| Posted on Sun, Jul. 27, 2003 |   |
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The Eagles' new home gets rave reviews
Season-ticket holders had their first look at Lincoln Financial Field. Hoagies notwithstanding, it was a happy throng. Inquirer Staff Writer They trickled in all day, thousands of them, Eagles season-ticket holders eager to get a look at their new seats in the new stadium. And Doreen Baker, a part-time supermarket worker from Northeast Philadelphia, spoke for the overwhelming majority of them. "I'm speechless, to tell you the truth," said Baker, who was wearing an Eagles necklace, pale green Eagles blouse, black Eagles pants and bright green Eagles nails. "It's absolutely gorgeous. I'm so close to the action I feel I could catch an overthrown pass." You'd expect her to be happy. Her seats at Lincoln Financial Field are in the fifth row up from the field and at the 37-yard-line. But similar sentiments were expressed by Michael Fickenscher, whose seats are way up in the south end zone, some 200 stair-steps above street level and 10 rows from the very top of the building. "I like the view, the sight lines are way better than they were at the Vet," said Fickenscher, a restaurant manager from Washington Township. "At the Vet," he said, "we couldn't see the back of the end zone; we had to rely on people cheering to tell us if the Eagles had scored a touchdown. We had to look behind us to see the video board. Here, there's one directly in front of us, down at the other end of the field. It's high where we are, but we can see just fine." Such opinions were the rule throughout the stadium, in the high-priced seats down below and in the steep slopes of the upper deck. People praised the sight lines, the number of bathrooms, the legroom, the cupholders at every seat. But a few fans who arrived unhappy with their seat assignments left with feelings unchanged. Consider Shel Klein, a grocer from Lafayette Hill. At the Vet, he had lower-level seats on the 50-yard-line, seats that had been in his family since that stadium opened and before. His seats at the Linc are at the 38. "They talk about sight lines - How could you have better sight lines than being at the 50?" Klein asked after seeing his new location. "Do I don't feel any better? No. This place seems very sterile to me, more of a corporate atmosphere. "If they put a winning product on the field, I'll still be able to enjoy the games," he said. "But I won't be able to stop wondering who has the seats we should have. Is it Mr. Lincoln? Or is it Mr. Financial?" Another less-than-fully-satisfied customer was Keith Quinn of Hammonton, N.J., who comes to the games with his grandson and has two lower-level seats in the southeast corner of the stadium. "I like the place, but I'm not happy with the idea that you can't bring food in," he said. "Basically, I guess, I'm happy," he said. "I'll stay with it because my grandson loves to come. I just was hoping for a little better for what I paid." Eagles senior vice president Don Smolenski said that 10,000 people had passed through the gates as of 1 p.m. and only a handful had registered official complaints about anything. By the end of the day, more than 40,000 fans had shown up, the team said. To keep them entertained, the Eagles' organization had the video boards up and running, showing the graphic elements that will be used to celebrate Eagles touchdowns, and for highlight films and features on Eagles players. The concession and souvenir stands were open and doing a brisk business. Several fans, though, expressed their anger over the outside food ban the team is imposing and said they planned not to spend any money inside the stadium during the season. Team officials have characterized the ban, which is in place in about half of all NFL venues, as a security measure rather than an economic one. "For the Eagles to use 9/11 as an excuse to ban hoagies is an insult to the fans," said George Kaiser, a shipping manager from the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia, whose new seats are at the 40-yard line, upper deck, five rows from the top. "But I haven't found anything wrong with this place yet. "It's awesome, it really is," he said. "You've got an escalator all the way to the top. The view of the city is amazing. You're higher, but you're closer to the field. They built a beautiful stadium - you can't take that away from them. Anyone who would complain about this place is insane." The stadium will be open to the general public today from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Contact staff writer Larry Eichel at 215-854-2415 or leichel@phillynews.com. |
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