After this weekend, the beloved Army-Navy Game won't return to Lincoln Financial Field until 2027, causing Philadelphia to miss out on millions of dollars in economic impact and tens of thousands of visitors annually, reports the Philadelphia Business Journal.
Larry Needle, the executive director of PHL Sports, a division of the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the city's sports calendar is busy enough to fill the void created by the famed rivalry's extended absence, but that it'll be the bureau's job to prove to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and the Naval Academy that the game should stay here.
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WATCH HERE“At the end of the day, we consider Philadelphia the home of the game and look forward to many more years together," Needle told PBJ.com.
The Army-Navy game first came to Philadelphia in 1899 and this Saturday will mark the 90th time it's been played here, more than any other location. The Convention and Visitors Bureau estimates that each year it comes to the city, the event brings in more than 50,000 out-of-town visitors, generating more than 31,000 hotel room nights and $30 million in economic impact for the city.
Philadelphia will be without the annual economic boost the Army-Navy game provides for the next four years, the longest time period the game has spent away from the city since the 1930s. Gillette Stadium outside of Boston will host the matchup next year, the first time it'll be held in New England. Subsequent years will see the game played in Landover, Maryland; Baltimore; and East Rutherford, New Jersey, before it returns to Philadelphia.
However, Needle says the number of large scale sporting events Philadelphia is scheduled to host in the coming years, including WrestleMania 40 in 2024, the FIFA World Cup and MLB All-Star game in 2026, and six NCAA championship events, will more than make up for the gap between Army-Navy games. The World Cup matches alone are expected to generate an economic impact of $460 million, more than three times the amount that those four years of Army-Navy games would bring in.
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“We really have a sports calendar that is as strong as any city — I’ll say — in the world, and that’s something that we’re incredibly proud of,” Needle said.
PBJ.com breaks down more of the economic impact the patriotic college football game has on the host city.
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