Eagles Super Bowl Parade in Philly: Here Are the Official Details

Everything you need to know about the celebration of a lifetime – including free subway rides all day on Thursday.


eagles super bowl parade

Photo by Jeff Fusco.

This is a developing story. Check back for more information.

Good morning, Philly. It’s Tuesday, and we’re still Super Bowl champions.

Officials showed off our beautiful Vince Lombardi Trophy at a press conference on Tuesday morning, shortly before they released details on the Eagles Super Bowl parade on Thursday.

Yesterday we told you that the march is set to begin at 11 a.m. at Broad Street and Pattison Avenue in South Philly, then proceed north and eventually end with a ceremony on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

At the event this morning, Mayor Jim Kenney congratulated the Eagles and called Sunday night “a tremendous night for Philadelphians.”

Officials say they expect more than 2 million people at the Eagles Super Bowl parade – more than the Phillies World Series parade in 2008 and the papal visit in 2015.

Here’s the latest info on:

The Parade Route

The motorized, open-air parade will leave Lincoln Financial Field at 10:45 a.m. on Thursday. It will join with the public at 11 a.m. at Broad Street and Pattison Avenue before heading northbound on Broad Street.

Barricades will be set up along the entire parade route, so pedestrians will be on the sidewalk. At City Hall, the parade will turn left and move west, then north around South Penn Square. Officials say the traffic lights around City Hall will be green.

The route will continue onto 15th Street, turn left onto JFK Boulevard near LOVE Park, then turn up 16th Street before heading west to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. It will then travel on the parkway’s westbound lanes to Eakins Oval, finally ending near Kelly Drive. At that point – which is expected to be around 12:15 p.m. – guests will get out and move toward a stage that will be set up on the second level of the Art Museum steps.

The city said to expect some “surprises” along the route.

The Celebration

Officials say the second part of the parade – the “celebration” – will then begin at 1 p.m. at the Art Museum. Details on the celebration and speakers will not be released ahead of time, but officials say it will be “dramatic” and “fantastic.”

Seating will be set up below the Art Museum steps, but the vast majority of spectators will have to stand. Officials told people to “arrive early to get the best vantage point.” Because they say they know they “can’t fit 3 million people on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway,” they plan to put up 14 Jumbotron TVs, stretching from Eakins Oval to City Hall. NBC10 will broadcast the parade from 10:30 a.m. to the close of the ceremony, around 3 p.m.

SEPTA

SEPTA officials say the best way to get around on Thursday will be public transit. The organization will offer free (FREE!) rides on the Broad Street Subway and Market-Frankford El lines all day, thanks to Independence Blue Cross.

Otherwise, SEPTA will be “maximizing all routes” on parade day, per the organization’s general manager, Jeff Knueppel. Detailed information about SEPTA’s service plan for Thursday is available on the agency’s website.

Here’s what you should know if you plan to take…

  • Regional Rail 
    • Only select Regional Rail stations will operate on Thursday. Suburban Station, Temple University Station and University City Station will not operate – so you’ll have to use 30th Street Station and/or Jefferson Station to access Center City. To see what stations will operate on which lines, visit SEPTA’s website.
    • Many Regional Rail lines will only offer a.m. service inbound to the city before the parade – and only outbound service after the parade. Again, check SEPTA’s website for more information and a map of operating stations.
  • Trolleys
    • All trolley stations will be open except for 15th Street, which will be closed for the entire day.
  • Buses
    • The following 27 routes will be detoured: 2, 4, 7, 9, 12, 16, 17, 21, 27, 29, 31, 32, 33, 37, 38, 40, 42, 43, 44, 45, 48, 64, 68, 79, 124, 125 and G.
    • Visit System Status online for more information.
  • Norristown High Speed Line
    • All stations will be open.
    • Local service will operate every 15 minutes.

There will be no additional late-night service. Owl Bus service will be dependent upon street closures.

Security

Police Commissioner Richard Ross said there will be a strong police presence on Thursday, including officers on foot, in vehicles, in helicopters, on bikes and on horseback. He advised people not to leave bags unattended and said parents should be sure to watch out for their children at all times.

Kenney said he expects the crowd at the Super Bowl parade to be much tamer than the masses who flooded Broad Street after the win on Sunday night. He attributed the rowdiness of that night to the fact that people “had been partying” all day.

“I doubt people will be drinking by 10:45 a.m.,” he said. “I think [the parade] will be a different tenor, more families [will be there].”

Still, he added that “knuckleheads should stay home.” Oh, and he warned people not to bring backpacks of beer, should they want to drink at 10:45 a.m. (It’s a celebration, after all.) “They’ll be taken from you,” he said.

Food

About 40 food trucks will be set up along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Parade-goers are also welcome to bring food and water.

Bathrooms

Officials say at least 850 portable toilets will be set up on the parade route, mostly along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and Broad Street. If the crowd hits 3 million people, that averages out to be about one portable toilet per 3,529 people.