will stay in the northeast corridor of the U.S., where it has traditionally always been played aside for a few outliers. Other cities that bid on the game that would’ve taken it out its traditional footprint included Charlotte, Orlando, Dallas and Chicago.
One reason the game has largely stayed in the northeast is because it makes for easy traveling for thousands of cadets and midshipmen. Though, Orlando seemed to be up to the task for paying for travel and lodging for 8,000 of them, as Steve Hogan, CEO of Florida Citrus Sports said: “That’s why so many communities don’t even attempt to bring this game. We’re bold enough to think Orlando can do it.”
Organizers of the game visited and toured Charlotte and Bank of America Stadium back in April. On Wednesday, Danny Morrison — Executive Director of the Charlotte Sports Foundation — said in a statement: “While we are disappointed the Army-Navy game is not coming to the South, being a finalist reinforces the fact that high-profile college sporting events are important to Charlotte.”
Had the game ventured anywhere south of the Chesapeake Bay or west of the Mississippi River, it would’ve been the first time since 1983 that the game left the northeast — that year, it was played in Pasadena, California. The game was also played in Chicago once, in 1926.
The 2023 game in New England will coincide with the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party. The 2024 game at Fed Ex Field in Landover marks the 125th playing of the Army-Navy game.