No Fans at the Linc For Now

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the City of Philadelphia confirmed Thursday that fans will not be permitted at Lincoln Financial Field until further notice

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the City of Philadelphia confirmed Thursday that fans will not be permitted at Lincoln Financial Field until further notice due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The open-ended nature of the proclamation has the Eagles hopeful that could change later in the 2020 season and will continue discussions with state and local officials in what is a fluid situation.

The information was communicated by the organization to its season-ticket holders Thursday afternoon.

"Eagles fans are incredible. They fill the stadium and the support they provide, the energy, the passion, we know how much our players feed off of that. We know how much as an organization we feed off of that," team president Don Smolenski said on the organization's Eagles Insider Podcast.

The league has been very consistent in deferring to state and local regulations to date.

“Decisions on the number of fans at stadiums will be determined on a market-by-market basis with guidance from public health experts and in accordance with local and state guidelines,” NFL Spokesman Brian McCarthy told SI's EagleMaven.

McCarthy also noted different standards in different stadiums will not be viewed by the league as a non-starter when it comes to leveling the competitive playing field.

“This is not a competitive equity consideration,” McCarthy said.

The Eagles presented a variety of options to state and local officials regarding fan attendance.

"Everyone recognizes just how difficult and hard this decision is," Smolenski said. "We fully support the governor's office and we fully support the mayor's office. We're going to continue to work with the officials as we go forward."

The Eagles open the regular season at the Washington Football Team on September 13 and the WFT has said it will not have fans at home games in 2020.

The Eagles' home-opener is Week 2 against the Los Angeles Rams. Cincinnati follows on Sept. 27 then the team is on the road for two weeks before returning for an Oct. 18 game against Baltimore, likely the first potential for removal of the moratorium if things with the pandemic start moving in a more positive direction.

John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John every Monday and Friday on SIRIUSXM’s Tony Bruno Show with Harry Mayes, and every Tuesday and Thursday with Eytan Shander on SportMap Radio. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen

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