Why are the Eagles the only NFL team to charge fans for their lone open practice? | Jeff McLane

When the Eagles hold their lone open practice at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday night, they will be the only NFL team to offer so few opportunities to fans while also charging a fee.

The number of open training camp practices ranges from 20 (Cowboys) to zero (Raiders) with an average of 11 among the league’s 32 teams.

The Eagles were once near the top of that list. They had as many as 18 open practices when camp was conducted at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa. But when the team moved operations to the NovaCare Complex in 2013 — their practice facility in South Philadelphia — the availabilities steadily decreased from five to three to two and finally to just one this year.

The Eagles announced their camp schedule on June 18, but it was a little over another month before team president Don Smolenski explained the reasoning for having just one public practice.

“What we found is last year that 120,000 tickets were reserved for the two practices,” Smolenski said during an interview with WIP-FM. “And of those 120,000, only 10,000 were actually reserved for both days, and only 2,500 people actually came to both days. And actually 3,500 people came to none and 5,000 came to one.

“So really what that was showing to us was, we can do this in one practice and we can schedule the time.”

Smolenski also cited the Rolling Stones concert, which was being held at the Linc on July 23, and the resodding of the field after the show as another reason for not having more open practices.

While Smolenski’s interview with WIP’s Angelo Cataldi lasted around 15 minutes, only three questions were devoted to the topic. There was the initial why? and a follow-up asking why they were charging $10 per ticket, with proceeds going toward the Eagles Autism Challenge.

“We want people to be there, to support the team and I think having this donation makes people vested, so if the weather is questionable, they’ll still continue to come and support the team,” Smolenski said. “It allows us to plan for who’s coming.”

» READ MORE: How to watch and stream the Eagles’ open practice

The financial implications of staffing and operating the stadium for a free event were never mentioned, but league sources familiar with the Eagles’ thinking in this matter said that it factored significantly in the decision. The Eagles had actually originally planned on reducing the number last year after they won their first Super Bowl.

Smolenski also wasn’t asked why it mattered that a small percentage of fans had reserved tickets for both days and of that number only so many attended both. The point of having multiple practices isn’t to attract the same Eagles supporter, but to offer more than one opportunity to a greater portion of the fanbase. Last year, the team announced a two-day attendance of 75,000. The Linc’s capacity is just under 70,000.

As of July 23, 23,000 fans had purchased tickets for Sunday’s practice, which will also be Military Appreciation Night.

Smolenski, through a team spokesperson, declined interview requests from The Inquirer. His appearance with WIP, which has a multi-platform partnership with the Eagles and broadcasts their games, “was a one-time deal,” the spokesperson said.

Fan reaction has been seemingly mixed. While some have taken to social media, online comment boards and talk radio to protest the one open practice, others have said they had no objections and even went so far as to defend the Eagles. WPEN-FM has championed the former, while WIP’s airwaves have been suspiciously muted on the subject.

“It’s sad to see the Eagles appear to care less and less about the fan base,” Eric Merchiore wrote on Twitter. “Some families who can’t afford tickets would look forward to open practices at Lehigh every summer. Meanwhile, season ticket holders have seen unprecedented increases in ticket prices.”

Most fans care far more about the product on the field. Some still haven’t gotten over the first ever open practice at the Linc when linebacker Stewart Bradley tore his ACL in 2009. Smolenski, though, didn’t mention the inconvenience of moving equipment, etc. from the NovaCare to the Linc and the restrictions coach Doug Pederson’s squad faces practicing in a smaller space.

Pederson, in fact, said that having only the one field — rather than the three-plus at the NovaCare — was “actually a benefit.”

“From the standpoint of a GPS tracking standpoint and a physical standpoint. They don’t have to run as far,” Pederson said Thursday. “We’re using one field. It really sort of intensifies the practice based on limited amount of running from field to field.”

The Eagles’ departure from Lehigh coincided with the hiring of Chip Kelly, but Smolenski said then that former coach Andy Reid was the only reason why the team still went away for camp. NFL teams have increasingly stayed home as their facilities have become more sophisticated. Only a dozen or so teams still go away.

The NovaCare, though, doesn’t have as much space to hold the 8-10,000 daily fans the Eagles typically drew at Lehigh, and even if they could, their lease with the city and their original agreement with the Packer Park Civic Association — their neighbors to the north — prohibited training camp.

A compromise with the association was reached, however, and the Eagles were permitted to have practices with about 500 fans in attendance. But only the select few — season-ticket holders, corporate partners, and charitable organizations — will ever score an invite to the NovaCare.

