Navy – Marine Corps Memorial Stadium is an outdoor athletic
stadiumA modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
near the campus of the U.S. Naval Academy in
Annapolis, MarylandAnnapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It had a population of 38,394 at the 2010 census and is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east of Washington, D.C. Annapolis is...
. It is the home field of the Navy Midshipmen
footballThe Navy Midshipmen football team represents the United States Naval Academy in NCAA Division I-A college football. They are a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision independent school and coached by Ken Niumatalolo since December 2007...
team, the
men's lacrosseThe Navy Midshipmen men's lacrosse team represents the United States Naval Academy in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I men's lacrosse. Navy currently competes as a member of the Patriot League and play their home games at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland...
team, and the Chesapeake Bayhawks
lacrosseLacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
team.
The stadium opened on September 26, 1959, when Navy defeated
William & MaryThe William & Mary Tribe are a college football team representing the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. William & Mary currently competes in the Colonial Athletic Association of the NCAA's Division I Football Championship Subdivision. As of 2010, Jimmye Laycock is in his 31st...
in football, 29–2. The current
seating capacitySeating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats...
is 34,000. The attendance record for the stadium is 37,970, when Navy lost to the
Pitt PanthersThe 2008 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 2008 college football season. The season was the fourth under head coach Dave Wannstedt, who was looking to achieve his first winning season with the Panthers...
in football, 42-21, on October 18, 2008. Prior to
19591959 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-American football:* NFL Championship – Baltimore Colts won 31-16 over the New York Giants* August 14 - The American Football League is founded...
, Navy played its home games at
Thompson StadiumThompson Stadium was a stadium in Annapolis, Maryland. It was primarily used for American football, and was the home field of the United States Naval Academy "Midshipmen" prior to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium opening in 1959. Thompson Stadium opened in 1912 and held 12,000 people. The...
, which seated only 12,000. In the summer of 1984 The Navy Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis hosted soccer games as part of the
1984 Summer OlympicsThe 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...
.
Memorial
The stadium serves as a
memorialA memorial is an object which serves as a focus for memory of something, usually a person or an event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or art objects such as sculptures, statues or fountains, and even entire parks....
to the
NavyThe United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
and
Marine CorpsThe United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
; it is dedicated to those who have served (and will serve) as upholders of the traditions and renown of the Navy and Marine Corps of the United States. The thousands of memorial bench-back and wall
plaquesA commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other vertical surface, and bearing text in memory of an important figure or event...
are a constant reminder, as well as the list of numerous battles involving the Naval and Marine Corps forces since the early 1900s.
Renovation
In
20042004 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-American football:* College football Bowl Championship Series :**January 1 – Rose Bowl – USC 28, Michigan 14...
the stadium underwent a major renovation by
360 Architecture360 Architecture is an American architectural practice focused on planning, design and execution. The firm provides services for a range of project types including corporate headquarters and commercial office buildings, sports arenas and ballparks, municipal facilities, single- and multi-family...
. Among the improvements were an expanded
press boxThe press box is a special section of a sports stadium or arena that is set up for the media to report about a given event. It is typically located in the section of the stadium holding the luxury box. In general, newspaper writers sit in this box and write about the on-field event as it unfolds...
, 140 club seats and associated club lounge, private suites, new stadium seating (northwest end zone), ADA enhancements, updated restrooms,
concessionsA concession stand , snack kiosk or snack bar is the term used to refer to a place where patrons can purchase snacks or food at a cinema, fair, stadium, or other entertainment venue. Some events or venues contract out the right to sell food to third parties...
and stadium operation facilities, new banquet facilities, and renovated locker room facilities.
Playing surface
For its first 46 years, the stadium's
playing fieldA playing field is a field used for playing sports or games. They are generally outdoors, but many large structures exist to enclose playing fields from bad weather. Generally, playing fields are wide expanses of grass, dirt or sand without many obstructions...
was natural
grassGrasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
. Prior to the
20052005 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup** Men's overall season champion: Bode Miller ** Women's overall season champion: Anja Pärson -American football:...
football season, the grass field was replaced with
FieldTurfFieldTurf is a brand of artificial turf playing surface. It is manufactured and installed by the FieldTurf Tarkett division of Tarkett Inc., based in Calhoun, Georgia, USA. In the late 1990s, the artificial surface changed the industry with a design intended to replicate real grass...
, a next-generation infilled
syntheticSynthetic fibers are the result of extensive research by scientists to improve on naturally occurring animal and plant fibers. In general, synthetic fibers are created by forcing, usually through extrusion, fiber forming materials through holes into the air, forming a thread...
turfArtificial turf is a surface manufactured from synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commercial applications as well...
. The field runs northwest to southeast.
Jack Stephens Field
The field at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium is named "Jack Stephens Field", for Jackson T. Stephens (Class of 1947), whose gift aided (1) the renovation of the stadium, (2) the Class of 1947 Legacy project to benefit the Academy's Museum, and (3) other Academy projects.
Army–Navy Game
The stadium has never hosted the Army–Navy Game; the last game played in
AnnapolisAnnapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It had a population of 38,394 at the 2010 census and is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east of Washington, D.C. Annapolis is...
was in
19421942 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.Note — many sporting events did not take place because of World War II-American football:...
at
Thompson StadiumThompson Stadium was a stadium in Annapolis, Maryland. It was primarily used for American football, and was the home field of the United States Naval Academy "Midshipmen" prior to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium opening in 1959. Thompson Stadium opened in 1912 and held 12,000 people. The...
. The rivalry game is normally played at a neutral site between the campuses on the
East CoastThe East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
in early December, most often in Philadelphia (with occasional stop-offs in Baltimore and
East Rutherford, New JerseyEast Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 8,913. It is an inner-ring suburb of New York City, located west of Midtown Manhattan....
).
A similar situation exists with the Notre Dame – Navy series. The Irish never have played in Annapolis since the series began in 1927, with all of Navy's home games being played in Baltimore (1927-1958, 1986, 1988, 2002, 2006 and 2008), Philadelphia (1960-1974 and 1993), Cleveland (1976 and 1978), East Rutherford (1980-1984, 1990, 1992, 2004 and 2010), Orlando (2000) and Dublin, Ireland (1996 and 2012). However, since 1953 every ND home game in the series has been played in South Bend, and the Midshipmen also visited Notre Dame Stadium in 1930 (the dedication game) and 1937. Notre Dame played one "home" game versus Navy at Chicago's Soldier Field in 1928, and played several "home" games in Cleveland between 1932 and 1952.
See also
- American football field
- Lacrosse field
External links