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Red Sox, Yankees vying for Army-Navy game

Red Sox, Yankees vying for Army-Navy game
Posted at 6:44 AM, Feb 17, 2017
and last updated 2017-02-17 06:44:27-05

The Army-Navy game is one of the most storied rivalries in all of sports. The location of the game in 2018 might be moving to the diamond.

According to multiple reports, the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees have put in bids to host the game. 

It will be the 119th meeting between the two service academies -- the 118th meeting is already set for Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia this season. 

This would be the first time either Fenway Park or the new Yankee Stadium hosted the game. In 1930 and 1931, old Yankee Stadium was the host venue for the rivalry. 

Since 2000, the game has been played in Philadelphia 11 times, Baltimore four times, and Landover and East Rutherford each hosted the game once. 

All of the stadiums that have hosted those games have at least 69,000 seats. Fenway Park holds nearly 38,000 fans. Yankee Stadium roughly holds 54,000.

While both of those locations are premier sports destinations, do their capacity limitations warrant a game of this magnitude? 

Both stadiums have experience hosting college football games. Notre Dame defeated Boston College 19-16 in 2015 at Fenway Park. Yankee Stadium has been home of the Pinstripe Bowl since 2010.

This year, Fenway hosts three games -- UConn faces Boston College, UMass battles Maine and Dartmouth squares off against Brown. 

A departure from a traditional football stadium for the Army-Navy game is a cool concept, but it may not make the most sense for the service academies. 

Where will the cadets and midshipmen in uniform be seated? 

Are there too many obstructed views?

Or will the fans be too far away from the action?

A game with this storied history warrants a much larger venue.