NBC Premier League host Rebecca Lowe is ready for ‘a perfect storm’ at Philly’s fan fest this weekend

Rebecca Lowe has been the host of NBC’s Premier League coverage since it started nine years ago, and has been to all seven of the previous traveling fan fests the network has done.

Usually, she knows what to expect, from the game schedule to the fan atmosphere to the weather.

But this weekend’s visit to Philadelphia might be beyond her prediction. Or anyone’s, really.

“This seems like the perfect storm,” Lowe told The Inquirer in an interview this week.

How else to describe a weekend with the Phillies’ first home playoff game in 11 years; a Flyers home game Saturday afternoon; the Eagles hosting the Cowboys on Sunday night; and NBC’s showcase at Dilworth Park on Saturday and Sunday from early morning to midafternoon?

“The whole point of this is that it’s big, probably going to be the biggest that we’ve ever done,” Lowe said, referring to the thousands of fans who snapped up free tickets when they went on sale a few weeks ago. Outside the ticketed area, Saturday will see hordes of people flocking to the Phillies’ 2:07 p.m. Game 4 against the Braves and the Flyers’ 4 p.m. home game against the Canucks. Sunday will see the city revving up for the Eagles’ biggest game yet this year.

» READ MORE: NBC’s Premier League Fan Fest is coming to Philadelphia on Eagles-Cowboys weekend

“Maybe it’s closer to an English experience, possibly in some ways, as we’ve had ever had,” said Lowe, an England native who moved here when NBC acquired Premier League rights in 2013. “Based just on the fact that sports seems to run through the blood of everybody in the city, which is what is the case in England with sport. So perhaps that is what I’m expecting a bit of — real, rampant passion on display all weekend.”

It will also be the first time a Premier League fan fest has been able to showcase a player from that place: Medford’s Brenden Aaronson, whose Leeds United host first-place Arsenal at 9 a.m. Sunday on Peacock. That game’s local interest here might surpass the TV choice at that hour of Manchester United-Newcastle United on USA Network.

“Aaronson is just playing out of his skin for Leeds right now,” Lowe said. “With the World Cup coming up and his brother playing for Philly, it’s just perfect.”

In fact, Paxten Aaronson will be one of the celebrity guests on the set this weekend, likely Friday. (It helps that the Union got a first-round playoff bye, so they aren’t playing this weekend.)

English legends Alan Shearer and Ian Wright also will be there, as will WWE star (and devoted Liverpool fan) Sheamus; and NBC’s NFL play-by-play voice Mike Tirico will stop by on Saturday before calling Eagles-Cowboys on Sunday night at the Linc.

» READ MORE: Brenden Aaronson has made it big with Leeds United

The fan fest originally was supposed to come to Philly in April 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced a cancellation. NBC went to the Los Angeles Coliseum last year so it could take advantage of good weather and an outdoor setting. The event was previously held in Miami Beach; Austin, Texas; Boston; New York; and D.C.

“It kind of feels serendipitous — it kind of feels like this weekend was meant to be,” Lowe said. “It is so nice to be able to fulfill what we’d originally planned. And then to do it, on top of that, on a weekend, at a time, in a city, which just seems to be on top of its game right now.”

The event will take over the entirety of the west side of City Hall and the City Hall courtyard. There will be only one entry point for all fans attending, on the north side of City Hall. From there, fans will go into the courtyard, where there will be bathrooms, a merchandise stand, and exhibits from the Premier League and sponsors. From there, it will be a short walk out to Dilworth Park.

NBC’s studio set will be on a stage on the north side of the park, with standing room for fans stretching from there to just past the walkway to the courtyard. The south end of the park and the western edge will have more sponsor stands, including one with the Premier League trophy.

The entrance will officially open at 6 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. NBC’s pregame shows start at 7 a.m. both days, with postgame coverage running until 3 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.

» READ MORE: Inquirer Live: "Men In Blazers" co-host Roger Bennett on soccer's growing popularity in Philadelphia and nationwide

There will be TV monitors all over the park so fans can watch games, including the simultaneous ones happening at 10 a.m. Saturday and at 9 a.m. Sunday. Local supporters’ groups of English clubs will have dedicated areas to watch their teams’ games.

Tickets for Sunday sold out weeks ago, in part because big teams Leeds, Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea (with Hershey’s Christian Pulisic), Liverpool, and Manchester City are playing that day. Tickets for Saturday sold out this week.

There also will be some studio coverage Friday from the fan fest site, starting at 2 p.m. and ending at 5:30 p.m. But fans will not be allowed in the fan fest area because there still will be construction going on.

The SEPTA subway entrances on the west side of Dilworth Park will be outside the ticketed perimeter, so they will remain open to the public. It’s not clear if the SEPTA entrance on the north side of the park will be open.

Presumably, you’ll be able to hear the studio shows from across 15th Street, but it’s not clear whether you’ll be able to see the big screens from there.

» READ MORE: Phillies-Braves: Schedule, tickets, and everything else you need to know

3 p.m.: Brentford vs. Brighton & Hove Albion, 3 p.m. (USA Network, Universo)

7:30 a.m.: Leicester City vs. Crystal Palace (USA Network, Universo)

10 a.m.: Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Nottingham Forest (USA Network, Universo); Fulham vs. Bournemouth (Peacock)

12:30 p.m.: Tottenham Hotspur vs. Everton (NBC10, Universo, Peacock)

9 a.m.: Manchester United vs. Newcastle United (USA Network, Telemundo 62); Aston Villa vs. Chelsea (Peacock); Leeds United vs. Arsenal (Peacock); Southampton vs. West Ham United (Peacock)

11:30 a.m.: Liverpool vs. Manchester City (USA Network, Telemundo 62)