Alohi Gilman on importance of Navy-Notre Dame game for Midshipmen
How important is Notre Dame game for Navy each year? “It’s the Super Bowl of our season — besides Army,” transfer Alohi Gilman says
Mike Berardino, Indianapolis Star
The annual matchup between the Army Black Knights and the Navy Midshipmen will be played out in New England for the first time in the rivalry’s history.
The game typically takes place in Philadelphia, with the 2022 edition of the rivalry kicking off from the Eagles’ Lincoln Financial Field. This season’s meeting between the two military programs, however, marks the beginning of a four-year slate of different stadiums playing host before the game returns to Philadelphia in 2027.
Th3 2023 Army-Navy Game will take place at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts, making it the eighth state to host Army vs. Navy. Of the 123 previous matchups between the two programs, 90 have been played in Philadelphia, which has historically been the preferred site for the game because it is 125 miles from Annapolis, Maryland, and 142 miles from West Point, New York.
However, the change to the Massachusetts location gives the Army a slight advantage, as Gillette Stadium is just 209 miles away from West Point, compared to 414 miles from Annapolis.
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Here’s everything you need to know about the Army vs. Navy location and its history:
Where is Army-Navy game in 2023?
Location: Foxborough, Massachusetts
The Army-Navy game will be played in Foxborough, Massachusetts in 2023. The rivalry matchup is traditionally held in Philadelphia, but will take a pit stop this season at Gillette Stadium, home to both the New England Patriots of the NFL and the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer.
Army vs. Navy stadium details
- Stadium: Gillette Stadium
- Capacity: 64,628
Army vs. Navy will be played at Gillette Stadium, marking the first time the stadium will host the rivalry game.
Gillette Stadium has approximately 5,000 fewer seats than Lincoln Financial Field, which hosted the game last season and holds up to 69,896 fans in the arena. Army and Navy have faced off at Lincoln Financial Field on several occasions, from 2003-06, 2008-10, 2012-15 and 2017-19.
Why is Army vs. Navy being played in Massachusetts?
The 2023 Army-Navy game in Massachusetts will coincide with several notable and historical anniversaries in American history. Among them: the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, the 225th anniversary of the USS Constitution’s maiden voyage and the 124th edition of this storied rivalry.
As noted by the Patriots’ site, other notable factors in the game’s 2023 location include New England’s rich history with the Army and Navy, with Massachusetts serving as the birthplace of the National Guard in 1636. It also is home to the Charlestown Navy Yard, one of the six original Navy shipyards in the country, as well as the USS Constitution, the oldest commissioned naval vessel afloat.
The battles of Lexington and Concord, among the first of the American Revolution, also unfolded in Massachusetts.
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Future Army vs. Navy locations
The annual Army vs. Navy football game was played in Philadelphia will not return to the city until 2027. Through 2027, the game will rotate between the homes of current NFL teams in the Washington Commanders, Baltimore Ravens, and New York Giants
- Dec. 14, 2024: FedEx Field (Landover, Md.)
- Dec. 13, 2025: M&T Bank Stadium (Baltimore, Md.)
- Dec. 12, 2026: MetLife Stadium (East Rutherford, N.J.)
- Dec. 11, 2027: Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia)
Army vs. Navy location history
Ninety of the 123 matchups between the two storied military programs have taken place in Philadelphia. Another seven of those games were kicked off at the Army’s campus in West Point, N.Y., and the Navy’s campus in Annapolis.
Here’s a list of every game that has been played outside of Philadelphia since the inauguration of the Army vs. Navy game.
- Princeton, N.J. (1905)
- New York (1913, 1915-16, 1919-21, 1923, 1925, 1927, 1930-31)
- Baltimore (1924, 1944, 2000, 2007, 2014, 2016)
- Chicago (1926)
- Pasadena, Calif. (1983)
- Landover, Md. (2011)
- East Rutherford, N.J. (1989, 1993, 1997, 2002, 2021)
- Foxborough, Mass. (2023)
