The Eagles and NFL are committed to providing a more inclusive environment to people on the autism spectrum.
The NFL is partnering with KultureCity, a nonprofit specializing in helping venues optimize for sensory inclusivity, to build a permanent sensory room at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., that will be completed prior to Super Bowl 2023 between the Eagles and Chiefs.
NFL spokesperson Alex Riethmiller told The Post that the league is committed to having sensory rooms at every Super Bowl going forward, and that they also have a presence at the Super Bowl Experience at the Phoenix Convention Center.
“For the third year in a row KultureCity is set up at SBX with their SAVE vehicle, a sensory safe space within SBX for those who need it,” Riethmiller said. “Based off of previous numbers 150 sensory bags were sent to SBX for the week. This past weekend all 150 bags were distributed so clearly there is a big need in this community.
“In additional response to this, our production company also did some ideating around this and going forward, to better serve our fans with this particular type of special needs, a specific wristband that will be distributed from the KultureCity activation. This wristband will allow those individuals to access the SBXtra queue and will be a discreet signal to our teammates, staff and security that special care should be taken with these fans.”
The room features an Eagles-branded Lego wall. CBS Philadelphia
The room gives fans a quiet place to calm their senses. CBS Philadelphia
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie has been at the vanguard of working with the league to bring about sensory inclusivity.
“Autism is the fastest growing neuro-developmental disorder — one in 40-something births around the world,” Lurie told NFL Network this week. “It’s very underfunded. My brother is autistic. I always thought, ‘What kind of an impact can a sports team have on a condition that needs so much funding and help, to really solve the puzzle?’ So, we try to make the Eagles as synonymous as possible with autism.
“If you notice, in our end zones, it says Eagles Autism Foundation. So, for millions across the country, that’s what you see during touchdowns and field goals. It helps to fund really dynamic scientific research that is so proactive and innovative to try to come up with something that really can help solve autism, help the conditions of those that have it and just be there for those that are so underserved and underfunded.”
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie has been active in spreading awareness about autism. AP
Lurie told The Athletic in 2019 about the horrifying experience of seeing his younger brother, Peter, being terrified by the presence of a dog in a hotel elevator.
“To see someone so terror-stricken, we rushed out at the next floor,” Lurie said. “Just horribly terror-stricken. That was a low point to see that.
“It was and is a huge puzzle, like why? Why? And there were things that he was extraordinary at and others that we just didn’t even know what he would understand because he couldn’t feed it back to us. We couldn’t really understand it. So, it was so frustrating and puzzling and heartbreaking, and yet there was so much positive about my brother.”
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According to the Eagles’ website, the Eagles Autism Foundation raised over $4 million last year and has raised over $20 million since 2017.
The Eagles and KultureCity built a sensory inclusive room at Lincoln Financial Field in 2019.
“It helps people calm down when they’re sad and whenever they need a break they need to come here,” Max Hershman, a 15-year-old Eagles fan, who sometimes needs a break from the loud environment at the stadium, told CBS Philadelphia this week.