Crossing Broad
In the sports complex redevelopment spurred by Comcast-Spectacor and the 76ers, it’s the Philadelphia Eagles who have been the wild card. The Birds haven’t said much publicly, and Jeffrey Lurie has been coy when asked about the team’s future in South Philadelphia. Ahead of Super Blow LIX, the best owner in football was asked about the roofed stadium topic specifically, and said this:
“I don’t have a strong opinion about it because you’re torn. I love outdoor football. It love it. I love the cold games. I like the hot games, I like the snow games. On the other hand, does Philadelphia deserve to host the Super Bowl, NCAA Final Four, lots of great events? It’s an incredible sports city. Does it deserve that? Yes. So we have to balance all those things.”
Lurie was also asked, in March of 2024, if he planned on joining the larger sports complex project:
Question: Any plans to join the Development Project at the Sports Complex?
JEFFREY LURIE: “You know what, we talk closely all the time with Comcast and with the Phillies, and it’s something we monitor. At this point, we’re not a part of that, but it’s something we monitor closely, and we’re part of the sports complex, and we have, what is it, eight or nine more years on our lease. We’ll just keep monitoring it and try to figure out what’s best for the Eagles.”
A lot has happened since then, with the Sixers giving up on the 76 Place project and HBSE and Comcast-Spectacor sending out a survey to their fans. Now the Eagles are in on that action:
The Birds have also run small focus groups on tailgating and similar issues. Seems like they’re trying to gather as much information as possible before deciding how they want to proceed. As we’ve written frequently on this site, Eagles gameday culture is a lot different than what you see with the other teams down there. It’s heavily focused on tailgating and spending a lot of time outside before the game. Some people don’t even go in. Just a big party atmosphere overall. The Flyers and Sixers are exploring concepts like retail and restaurants and a fan plaza, similar to the Battery complex in Atlanta.
RE: the roof topic specifically, that runs parallel to the old school fan referendum, does it not? You’ve got this portion of people who don’t want “premium” anything and just want to tailgate and drink beer they brought with them. They want to go in and watch the game with affordable tickets in decent seats, not necessarily a loge box or whatever. The Venn Diagram of those people and people who think football should be played in the elements is likely flat. If you cover the stadium, there’s no Shady McCoy Snow Bowl, and there’s no Snow Bowl 2 against the Rams, which, by the way, they almost lost. So that’s one thing to consider, the “wussification” of Philadelphia, as Ed Rendell...
