Don Smolenski explains Philadelphia Eagles hosting a single open practice

For those who may be unaware, Don Smolenski is the president of the Philadelphia Eagles, and on Tuesday, he spoke with Angelo Cataldi in reference to Philly’s only open practice during training camp.

It may be hard to imagine what you may be missing if you’re a Philadelphia Eagles fan of a younger generation. Trust and believe the older ‘Birds’ fans haven’t forgotten about that single open practice Philly would be hosting on Sunday, August 4th at Lincoln Financial Field. That’s especially true of the ones that have made a Summertime trip to Lehigh University at some point of their lives. On Tuesday, just one day before Philly returns to the NovaCare Complex for training camp, team president Don Smolenski made a rare appearance.

He stopped by 94 WIP-FM to hang out with The Morning Team.

Alot of good stuff came out of his interview with Angelo Cataldi. You could argue the highlight came over the portion of the conversation that dealt with a topic that hasn’t been discussed much since it happened but hasn’t been forgotten about.

What’s up with Philly only hosting that one open practice?

Finally, we have an answer. Here’s some of what Smolenski had to say.

"I think, when we moved training camp from Lehigh to the NovaCare Complex, I think there’s a lot of things you’re trying to balance. We’re trying to do what’s best for the football team first. That’s probably 1a, and obviously the fans are, like, 1b or 1a1… We also have to manage the neighbors because, in reality, per our lease, we’re not allowed to have training camp at NovaCare. We’re able to have training camp at NovaCare because of the really great relationship we have with our really great neighbors.. They were very supportive… We can bring only so many people into NovaCare to watch. That led us to have the public practices at Lincoln Financial Field."

Smolenski also referenced trying to predict attendance numbers and an upcoming Rolling Stones concert and the damage that may possibly be done to the turf at ‘The Linc’ as factors that helped lead to the decision to slim things down to a single open practice.

Still, support for that practice is obvious. Tickets are being sold for $10, and it appears there will be quite a crowd in attendance. Smolenski touched on that as well.

"We can accommodate 70,000, we’re already over 23,000 with still two weeks to go, which is great, and we’ll be able to fit everybody. I think this is an adjustment, and I think people are reacting to this adjustment. (That’s) totally understandable, but I think it’s going to be a great experience, hopefully with a vibrant energy at Lincoln Financial Field."

No one doubts that. Whether they’re slightly ticked or not, the Birds’ fans will show up. You can’t blame them for wanting to see more of their favorite team. When you take into consideration that Philly will host the least amount of open practices in the NFL, outside of the Oakland Raiders (who won’t host any), you can see why they’d feel how they feel.

Hopefully Smolenski’s answer to their question numbs the pain a little. It may not, but at least they have an answer.