The NFL and its teams continue their attempts to crackdown on unruly fans in a city that is known to have rowdy spectators.
Philly.com reports that the Eagles are the latest NFL team to establish strict guidelines for unruly fans that are ejected from Lincoln Financial Field. Starting with the home opener on Sunday, ejected fans will be subject to an online course in order to return to future games. The four-hour course will cost $55, according to the report.
An unspecified figure will also be added to the $55, with that portion of the fee going to Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
Similar measures have been established at Gillette Stadium in New England and at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
"It causes the person, hopefully, to think about what happened," Eagles vice president of event operations and event services Leonard Bonacci said. "When someone is ejected from the stadium, it can't be seen as 'Oh, I got ejected, I'll head back next weekend.'
"It's a big deal. And it really says something when you're impacting someone's experience so negatively that you had to be removed from the facility."
"A very, very small percentage of fans will be impacted by this program," NFL director of strategic security programs Ray DiNunzio said, according to Philly.com. "Yet that small percentage of the fans can change somebody's gameday experience."
It's the latest in a presumably long line of attempts to control rowdy fans in Philadelphia. The Eagles' old stadium (which was shared with the Phillies), Veterans Stadium, had a jail in the basement.
Some fans aren't thrilled, at least judging by the Philly.com comments section.
"4 hour online course costing $55, what a JOKE," one commenter writes. "Yeah THIS is going to stop me from drinking 25 Budweisers at the season opener. GO BIRDS"
Hopefully that fan knows their way around a computer.
Photo via Facebook/Lincoln Financial Field
