Wells Fargo Center (Philadelphia)
The Wells Fargo Center is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Philadelphia. It serves as the home of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL), the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The arena lies at the southwest corner of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, which includes Lincoln Financial Field, Citizens Bank Park, and Xfinity Live!.
For other uses of "Wells Fargo Center", see Wells Fargo Center.Former names
- CoreStates Center (1996–1998)[1]
- First Union Center (1998–2003)[1]
- Wachovia Center (2003–2010)[2]
3601 South Broad Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
- Basketball: 21,000
Hockey: 19,173[3] - Arena football: 17,597[4]
September 14, 1994
August 12, 1996[9]
US$210 million
($432 million in 2023 dollars[5])
Fox Management Company[1]
- Walter P Moore
- Bernard Schwartz & Associates
L.F. Driscoll Co.[8]
The Wells Fargo Center, originally called Spectrum II, was completed in 1996 to replace the Spectrum as the home arena of the 76ers and Flyers, on the former site of John F. Kennedy Stadium at a cost of $210 million, largely privately financed (though the city and state helped to pay for the local infrastructure). It is owned by Comcast Spectacor, which also owns the Flyers, and is operated by its arena-management subsidiary, Global Spectrum. Since opening, it has been known by a number of different names through naming rights deals and bank mergers, including CoreStates Center from 1996 to 1998, First Union Center from 1998 to 2003, and Wachovia Center from 2003 to 2010. Since 2010, naming rights have been held by financial services company Wells Fargo, after their acquisition of Wachovia. CoreStates Financial Corporation was acquired by First Union, which later also purchased Wachovia National Bank to rename itself Wachovia Corporation; the combined company was acquired by Wells Fargo in 2008.
In addition to hosting home games for its main tenants, the arena has been the site of a number of other notable athletic events including games of the 1997 and 2010 Stanley Cup Finals, three games of the 2001 NBA Finals, and various collegiate events for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Wells Fargo Center has hosted two political conventions, hosting the 2000 Republican National Convention and 2016 Democratic National Convention. The arena is a regular venue for concerts and WWE events. The arena has a concert seating capacity of 21,000 seated and at least 21,500 standing.
In addition, hanging from the rafters of the Wells Fargo Center are three banners in the orange and black colors of the Flyers honoring Pearl Jam's 10, Billy Joel's 48 Philadelphia sellouts and Bruce Springsteen's 56[30] Philadelphia sellouts respectively.
Controversy[edit]
In October 2019, center staff removed fans shouting "Free Hong Kong" at a pre-season basketball game between the Philadelphia 76ers and Guangzhou Loong Lions.[48]