Philadelphia Eagles training camps have always been an annual tradition for families who wanted to take the trek to West Chester or Lehigh to see their favorite NFL player get ready for the regular season. Once the Eagles built the Nova Care Complex, the teams training camp was brought back across the street from the stadium, cutting down on fans overall access to the team.
The Eagles would normally host several training camp practices that were open to the general public, but that is no longer, according to ESPN.com’s Tim McManus, who is reporting that the Birds plan to cut the number of public training camp practices at Lincoln Financial Field from two to one this summer and will charge admission, with proceeds going to the team’s charity.
The merits of this decision have been debated inside the building, per multiple sources, given that training camp access has already decreased significantly in recent years and because these free sessions are often to the benefit of lower-income families who want to connect with the team but can’t afford game tickets. Ultimately, the desire to further the team’s charitable efforts won out.
Because of the limited space at the NovaCare Complex, fans can only attend when invited only and most of the time is season ticket holders or corporate sponsors.
