Philly officials hope for touchdown with bid for next round of Army-Navy games

Philadelphia tourism officials have one more Army-Navy game before other cities can make a play for the longstanding  sports tradition.

Cities along the East Coast and elsewhere are vying for the privilege of hosting the next round of Army-Navy games through a request for proposals or RFP, said Larry Needle, executive director of PHL Sports.
 
“This is now the third time in recent history where they have actually gone to an RFP process, and, as you might imagine, it’s very competitive among different cities,” he said Monday.
 
The current contract expires in 2017 when Philadelphia hosts the 118th edition of the Army-Navy game. It will mark the 87th year the City of Brotherly Love has hosted the contest.
 
The event has a $35 million economic impact, thanks to 50,000 people traveling into the city in the second weekend in December. Another 8 million or so fans watch the game nationally, so it’s tremendous national exposure for the host city, Needle said.
 
The results of the competitive bid probably won’t be known until sometime in the spring.
 
At the matchup of the traditional rivals Saturday in Baltimore, Army won 21-17.