A history of the Philadelphia Eagles’ home stadiums

The Eagles have called North, West, and South Philly home over their long history

By Melissa Romero Jan 31, 2018, 9:00am EST

The Eagles have called many stadiums home throughout Philly.

Before the Eagles made the Linc their main stage in 2003, the Super Bowl-bound team called several stadiums throughout Philly home.

It all started in North Philly, where many of Philly’s original stadiums stood, before teams ultimately made their way down to Broad to South Philly. Below, take a trip down memory lane to see where the history of the Eagles all began.

Baker Bowl (1933-35)

The Baker Bowl is known as the first home of the Phillies, but it’s also where the Eagles spent their first three years as an NFL franchise. One of Philly’s first real stadiums, the Baker Bowl was located by North Broad Street and Lehigh Avenue and built in 1887. It suffered some tragedies over the years, including a collapse that killed a dozen spectators and a massive fire that destroyed the original wooden structure. Still, it served as the first dual-use stadium for professional sports in Pennsylvania, until it was torn down in 1950.

Philadelphia Municipal Stadium/JFK Stadium (1936-39)

This horseshoe-shaped brick stadium first opened in South Philly on April 15, 1926 as part of the Sesquicentennial International Exposition. After that, it was home to the Philadelphia Quakers of the first American Football League, and eventually the Eagles, though for just a few years. Still, as the sole stadium in South Philly at the time, the Eagles’ “brief tenancy far from the city center was a sign of things to come,” according to the Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia.

Shibe Park/Connie Mack Stadium (1940-1958)

After their brief South Philly stint, the Eagles moved back to North Philly a few blocks away from the Baker Bowl to Shibe Park, a steel and concrete stadium that sat 40,000 people. The French Renaissance-style stadium was already home to two baseball teams, including the Philadelphia Athletics and the Phillies. Here in 1948, the Eagles played in the NFL Championship during a blizzard and won against the Chicago Cardinals.

Franklin Field (1958-70)

After Shibe Park, the Eagles made their way over to West Philly’s Franklin Field. The 70,000-seat stadium was built in 1922 by University of Pennsylvania and was the first permanent and horseshoe-shaped college stadium in the country. The Eagles made Franklin Field their home turf for 13 seasons, and won their third NFL title in 1960 here against the Green Bay Packers. Franklin Field is still in use today and is now the oldest two-tiered stadium in the country.

Veterans Stadium (1971-2003)

After their success at Franklin Field, the Eagles needed a bigger and better venue. Enter “the Vet,” a multi-purpose stadium built in 1970 to the tune of $52 million, making it one of the most expensive stadiums at the time. The Vet in South Philly was of an “octorad” design, which allowed it to accommodate both the Eagles and the Phillies. But while it was a state-of-the-art facility at first, by its final years the Vet fell into great disrepair, and it was imploded in one minute in 2003.

Lincoln Financial Field (2003-today)

That brings us to the Linc, the Eagles’ home for the past 15 years. Located in South Philly’s stadium district, the Linc seats some 69,000 people and was built for a staggering $512 million. Fittingly, the stadium is considered one of the greenest in the nation, thanks to its on-site renewable energy sources: 11,000 solar panels and 14 wind turbines.