Empire State Building to New York: Drop dead.
Management of the iconic skyscraper is shrugging off the uproar over its lighting of the building’s spire in the green-and-white colors of the Philadelphia Eagles — and will do it again if the hated NFL franchise wins the Super Bowl, The Post has learned.
Empire State Realty Trust — which tweeted out a video of headlines in The Post and other local papers decrying the blasphemy — finds the whole controversy funny, according to sources close to the situation. The company plans to light up the tower in Chiefs’ or Eagles’ colors for the winner of the Feb. 12 game, the sources confirmed.
“We’ll see you at the Big Game,” the company tweeted on Monday.
The building’s management views the Sunday stunt as a way to attract tourists from around the world to the Big Apple landmark to pay $79 each to visit the observation decks on the 86th and 102nd floors, a source with direct knowledge of the company’s plans told The Post.
“They believe they play to billions, and not locals,” the source said.
Indeed, insiders said execs took a victory lap after the building’s Jan. 29 tweet — titled “Fly Eagles Fly” showing the building lit in Philly color following the victory over San Francisco — garnered 45 million views and countless more on Instagram and TikTok. The building stayed lit green-and-white for hours until the LED display switched to the red and white of the Kansas City Chiefs following their victory in the AFC title game.
The Empire State building plans to light up in the colors of the Philadelphia Eagles again if the team wins the Super Bowl, The Post has learned.Twiter/Empire State Building
The Empire State Realty Trust found the outrage over the building supporting the rival of the hometown New York Giants to be funny, according to sources.Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
In 2018, management stirred a similar outrage when it lit the building green and white — that time for only 30 minutes — after the Eagles defeated the even more despised Tom Brady and the New England Patriots to hoist the Lombardi Trophy.
However, the company stopped short of flashing the red-and-white of the Boston Red Sox when they won the World Series later that same year. Ditto for the cheating-scarred Houston Astros after they won the Fall Classic last November.
Empire State Realty Trust declined to comment on the outcry when reached by the Post.
The company began about five years ago to light up the tower’s top floors in the colors of sports champions, according to the source. Last month, the building shone the red-and-white of the Georgia Bulldogs after they won the NCAA football championship. It has also regularly honored the various shades of New York’s sports teams even when they have fallen short of a title.
Empire State Realty Trust has also used the light show for various non-athletic tributes, such as going red for the Lunar New Year. It also recently hosted an event at the building attended by Chinese actress Mengjie Jiang as the firm seeks to solidify its global outreach.
The building’s owners view the publicity stunt with the Eagles’ colors as a way to attract tourists to the landmark.AP Photo/Seth Wenig
Another Eagles tribute on Feb. 12 will not sit well with Mayor Eric Adams and other New York officials. On Tuesday, Adams said the Empire State Building should not have honored the New York Giants blood enemy.
“That got away from us,” he said while appearing on CNN. “Unfortunately, someone did not get the memo at the Empire State Building.”
New York City Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch tweeted, “For anyone who finds this as treacherous, traitorous, and unforgivable as we do – just pretend it’s green and white for #NewYorksStrongest.”
“We take out the trash every day…and next year, that’ll include the Eagles.”
Tisch’s family co-owns the Giants, who lost to the Eagles in the divisional round 38-17 on Jan. 22.
Source link: https://nypost.com/2023/02/02/empire-state-building-to-display-eagles-colors-again-if-philly-wins-super-bowl-source/