Eagles tailgaters got ‘a seat at the table’ after surprising changes were announced. What did they accomplish?
A coalition of fans fought to keep Eagles tailgate culture familiar after changes made by parking lot officials. Some of their complaints were heard, but they say there’s still work to be done.
Last week, with impending tailgate restrictions on the horizon, a group of Eagles fans held a news conference at South Philly Boxing Gym. The collective, headed by Washington Township native Carmen “Big Carm” Conti, repeatedly requested “a seat at the table” to discuss prospective changes to the tradition.
They got one.
On Friday, Comcast Spectacor, the Sports Complex Parking Venture, and the newly formed Philadelphia Association of Tailgaters held a joint news conference at Xfinity Mobile Arena’s Lot D to announce the impending changes. The new rules will go into effect when the Eagles host the Rams this Sunday (Fox29, 1 p.m.).
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“For them to be [willing] to sit down with us and hear our gripes and complaints is huge,” Conti said. “Before we did all this, there wasn’t a voice for the Philadelphia tailgaters. Now we established that we have a line of communication with the Eagles, with Comcast. … So we’re having a lot of ideas exchanged, and we’re going to see what works."
The changes mostly pertain to new regulations on oversized vehicles, which accompany large tailgates. These vehicles are now limited to Lot D (inside the Xfinity Mobile Arena parking lots), the upper section of Lot N (facing 7th & Pattison Avenues), and Lot P (inside the Citizens Bank Park parking lots). The inclusion of Lot P, a prominent location for large tailgates, came only after the tailgating coalition met with representatives from the Eagles and Comcast Spectacor.
Another change to the guidelines due to tailgater persistence involves drop-offs by companion cars. Now, additional vehicles that carry people and supplies are permitted to accompany an oversized vehicle for a tailgate set-up. However, the cars must move to a different location after one hour.
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“We got leeway letting companion vehicles come in for an hour to help set up,” Conti said. “That’s a big, big help, especially with larger tailgates. … Instead of leaving the companion vehicles, some of them can park here in a single spot, which is a big help because they don’t have to fight the traffic out to get into another lot.”
Added Louis Jordan, a member of Hungry Dawgs tailgate: “That was a big thing because my tailgate is a very large tailgate, and we pretty much have about four or five cars that hold everything, so that’s a pretty big deal on our end. It took about 30 to 40 minutes of going back and forth, trying to explain to them.”
While concessions were made, negotiations between the tailgaters and the lots’ owners are still ongoing. “Hand parking” or assigned parking, a new rule, will remain in place despite pushback by frequent tailgaters. Additionally, some are hoping for less restrictive rules relating to the amount of parking spaces a single tailgate can take up.
“For instance, 10x10 tents won’t fit into one parking spot,” Jordan said. “Obviously these parking spots are roughly eight feet wide. So if they’re eight feet wide, you’ve got about [a foot-and-a-half to] two feet of clearance; you’re going to end up having to buy the extra spaces. We already talked to them about that right now. They want to let it go for just this game. We’re going to take everything back for the next meeting, and we’ll talk it out.”
“Is it fair? In the long run, no. … With them, they’re trying to fit as many butts into the seats as possible, right? That’s their job. Our job is to have the Philadelphia Eagles tailgaters in mind. When we have these tailgaters in mind, the whole point of this is to speak for everyone.”
Last week, at the tailgaters’ press conference at the South Philly Boxing Gym, affordability was a major topic. Multiple speakers pointed out that the large tailgates offer a cheaper alternative for families who cannot afford to attend an Eagles game. A single ticket to an Eagles game averages $220-350, according to Ticketmaster. Some worried this alternative would not be possible under new restrictions.
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“We love all Eagles fans; we want to do right by all Eagles fans,” Eagles chief operating officer Frank Gumienny said on Friday. “One of the challenges we have, the parking lots down here need to accommodate the 70,000 people that will be inside the building. We’ve expressed that directly to the tailgaters. We love the tailgate culture. … We do have to work to get all 70,000 people that are attending the games here parked safely and inside, so that needs to be a focus.”
This time next week, there very well could be more changes to the tailgating rules. Dwayne Ross, a member of the Philadelphia Association of Tailgaters, is looking to collect feedback from tailgaters from every lot this weekend before meeting with Comcast Spectacor and the Sports Complex Parking Venture, again.
“We get a bad rep obviously across the NFL about our fandom for our team, but as you can see by this situation, we’re not all bad guys,” Ross said. “We’re not throwing batteries at Santa, you know, we’re having a good time. We’re trying to figure things out. The Eagles love our tailgates. We love the Eagles. We’re gonna work together and come to a resolution.”
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