Philadelphia

Eagles to Spend $125 Million for Linc Revitalization

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

Lincoln Financial Field, the Philadelphia Eagles’ home for ten years, is on track for a two-year revitalization process that aims to create an improved fan experience for the South Philadelphia venue, officials announced recently.

“Our main goal when we began this project was to dramatically enhance the game day experience for our fans. They deserve an exciting and fun experience when they visit Lincoln Financial Field and we are committed to that,” said Philadelphia Eagles president Don Smolenski.

Officially opened on August 3, 2003 with a soccer match between Manchester United and FC Barcelona, the $512 million sports venue was completed in two years as a replacement for the Eagles’ old Veterans Stadium which was imploded in March 2004. Dubbed The Linc, the 1.7 million-square-foot stadium has 68,532 seats, including 10,828 club seats and 172 suites. It was jointly designed by NBBJ, a global architecture firm, and Philadelphia-based Agoos Lovera Architects and it is located at 1020 Pattison Avenue as part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, the current home of the city’s professional sports teams.

The Eagles have retained architectural firm Gensler and Turner Construction for the $125 million redevelopment project. According to the Philadelphia Business Journal, the stadium will be completely revamped by 2014 but some of the changes will be finished in time for the 2013 season, when the Eagles will play against the San Diego Chargers.

Reportedly, these changes include enlarged entrance areas for easier access into the stadium for fans, an expanded stadium store, the installation of a new integrated wireless network with 600 access points that will be able to handle 45,000 simultaneous users, expanded and upgraded concession stands, two new HD video boards behind the end zone areas and a LED ribbon-board (pictured) placed along each side of the stadium that will offer 360 degrees of video, animation, real-time scores and statistics. Renovation plans for the 2014 regular season include new carpet, paint and furniture; 1,600 new seats installed in the stadium; a new escalator built on the West side; and two bridges constructed in the Southwest corner that will allow fans to easily walk from one side of the venue to the other.

Rendering via lincolnfinancialfield.com