Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, its neighbors

Chet Gladchuk, Naval Academy athletic director, shared his vision of the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium with Admiral Heights, Germantown, and Homewood residents in June.

When he became athletic director 16 years ago he began working to refurbish the stadium. Now, he says it’s one of the top 10 stadiums in the country and it’s No. 1 of the 12 facilities in the American Athletic Conference.

The stadium serves as a memorial to the men and women who have served in the United States Navy and Marine Corps. “It’s a memorial that happens to be used for sports,” Gladchuk says. “It’s also an athletic facility that needs to be used.”

During the stadium’s refurbishment Gladchuk kept the avenues of communication open between the City of Annapolis and the communities adjacent to the stadium. “We cherish our partnership with the City,” he says, noting that the mayors have all been on board with the stadium improvements and have acted as part of the team.

Gladchuk is also keeping the lines of communication open during the use of the facility. He is committed to having six or seven events a year at the stadium … home football games plus graduation.

He says that the NAAA (Naval Academy Athletic Association) has no desire to grow the list of events that occur at the stadium. He says the stadium isn’t a convention center and that NAAA reacts to requests to use the stadium, whether it receives six or 60. Traditional requests for using the stadium include athletic events and requests from community groups, schools, and neighbors. When NAAA gets non-traditional requests, the mayor and community groups are notified to see if the events are acceptable.

He says that NAAA’s goal is to minimize disruption to the communities while still conducting business. “We expect incremental growth, not exponential growth,” he says.

“There’s not a problem that we can’t fix,” he asserts. “Having one event won’t open the floodgates for others. It’s difficult to say no to charitable events, promoting local schools or helping a neighbor. We’d like to give those events a try, but if we find out they’re over the edge and the community objects, then we won’t do it again.”

To talk to someone about a stadium event, call 410-295-0088.