NEW ORLEANS — The Philadelphia Eagles will have a decision to make on the future of Lincoln Financial Field in the coming years. The Linc is coming up on its 23rd season in 2025 and the stadium is a part of a generation of open-air stadiums that were built before retractable roof stadiums trended across the league.
As the Eagles are headed to their third Super Bowl in seven years, owner Jeffrey Lurie envisions his team potentially hosting a Super Bowl someday. Lurie is committed getting Philadelphia a Super Bowl.
That likely won’t happen under the current state of Lincoln Financial Field. The stadium would need to be renovated with a retractable roof or a new retractable roof stadium would have to be built for Philadelphia to have that Super Bowl opportunity.
Could Lurie actually renovate The Linc and transform it into a dome? The Eagles owner didn’t exactly shoot down the idea.
“I don’t have a strong opinion on it, because you’re torn,” Lurie said at Super Bowl media night. “I love outdoor football. I love it. I love the cold games. I like the hot games. I like the snow games. On the other hand, Philadelphia deserves to host the Super Bowl, NCAA Final Four, and lots of great events. It’s an incredible sports city, so yes you got to balance all those things.”
The best way for Lurie to get his Super Bowl and Final Four is a retractable roof stadium. The Final Four is played in football stadiums, but in retractable roof facilities or domes. The Super Bowl hasn’t been played in an open-air stadium in a cold-weather city since MetLife Stadium, home of the New York Jets and Giants, hosted Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014. There hasn’t been an outdoor Super Bowl north of the Mason-Dixon Line since.
Lurie admitted last year the Eagles have eight or nine more years on the lease the team agreed to with the city in 2003, and the South Philadelphia sports complex is in the process of becoming an entertainment district in a partnership with Comcast Spectacor, the Philadelphia Phillies, and Philadelphia 76ers. The 76ers and Philadelphia Flyers are going 50-50 on a new arena and the Phillies are with Comcast Spectacor on the planned mixed-use development in the complex.
The Eagles will soon have to make a call on whether they plan on joining the other sports franchises, which will affect the future of Lincoln Financial Field. Lurie won’t commit to anything at the moment, but he is at least considering bringing big-time sports events to Philadelphia.
Ultimately, that would require a retractable roof stadium.
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Author: Jeff Kerr
February 4, 2025 | 2:20 am
