For the first time in the 124-year history of the Army-Navy rivalry, the annual game will be played in New England.
The Black Knights and Midshipmen will meet in Foxborough, Mass., for the first of many games set to be played in the Northeast.
With New England’s ties to American history, it’s a surprise the Army-Navy game has never been played in Boston. After all, Massachusetts was the birthplace of the U.S. Army and Navy in 1775. But 2023 is arguably the perfect year to play host for the first time. A week after the football game will be the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party. The 225th anniversary of the USS Constitution’s first voyage was also celebrated this year.
Unfortunately for Bostonians, there are no plans yet to bring the annual game back to Massachusetts, so enjoy it while you can.
Here’s everything you need to know about this year’s historic location for the Army-Navy game.
Where is the Army vs. Navy game in 2023?
Location: Foxborough, Mass.
The 2023 Army-Navy game will be played in the Boston area for the first time. It’s the first of a four-year tour along the East Coast, which features stops in the Washington, D.C., area (Landover, Md.), Baltimore, East Rutherford, N.J., and Philadelphia.
Army vs. Navy stadium details
Stadium: Gillette Stadium
Capacity: 65,878
America’s Game will kick off at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., home of the New England Patriots, approximately 30 miles southwest of Boston.
Due to the game’s popularity, the Army-Navy game plays in NFL stadiums to accommodate fans. Gillette Stadium is the smallest of upcoming host-stadiums based on capacity, but it still accommodates over 65,000 attendees.
Why is Army vs. Navy played in Boston?
There are few years better than 2023 for Boston to host the Army-Navy game for the first time. The rivalry is typically hosted at historically significant cities, making Massachusetts more than qualified. This year marks the anniversary of many events that took place in and around Boston, including the Boston Tea Party. Because the American Revolution began there, New England was bound to host the football game at some point.
Future Army vs. Navy locations
The locations for upcoming Army-Navy games are slated until 2027. The rivalry game will return to familiar Northeastern cities before returning to Philadelphia, which has hosted America’s Game 90 times. Here are the future locations of the Army-Navy game:
| Date | Location | Stadium |
| Dec. 14, 2024 | Landover, Md. | FedEx Field |
| Dec. 13, 2025 | Baltimore | M&T Bank Stadium |
| Dec. 12, 2026 | East Rutherford, N.J. | MetLife Stadium |
| Dec. 11, 2027 | Philadelphia | Lincoln Financial Field |
Army vs. Navy location history
Since the first rivalry game in 1890, 90 games have been played in Philadelphia, the traditional host as it sits roughly halfway between the two campuses.
Four games have been played at Army’s campus in West Point, N.Y., and three have been played at Navy’s campus in Annapolis, Md. Neither academy hosts the game annually because neither stadium can accommodate the crowd sizes.
Various locations have hosted the remaining Army-Navy games, without only two being played away from the East Coast. Chicago hosted the rivalry in 1926, and it visited Pasadena, Calif., in 1983.
Three games were moved away from Philadelphia from 1942-44 because of restrictions during World War II. Here is a list of every game played outside Philadelphia, West Point and Annapolis:
- 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 (1983)
- Landover, Md. (2011)
- East Rutherford, N.J. (1989, 1993, 1997, 2002, 2021)
