According to a report by Sports Business Journal's Don Muret, the Eagles are planning enhancements to Lincoln Financial Field over the next two off seasons. Total costs for the upgrades could be between $60 million and $100 million, with new field level boxes, improved video technology, and other renovations you can read more about at SBJ.
Despite the football-specific venue's relative youth and vast improvements over its round concrete predecessor, the team will apparently continue to upgrade the experience, as well as their ability to profit from it. The Linc is somewhat spartan compared to some parks, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It'll be interesting to see what exactly they come up with, and what efforts they take to keep what works best about the Linc while adding bells, whistles, and seats.
Our question for you, the folks who fill the stands eight or more times a year, is what you'd want the Birds to improve about their home stadium. Ours below.
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Personally, our wishlist is simple, and possibly not among the items earmarked for expenditures approaching $100 million. We're usually upstairs when we're there, and two things fall short. Although the beer offerings along the main level concourse have improved, upstairs it's primarily still stands with low-end bottles. A couple more craft brew stands would go a long way, and probably help thin out the lines at the other stands. Across the parking lot, the Phillies have one of the city's best overall taplists. Would love to see something replicated with seasonals over at the Linc. By the end of the first month, seeing local Oktoberfests replace the late-summer stuff, maybe some porters, winter lagers …
The SBJ report mentions a possible brewpub addition in Headhouse Square, which would be nice and all, but not really any help in addressing the no-good-beer-upstairs issue.
If there's anything left over after our eight-figure overhaul of the upper-deck taplines, the TVs up there are old, small, and put off a huge glare if you're on the sunny side. Tiny tube-backs stuck in the walls over the concessions, the game barely visible as you wait in line. I'm guessing this would be in the mix, but who knows.
So yeah, big shock. The 700 Level wants to spend millions on more beer and nicer TVs. We're a little on the low-tech, low-reward, stuff-our-faces-and-watch-better-TV-at-the-live-event side of things. Truth is, we'd been meaning to post these *ahem* suggestions anyway, and the SBJ news gave us the opportunity. Obviously these won't be the focus of a major upgrade project such as the one they describe. Other than these creature comforts though, we don't remember walking away from the building citing its pressing needs.
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Anyone have some large-scale enhancements on their wishlist? Anything equally as base as ours?