How Philadelphia Eagles’ corporate tix revamp proved a winner for clients

The Philadelphia Eagles' revamp of premium and corporate ticketing has led not just to the streamlining of its own systems, but also additional value for its valued clients...

Philadelphia Eagles is one of the great names in North American sport and, famously, one of the toughest teams to secure tickets to watch.

While the NFL franchise has just one Super Bowl title to its name – finally achieved in 2018 – the loyalty of its following ensures the 68,000 seats at Lincoln Financial Field are full throughout the season. Indeed, the Eagles have sold out every single league game since 1999 and have a season ticket waiting list of more than 80,000!

That huge following in such a densely populated region has contributed towards the Eagles becoming one of the NFL’s most valuable teams. Despite their lack of Vince Lombardi trophies, Forbes estimates the franchise – owned by Jeffrey Lurie – to be worth $4.9bn.

‘The Linc’ hosts up to 30 large scale events each year, including Eagles games, concerts and other sporting events. It will host games at the 2026 FIFA World Cup too.

Seeing an Eagles game is without doubt the hottest seat in town for diehard fans, tourists as well as those filling the lucrative premium and corporate seats and boxes. The latter group consists of a mix of international, national and regional businesses, as well as smaller Philadelphia-based companies that want to entertain employees, clients, or prospective clients.

“The relationships we have with our corporate partners and premium clients are very important to us,” said Brian Napoli, Senior Vice President of Corporate Partnerships at Philadelphia Eagles.

“Some go back decades, whereas others are newly formed partnerships. Each one though has enabled us to grow our business over the years and my hope is that the first-class service we aim to provide has done the same for them. By aligning ourselves with like-minded organisations that share the same vision and goals, we have been able to create a business model at the Eagles that fosters a culture of creativity, innovation, and collaboration.”

Managing matchday inventory

The Eagles has recently sought to solidify its relationship with these premium and corporate customers through a partnership that offers clients the ability to better manage their matchday tickets. Eagles corporate season and premium ticket holders, corporate partners, and corporate suite holders can all now use complimentary tools from TicketManager to manage, distribute, measure ROI and streamline internal communication around their ticket inventory.

“Eagles corporate partners and premium seat holders tend to have multiple tickets at multiple venues across Philadelphia and beyond,” Napoli added. “Now we have a solution where our partners and premium seat holders can sign in to one portal and easily manage all their tickets at multiple venues through one portal. This service is offered at no cost to Eagles corporate partners and premium seat holders as part of their partnership with us.

“Also, clients can easily re-sell unallocated tickets through the portal, which lists the tickets for re-sell on Ticketmaster.”

Additional value for clients

So the Eagles no longer just offer premium and corporate clients the chance to watch the team, they also provide the technology that overcomes the challenges of managing huge numbers of tickets. This system, provided via the team, can make sure an array of hospitality guests, employees and competition winners all reach their seats with fewer worries for the client.

“The reason we chose this solution was because of its unique ability to help address this need and enable us to deliver additional value to our existing corporate partners and premium suite holders,” said Napoli.

“This has allowed us to take a more creative, forward-thinking approach to how we manage our corporate and premium partnerships. Through a direct connection to our team, partners can access and utilise the resources of other partners that are also tied to the Eagles.”

Maximising ticket inventory

The introduction of the service has been met with an “overwhelmingly positive” response from clients.

Partners and premium seat holders are satisfied by receiving regular updates on their ticket history. In the past it was difficult for companies to see how many of their tickets and passes were used for a game and who used them. Now, they are sent emails throughout the season that show how many tickets they have, how many are being utilised, and how many they have available for upcoming events.

Napoli said: “The purpose is to make sure our corporate partners and premium seat holders are maximising their ticket inventory. Companies want to know how their tickets are being used to protect the investment their companies have made.”

Verizon, a company that manages thousands of tickets across the country, is one client that is now able to better monitor their inventory usage, while also managing tickets for multiple venues in one place.

“They’ve seen customer retention and satisfaction through their use of the system,” added Napoli. “The platform allowed their rewards programme to flourish, not only benefiting Verizon but also their users, helping them retain customers. We are hopeful this template translates to other partners. Partners have not only seen customer/fan/client satisfaction, but also protection of their investment.”

Streamlining processes

Internally, the new system has benefited the Eagles’ operation by streamlining the communication process with corporate partners and premium seat holders when it comes to ticket inventory. The full report on ticket utilisation sent to clients enables the Eagles to proactively notice any red flags and avoid downstream issues. The system’s reporting also brings a level of transparency to ticket utilisation that clients have found helpful.

“Our clients can use the information internally to make sure the right folks are using the tickets,” said Napoli.

Strategic approach

Having overhauled their premium ticketing programme, we wondered what advice the Eagles would give to other teams looking to make changes.

“We always strive to deliver best-in-class service to our corporate partners, premium clients, and season ticket members,” said the Eagles’ Napoli.

“Offering new tools and platforms, such as the service TicketManager provides to our clients, is a big part of our strategic approach. Never stop searching for new and innovative business solutions that can further strengthen the partnerships you have. Sometimes you may discover a new benefit that can take your partnerships to the next level.”