Do the Eagles hate their fans?

No, of course not, but somebody will tweet or write something of the sort after seeing this tidbit from ESPN’s Tim McManus:

The Philadelphia Eagles plan to cut the number of public training camp practices at Lincoln Financial Field from two to one this summer and will charge admission, sources said, with proceeds going to the team’s charity.

Ticket prices are expected to range from $5 to $10. The money will go to the Eagles Autism Challenge, which raises funds for autism research.

There doesn’t seem to be a specific reason for the reduction noted in T-Mac’s story, but he goes on to write this, after the jump:

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.

Couple of thoughts:

  1. It’s a bad look to cut the number of open sessions, especially since it was not that long ago that fans flocked to the Lehigh Valley in droves to watch Eagles camp. There were more than a dozen open practices back then. It was a wonderful rite of passage for families and kids.
  2. There is no reason to charge for this session. The organization is worth a bazillion dollars and has no problem funneling money towards the Eagles Autism Challenge without taking a bit more from fans. I know the ticket prices are cheap, but its a matter of principle here. Camp was about letting fans get a free look at the team, an open invite to come down and be close to their squad, meet the players, get autographs, etc. Something about charging $$$ just feels wrong to me.

Tim notes that open sessions were reduced to five when camp moved back to Philly in 2013. Now we’re down to one whole practice session, which is insane to me.

This is EASY sports talk radio fodder for Tuesday, June 18th, 2019. I’m very anxious to see how Eagles fans respond to this and I personally believe it’s a bad move.

EDIT: time, date, cost –