Temple paid $4.5 million to play at the Linc in 2022

Temple paid $4.5 million to play at the Linc in 2022

 

According to public documents reviewed by OwlsDaily, Temple paid the Philadelphia Eagles and related entities more than $4.5 million to operate Lincoln Financial Field through 2022, the third year of a five-year lease extension the two entities announced in February 2020.

The Owls played seven home games in 2022. Temple’s per-game price to play at the Linc in 2022 has increased significantly from 2021, when it paid about $2.85 million for a six-game home schedule. Average costs rose from just over $475,000 per contest in 2021 to over $665,000 per game in 2022.

The university’s detailed expenditures are detailed in its annual report to Pennsylvania. The report includes vendor payment information for all financial units, including the sports department.

The latest report available covers fiscal year 2023 from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023. Temple paid Eagles Stadium Operator LLC $4,655,884.00 in 2023, according to the report. The total payment was placed on two budget lines – $4,500,000 for intercollegiate athletics and $155,884 for the Office of the President. In 2022, the second term of the aforementioned five-year lease, the Temple Eagles paid a total of $2,861,476.85 to Stadium Operator LLC. In 2021, that number was $2,783,498.78.

 

The Linc’s rent skyrocketed following the expiration of Temple’s original 15-year lease, which ran from 2003 to 2017, and a pair of one-year extensions to the original lease. In 2020, Temple Eagles paid a total of $1,033,735 to Stadium Operator LLC and Philadelphia Eagles LLC. In 2019, Temple paid the two entities a total of $1,075,669.

The rent for those two years was paid according to the terms of the annual renewal. The Commonwealth University reporting requirements document is not readily available for fiscal years 2018 or 2017, Temple’s last two years under the original Lincoln Financial Field lease in 2003. A 2016 report shows Temple paid $564,353 for Eagles units that year.

The Owls played three non-conference home games in 2022, hosting Lafayette, Rutgers and UMass. Temple reportedly paid $301,500 for its one-off meeting with Lafayette and $175,000 for Rutgers and $150,000 for UMass, both games part of a homestand with those teams.

In previous years, Temple paid Wagner $300,000 and Boston College $250,000 for non-conference home games in 2021; paid $250,000 to Bucknell, $250,000 to Georgia Tech and $225,000 to Maryland for non-conference home games in 2019; and paid Villanova $275,000 and Buffalo $150,000 for non-conference home games in 2018. The Owls did not play a single non-conference game in 2020.

Overall, Temple’s athletic department paid vendors $18,663,950.41 in 2023, an increase of $3.9 million (26.3 percent) over the previous fiscal year.

The biggest line item other than stadium costs was a $1.3 million payment to Nike in its third year as the athletic department’s official uniform and apparel supplier. Another thing of note, the Owls paid Wagner $70,000 for the men’s basketball team’s 2022-23 season opener at The Liacouras Center, which Wagner won in overtime.