The Super Bowl can be super-stimulating. The NFL is giving fans sensory-friendly spaces. - chof 360 news

Kimberly Flickenger grew up an Eagles fan thanks to the influence of her Philadelphia-born mom. She recalls spending her Sundays watching games with her grandfather and cemented her status as a fan for life when she met her fiancé, who “bleeds green.” But it’s only been over the past few years that the NFL team has felt more like a family to her — and it’s all because of the work that the Eagles Autism Foundation (EAF) has done in creating a safe space for her 12-year-old son, David.

David was 4 when he was diagnosed with autism, and Flickenger has searched for opportunities for him to comfortably socialize and find community ever since. “I was always looking for events and things we could do to get him out in the world,” she tells chof360 Life.

One of those events was a Philadelphia Eagles Kids Club Halloween Party. “There were a lot of people and a lot going on, which was wonderful, but too much for someone like my son,” Flickenger says. David needed a “quiet place to calm down and ease the sensory overload,” she adds.

That turned out to be the Eagles Autism Foundation Sensory Room at Lincoln Financial Field, home of the Eagles. Created in 2019 and designed in collaboration with the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the nonprofit organization Kulture City, it’s the first sensory room to be built in an NFL stadium. Offering a refuge for fans who might be overstimulated by the game-day noise and action, the room features bean bags, fidget activity panels, bubble walls and an interactive Eagles football field made with Lego. A 2023 re-vamp added light panels and tactile artwork.

“We were able to totally avoid a meltdown and enjoy the event,” says Flickenger, noting that David was also treated to one of the sensory bags — filled with noise-canceling headphones, fidget tools, verbal cue cards and weighted lap pads — offered by the stadium’s guest services.

Ryan Hammond, EAF’s executive director, tells chof360 Life that being the first team to provide a sensory room — there are now 17 NFL stadiums doing so, which is “amazing,” she says — is an important trail for the Eagles to blaze on behalf of their fans, whether they have sensory differences or just need to step away from the crowd.

“When you're an NFL team that has really passionate fans, loud noises and a no reentry rule, you want to make sure that if there's fans that may be struggling and need to take a break, they can do so in a safe space and not have to exit the stadium or find a corner or a restroom,” Hammond explains. “We wanted to make it feel really good and welcoming and just a place to deescalate.”

As they head to New Orleans to face the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl, the Eagles will be leaving their own sensory room — but not their supporters — behind. Here's what the team has planned to make the big game more inclusive.

Accessibility at the Super Bowl

Super Bowl LIX will be taking place in New Orleans at Caesars Superdome, which is among the NFL stadiums outfitted with a sensory room. Fans in New Orleans who don’t have a ticket to the game can still get a taste of the action by attending the Super Bowl Experience, a range of activities and exhibits running from Feb. 5 through Feb. 8.

Together with Kulture City, Hammond and her EAF team have partnered with the NFL to make sure that the Super Bowl Experience is accessible to all, including providing sensory bags, hosting a mobile sensory unit and reserving sensory-friendly hours (Feb. 6 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.) during which the space will have dim overhead lighting, minimal flashing and strobe lights and softer music levels. EAF will run all-abilities football and cheer clinics during that time, giving kids with sensory differences a shot at training like their sports heroes. The foundation is also working with the New Orleans chapters of charities including the Special Olympics to make sure that hundreds of locals are able to take part.

One final touch: Plush doll versions of the Eagles mascot Swoop will rock a pair of headphones — a nod to being sensory-friendly — and be handed out to fans, regardless of who they’re rooting for.

Why this matters

Hammond sees EAF’s work — and the efforts other NFL teams have made — as a “movement for inclusion.” That work starts at home. Over 600 staff members at Lincoln Financial Field have been trained to welcome, and support, fans of all abilities to the stadium. There are also more than 30 staff members with autism who interact with fans on a weekly basis, and some vendors within the stadium employ workers with autism.

Hammond explains that the foundation has also raised more than $30 million to fund everything from community grants to global research projects. “It's going to really influence the future of the field of autism and how we're creating interventions and helping people live their best life,” she says.

This advocacy helps people — like David, who has participated in EAF all-abilities football clinics and attended the team’s practice games. It doesn’t hurt that it’s helped convert some folks into being Eagles fans.

“I’m a proud Steeler fan BUT the work that you do makes me an Eagles fan, too,” reads one comment on the EAF Facebook page. “As a 49er fan, I will become an Eagles fan and [am] rooting for them to win the Super Bowl because of this incredible organization,” another commenter wrote.

Flickenger, for one, understands the importance. “Having support could give a person a chance to fully experience a possibly once-in-a-lifetime event all the way through and actually enjoy it instead of fighting their way through,” she says. “Go Birds!”