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Philadelphia’s transit authority has instituted drastic service cuts as the state legislature has failed to reach a budget agreement to fund the agency.
Now, a sports betting company has stepped in with $80,000 to keep the trains running for one night.
FanDuel has committed to finance the extra SEPTA sports express trains that go to Lincoln Financial Field ahead of the Eagles–Cowboys season opener in Philadelphia on Thursday night. Half of the money will fund train service, and the other half covers the cost of free fares for riders.
Service has been reduced since state lawmakers in Harrisburg failed to reach a deal last month for SEPTA funding. Planned price increases were halted by a judge, but some service cuts (particularly for buses) have moved forward. It’s caused problems for Phillies fans—among many other Philadelphia-area residents—because the city’s major sports teams are all located in the same complex.
Enter FanDuel. The defending Super Bowl champions announced the sportsbook’s efforts on Wednesday. With help from the sports betting giant, both regularly scheduled and sports express trains will run before and after the game.
“We shouldn’t have to rely on a gambling company to fund our transit,” Philadelphia state legislator Tarik Khan said. “That should be the job of our legislators.”
FanDuel president Mike Raffensperger said that as “an official team partner of the Eagles,” the sportsbook is “proud” to work with SEPTA on the deal. SEPTA’s general manager, Scott Sauer, said he’s “grateful to FanDuel for stepping up.”
After FanDuel’s announcement, the same judge said SEPTA should restore the sports express trains for future events.
“We appreciate FanDuel and SEPTA for collaborating to help provide Eagles fans with convenient transportation to-and-from our home opener,” team president Don Smolenski said in a statement. “Their generous support will assist fans in getting to Lincoln Financial Field so that we can all enjoy the Championship Moment together as we take on the division rival Dallas Cowboys.”
In addition to FanDuel, Uber had also offered to cover the roughly $40,000, but the Eagles preferred to wait for a company that was already a team sponsor, according to state Sen. Frank Farry.
Before the FanDuel bailout, the Eagles had released a travel advisory to fans Tuesday encouraging them to carpool, limit their tailgates to one parking space, and watch the game somewhere else if they don’t have a ticket.
Also on Thursday, a hearing is scheduled in the case that stopped the price hikes. The law firm Bochetto & Lentz sued SEPTA last week claiming “there is no fiscal crisis. SEPTA is making it up.” They argue SEPTA should tap into its stabilization fund, which Sauer testified has about $300 million. Sauer said the agency is using about $100 million of that fund to help with its $213 million budget deficit, but still needs state funding.
“The financial peril that SEPTA is in, why we need to make changes now to avoid even worse outcomes in the future, even steeper cuts, more dismantling of the system earlier than we had even planned,” a spokesperson for the transit authority said Wednesday.
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