There will be a lot of extra love in Philly this Valentine’s Day, as the Super Bowl LIX Champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, parade down Broad Street surrounded by the best fans in the world.
City and Eagles officials, flanked by cheerleaders and Swoop, announced details for Friday’s parade during a press conference at City Hall on Tuesday morning.
Schools closed, parade route
All Philadelphia School District schools will be closed on Friday, Feb. 14. City courts will also be closed.
The parade is set to begin at 11 a.m. at Broad Street and Pattison Avenue. Players, coaches and Eagles staff will ride on open air buses north on Broad Street — passing City Hall and Love Park — towards the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where the official ceremony will take place.
Along the route, there will be more than 15 jumbo-trons showing Super Bowl LIX prior to the parade, followed by a live feed of the parade itself. There will be sensory-friendly resources available, according to Parade Producer Fred Stein.
At approximately 12:30 or 1 p.m., says Stein, players and coaches will take the stage at the Philadelphia Museum of Art for the official ceremony and speeches. The ceremony is set to run from 2 to 3:15 p.m.
Fans hoping to catch of glimpse of Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley and the rest of the Bird gang should arrive early, as planners are expecting nearly 1 million people along the parade route on Friday.
Public transit
SEPTA is offering a limited amount of stations to operate during the parade in an effort to keep riders safe, as well as control crowd flow when boarding and exiting trains.
Centralized stations including City Hall and Suburban Station will not be open during the parade.
“Your best bets for getting to-and-from the parade route are the Market-Frankford Line or Broad Street Line,” according to SEPTA’s website. “Service will run every 6-to-8 minutes starting at approximately 5 am, providing frequent service throughout the day… Regional Rail lines will run on limited, modified service from 4:30 am through 10:50 pm.”
Riders using the Market-Frankford Line and Broad Street Line can ride for free, courtesy of Gran Coramino, a line of tequilas founded by Philadelphia native Kevin Hart. SEPTA also notes that anyone riding Regional Rail on Friday must prepay on their SEPTA Key Card — Regional Rail fares cannot be purchased on the day of the parade.
Schedules and additional information can be found online at septa.org/news/super-bowl-parade
“Do not climb poles”
Mayor Cherelle Parker assured local businesses that everything will be cleaned up immediately following the parade, and the city will be fully open and ready for Valentine’s Day plans — “Keep those reservations for Valentine’s Day dinner,” she said.
Parker also reiterated her plea to fans to stay on the ground, be safe and respectful during Friday’s celebration.
“Be careful as you celebrate,” Parker said. “Do not climb any light poles or any other structures. Please! Please! Please! We don’t want amidst all this beauty — to meet this moment — and have it all go to the wayside because we have to deal with a tragic accident.”
City officials and local police have cracked down on climbing any public structure — including bus shelters and light poles — after an 18-year-old Temple University student died after falling from a light pole he had climbed while celebrating the Philadelphia Eagles’ Super Bowl-clinching win in the NFC Championship game.
Additional police officers will be deployed throughout the parade route and surrounding neighborhoods.
Stay connected
Residents can receive free text alerts from ReadyPhiladelphia Alert and Warning program by texting READYEAGLES to 888777. Be sure to check MetroPhiladelphia.com for additional details leading up to the parade.
