Army-Navy a boon for city

    More than 50,000 people expected to pack into the city and fill hotels to near capacity.

    A major football rivalry returns to Philadelphia this weekend.

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    More than 50,000 people expected to pack into the city and fill hotels to near capacity. Larry Needle is head of the Philadelphia Sports Congress, which produces the event. He says the visitors come at a great time for the city’s hospitality industry.

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    Needle: When you think of about 50,000 people from around the country enjoying our hotels, our restaurants our attractions and the warm hospitality that we offer, it’s really just a fantastic weekend on many levels for us.”

    The game is also particularly significant in the Philadelphia sports scene. If Army wins, they face off against Temple University in the Eagle Bank Bowl.

    Needle says the event’s economic impact amounts to about 35 million dollars for the city. Last summer a new deal was approved to keep the game in Philadelphia for five of the next eight years. Next year it will be in Washington DC, and in 2014 and 2016 it will travel to Baltimore.

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