New-look Wells Fargo Center to sweep fans off feet

Article posted by Coliseum, September 12^th, 2019

Image: Wells Fargo Center

Wells Fargo Center – the multipurpose arena in South Philadelphia – is all set to host its first preseason hockey game next week. It serves as the home of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL).

The American sports and entertainment company Comcast Spectacor is working on the renovation of Wells Fargo Center. It is racing against time and is into the fourth year of a five-year $265 million renovation and refurbishing project of the South Philadelphia venue which promises an ethereal experience to fans.

“Generally, 90 days out before the first game is a period of increasing action with marketing and tickets sales and corporate partnerships,” informed Valerie Camillo, President of Business Operations for the Philadelphia Flyers and Wells Fargo Center.

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“For us, we’ve layered on top of that this project. We are putting the building asunder and bringing in all these new concepts — many of them technology-driven, and a lot of it Comcast-technology-driven,” she further informed.

The highlight of the entire restoration work is the $15 million, 4K Kinetic scoreboard that was shipped to the South Philadelphia arena in 19 trucks from Lititz, Pa. The high-resolution scoreboard boasts of flashing-light crowns, elements of motion, pyrotechnics and smoke.

“It’s so big and so vibrant. It will touch every single person that walks into this building for a sporting event,” Camillo further shared.

An exclusive space for select premium season ticket holders is the new Center City Club. The area includes courtside seats for basketball and ice row seats for hockey. Just off the ice or court, fans will have access to a show kitchen.

In the 7,400-square-foot area, cooks will prepare meals in front of members to lay a spread later. The show kitchen will be flanked by two 50-foot-long bars. Behind both bars, the club will also boast of 27 live-action screens along with 700 total square feet of LED screen real estate behind both bars.

Flyers tickets for Center City Club members range from $240 to $350 per game. “This is something we didn’t have in this arena, but it’s become quite standard in across the country in premium buildings. I think ticket holders will be blown away,” Camillo further remarked.

A new themed bar and restaurant area at the top level will replace private suites at the top level of the arena. The entry price will be lowest to this space in the venue.

The main concourse level is getting a major makeover with grab-and-go food and beverage options in an additional 4,000 square feet of open concourse space. It will also feature a new seating area, a redesigned pub-like bar, a concierge-style box office and a new LED video and lighting systems. It will also be equipped with 8,000 brand new seats within the lower bowl.

Camillo also informed that the video and lighting systems that circle the concourse level are designed to react in real time to action on the ice or court to enable fans to stay “directly connected” to the game.

Mike Shane, Chief Business Officer of the Flyers and the Wells Fargo Center, said all of the main concourse upgrades were designed to leave fans spoilt for choice when it comes to food, beverage and seating options.

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