Imagine if you and your friends could go to all the games and concerts at the Philadelphia sports complex for free and in a suite. Well, it turns out you can, if you’re the mayor or know how to get tickets.
One of the perks of being the mayor in Philadelphia is getting a suite at each of the city’s sports facilities as well as the Mann Music Center. It began with former Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell. Rendell – who served as the city’s mayor from 1992 through 2000 -- made sure to have city suites at the sports stadiums written into mayoral land lease agreements.
Over the decades, mayors have hosted political friends, charitable organizations, city employees, constituents and others in the suites. The NBC10 Investigators received the log of free sports suite tickets for Mayor Cherelle Parker in 2024. Her name only appeared once, however. According to the log, Parker attended the Philadelphia Eagles-Pittsburgh Steelers game on Dec. 15, 2024, and was joined by a mix of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh politicians.
Parker’s spokesperson told NBC10 that she also attended a Philadelphia 76ers game early in 2024. However, it was unclear which game it was as it wasn’t listed in the log. Besides the Eagles game and Sixers game, Mayor Parker hasn’t used a sports suite at any other time during her tenure, according to the records.
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The NBC10 Investigators determined at least 58% of the free suite tickets that were used in 2024 went to city employees, 29% went to constituents – including labor leaders, ward leaders, political donors and a former mayor – and 7% went to a mix of nonprofits and community groups.
More than 2,000 of the free sports suite tickets went unused in 2024, including Flyers, Sixers, Phillies and Eagles games.
Compared to previous mayors, both Mayor Michael Nutter and Mayor Jim Kenney attended more games and events during a one-year span in their tenure than Mayor Parker did in her first year as mayor, according to records.
Investigations
It's unclear who attended events at the Linc while Kenney was in office. For seven of his eight years as mayor, Kenney subleased the stadium’s mayor’s box to South Jersey power broker George Norcross. The money went to a school district charity.
So how can people get access to the free tickets? You can call the Philadelphia Mayor’s Office and ask.
“City employees, groups, and constituents can request the box for various concerts, events, and games. Individuals can request a minimum of 2 tickets," Philadelphia mayoral spokesperson Joe Grace said. "Sometimes, the requestor can get more tickets if the event is not in high demand.”
