The Army-Navy football game - one of the nation's most prestigious sporting events - is coming back to Baltimore.
There will be, however, a bit of a wait required.
Officials from both service academies announced yesterday that the city has been awarded the 2007 Army-Navy game, which will be played at Ravens Stadium. Baltimore was the site of the game in 2000 but had last held it in 1944.
Philadelphia, which has held 76 of the 103 games in the rivalry, outbid 13 other cities for the right to hold the contest at newly built Lincoln Financial Field in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008. The city had previously secured the rights to the 2003 game, which will be held Dec. 6.
"We are grateful to every city that came forward with extraordinary enthusiasm and extended unprecedented commitments in their efforts to attract the game," Naval Academy athletic director Chet Gladchuk said. "Especially Philadelphia and Baltimore, who made it clear they did not want this classic to get away."
"In the end," said Army athletic director Rick Greenspan, "we felt awarding four games to Philadelphia and one to Baltimore was in the best interests of the cadets and midshipmen, as well as the graduates and fans of both academies."
Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley said the game provides a unique opportunity for Baltimore to showcase itself. "I'm elated," he said. "It means people get to see Baltimore at its best. If they come to the game, they can go out afterward to museums and restaurants and make a weekend out of it. People that view it on TV get a chance to see our city as well.
"The Army-Navy game is a very inspiring and patriotic event. I think the home of `The Star-Spangled Banner' is a fitting home for it," O'Malley said.
Ravens president and CEO David Modell said there was originally an effort to secure multiple Army-Navy games for Baltimore over the next five years, but in the end, one made better financial sense.
"Clearly we wanted as many games as we could get, but at the end of the day we focused on just getting one of the five," Modell said. "We're very happy. We've had a team working on this for about six months, and I think it's a tremendous win for the community."
Even though Army and Navy have had little success on the football field recently (the teams combined to win three games in 2002), interest in the Army-Navy game remains high. As a result, the academies were able to ask for more from prospective bidders, including a bigger share of the gate, more tickets and free transportation for all their midshipmen and cadets.
