Industry News

Wells Fargo Center set for $250m refurbishment

The Wells Fargo Center, the home of NBA basketball franchise the Philadelphia 76rs and NHL ice hockey team the Philadelphia Flyers, is to undergo a major upgrade worth $250m (€201.4m/£180.2m), according to local media reports.

The Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper has reported Comcast Spectator, the group that owns the arena, has given the green light for various work to go ahead at the venue over the next few years.

Bob Fernandez of the newspaper said that the first phase of the project will see two lounges added to the mezzanine level of the arena by tearing out cinder block walls on the southeast and northeast corners.

The work, which will add around 7,000sq m of public space for fans, is expected to take place this summer.

Comcast Spectator will then progress to the second stage to the project next summer by upgrading both the main concourse and seats on the mezzanine level, with the possibility of also adding food concessions and updating interior décor.

In the summer of 2020, Comcast Spectator will then switch its attention to the event level underneath the main concourse by adding court-side and rink-side suites, catering for both tenants.

Fernandez also wrote that the decision to upgrade the Wells Fargo Center came as Comcast Spectator mulled over plans to tear down the arena and build a new facility.

However, if Comcast Spectator has opted to go for the tear-down rebuild option, this could have cost somewhere in the region of $750m, which is far more than the $250m the group expects to spend on the upgrade project.

Image: Shinya Suzuki