No Eagles fans will be allowed at Lincoln Financial Field home games ‘until further notice’

Well, it’s official: The Philadelphia Eagles will be playing their home games without any fans in the stands. The city confirmed on Thursday that fans will not be permitted at The Linc until further notice due to the health crisis.

This move was expected earlier in July when the team deferred payments for season ticket holders, and when the city issued ordinances on large events. Still, there was hope that should the COVID situation in Philadelphia improve significantly. that fans would be welcomed back on game day. Not anymore.

The organization reached out to season ticket holders on Thursday to announce that despite months of working closely with the city, the health crisis has made it so no fans are allowed in The Linc this fall. They said that it was disappointing, but the team respects the decision made by the city.

“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,” said President Don Smolenski, according to the team. “While we know that in the start of the season that those seats may be empty, we know that they’ll be with us in spirit, just as they are all across the country and all across the globe for every Eagles game. They’ll be cheering us on and we’re going to feed off their energy. We’re just going to have to do that a little bit differently, just like we’re doing everything a little bit differently here in 2020.”

And, while fans might not be in the stands, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said there’s a possibility of crowd noise being used during games.