What to Know
- Fans will not be permitted at Lincoln Financial Field for the start of the 2020 season “until further notice” because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Philadelphia Eagles announced Thursday.
- According to the Eagles, they have spent the last few months working with government agencies, public health experts and league officials to develop protocols for the 2020 season. The Eagles even presented several scenarios but the decision was made that fans would not be in attendance.
- In an email to season ticket holders, the Eagles said they would communicate additional info if fans are allowed at the stadium later in the 2020 season.
No fans will be allowed at Lincoln Financial Field to open the Philadelphia Eagles 2020 season, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The decision to not allow fans at the Linc was expected. City health officials for weeks have said it would not be likely that fans would be allowed inside the Linc at the start of the season because of the protracted COVID-19 pandemic.
While the statement from the Eagles doesn’t rule out the possibility of fans attending games later in the season, it doesn’t sound good.
According to the Eagles, they have spent the last few months working with government agencies, public health experts and league officials to develop protocols for the 2020 season. The Eagles even presented several scenarios but the decision was made that fans would not be in attendance.
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In an email to season ticket holders, the Eagles said they would communicate additional info if fans are allowed at the stadium later in the 2020 season.
"Eagles fans are incredible,” Eagles president Don Smolenski said, via the Eagles’ website. “They fill the stadium and the support they provide, the energy, the passion, we know how much our players feed off of that. We know how much as an organization we feed off of that.
“While we know that in the start of the season that those seats may be empty, we know that they'll be with us in spirit, just as they are all across the country and all across the globe for every Eagles game. They'll be cheering us on and we're going to feed off their energy. We're just going to have to do that a little bit differently, just like we're doing everything a little bit differently here in 2020."
Several other teams have already announced that they won’t have fans in their stadiums this year. Among them is the Washington Football Team, which means the Eagles will be in an empty stadium for their opener too.
Without fans, it’ll fall on players to get amped up for games on their own.
The Eagles might be at an even bigger disadvantage without fans than most teams. In the last four years, they have the fourth-best home record in the NFL at 23-9 and they have given up an average of 25.0 points on the road and just 16.5 at home.
