Temple: Eagles Want Big Rent Increase for Linc

The NCAA has been in the news a lot recently: Players want to unionize, the basketball tournament’s Most Outstanding Player sometimes went to bed hungry and the NCAA takes in a ton of money.

I guess the Eagles saw a lot of stories about that money, because the Inquirer’ John Mitchell reports the Eagles want a lot more money from Temple for the right to play at Lincoln Financial Field.

Temple says the Eagles currently want double what they’re getting from the University in rent for the handful of dates the school plays at the Linc each season. The school says the team has not given a reason for the increase. Temple is so upset they’re talking again about building an on-campus stadium! So perhaps this whole thing is just a way to get a government-built stadium in North Philly, who knows.

The Eagles insinuate that Temple president Neil Theobald, who made the comments about the rent doubling, does not know what he’s talking about:

In a statement released Thursday, the Eagles said that they “have not had any negotiations or discussion with Temple … in over a year,” and that “the statements made by President Theobald do not accurately reflect our conversations with Temple representatives, which began in 2010.”

Temple recently cut five sports, after originally planning to cut seven. (Men’s and women’s crew were saved. The rowboats!)

Temple’s president says the team currently pays the Eagles less than $1 million for six games and the Eagles want $12 million up front and $2 million in rent.

Lincoln Financial Field, which opened in 2003, cost $512 million and was funded in part by $256 million in state and city money.

[Inquirer]