The Eagles are gracious hosts. There are tents with catered food and Rita’s water ice stands. Spectators can stand just off the sidelines close to the action. And there are post-practice autograph sessions. But Joe Eagles fan will likely never have that experience, which is why the Eagles initially had five free public practices.

“We never would have done this without the ability to have … open practices for our fans that are free to all the public,” Smolenski said in March 2013. “That was the driving force.”

Attendance was relatively strong, but it dropped off with each practice, especially once the preseason started. The Eagles trimmed the open practices to three the following year, with two at the Linc and a third at Franklin Field in West Philadelphia, where the team had played many years ago.

The Eagles remained a draw, per usual, and 28,000 fans showed up at Franklin Field. But the number of public practices was inexplicably reduced to two in 2015 and stayed that way until this year.

It costs a lot to staff and operate the Linc. You have to pay ushers, security guards and concession attendants. And you have to turn the building on. But the Eagles had long been willing to sustain the cost for the long-term benefits of being fan-friendly.

In Denver, the Broncos have 19 public practices. Their practice facility can sustain large crowds, but they have opted to keep it open because their research and data showed that most attendees are non-season ticket holders, Broncos’ vice president of sales and marketing Dennis Moore told the Denver Post.

“I think one of the small things that have driven the NFL to being the most popular sport in the country is that you let people come watch practice, people that maybe can’t afford to go to the game,” new Broncos coach Vic Fangio said last month. “Maybe get an autograph from a player. Maybe a player shakes their hand or throws them a sweatband or a glove.

“You do that with a young person, you’ve got a fan for life and football has a fan for life. There is more to be gained out of that than any advertising slogan or any commercial that you put on TV.”

Business is obviously good for the Eagles. Forbes recently placed the worth of owner Jeffrey Lurie’s franchise at $2.75 billion — 24th among professional sports team in the world — with an operating income of $114 million.

The Eagles are still riding high after their Super Bowl victory. They made the playoffs last season and have, on paper, another title contender. Sponsorship revenue is up. The Linc is packed with suites they seemingly add every year. The season-ticket waiting list is at an all-time high.

The majority of Eagles fans will stay with the team through even the roughest of patches. But is the team being shortsighted in limiting opportunities for fans — specifically the many families who can’t afford even one game — to watch the team?

The Eagles have in certain years required fans to bring tickets for entry, but even though the free tickets almost always sold out, the number of actual attendees would vary. In other years the Eagles just opened the gates.

Some NFL teams have charged a fee, whether it be for premium seating (Vikings), transportation (Seahawks), a capital improvement project (Falcons), parking (Chiefs), or a charitable foundation (Panthers). But all those teams also have free days or free options. Most teams charge nothing.

The Eagles won’t pocket a penny from the $10 tickets, although Ticketmaster’s handling fee was $1.22. Proceeds will go to autism research and care. The Eagles have raised over $6 million from their Autism Challenge events the last two years. They generated $3.4 million alone from last month’s bike ride.

Lurie has long been an advocate for the cause. His brother, Steve, is on the autism spectrum. The Eagles have increased their efforts in recent years, although there was internal debate about using the open practice as a means for further funding.

Last year, fans who attended the workouts were given the option to donate. Some Eagles staffers suggested something similar for this year and argued that there were other ways — such as a golf outing or dinner — to raise money.

Parking will remain free. But some fans believe that it is the least the Eagles, who received $188 million in public tax money to build the Linc in 2003, can do. Since Smolenski was named president in 2012, after a tenure as chief operating officer, the Eagles have increasingly hosted concerts and soccer matches at the Linc.

This summer’s schedule was actually light compared with previous years, which is why his Rolling Stones explanation — even if you factor in its timing in relation to camp — didn’t hold water. Last year, for instance, the Linc hosted a soccer game on July 25, Jay-Z and Beyonce on July 30, and an open practice on Aug. 5.

The Eagles also resod multiple times during the season.

While the Eagles have other team-funded fan events, they can’t match the experience of watching the players in action, even if for just a practice. The team typically puts on a good show and the players are encouraged to interact with fans — as much as they can from the field.

“We have fans, obviously, at the facility, but when we go over [to the Linc] it’s a different animal,” Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz said Saturday. “The fans show up in the thousands and it gives us a little extra boost.”

A good turnout Sunday could boost the campaign for more open practices. Smolenski said the door isn’t closed on having more than one open practice.

“I think that’s the nice thing with the schedule. It allows us to have the flexibility to have more than one if that warrants,” Smolenski said on the radio. “Our coach is very supportive. He’ll adjust his schedule to accommodate what’s best for the organization.”