Wells Fargo Center (Philadelphia)

The Wells Fargo Center (Spectrum II (prior to construction), formerly the CoreStates Center, First Union Center and Wachovia Center) is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

It is the home arena of the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association, the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League, the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League, and the Philadelphia Soul of the Arena Football League. The Center was completed in 1996 to replace the Spectrum as the home arena of the Flyers, 76ers, and Wings, on the former site of John F. Kennedy Stadium (originally Philadelphia Municipal 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.

The Wells Fargo Center lies at the southwest corner of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, which includes Lincoln Financial Field, Citizens Bank Park, and Xfinity Live!.

Naming rights
Before its construction, the proposed arena was tentatively called "Spectrum II". The Center was originally named for CoreStates Bank, which agreed to pay $40 million over 21 years for the naming rights, with additional terms to be settled later for an additional eight-year period at the end of the contract. However, the contract has gone through multiple hands due to various bank mergers; first by First Union Bank in 1998, Wachovia in 2003, and finally by Wells Fargo in July 2010. Installation of the new Wells Fargo Center branding began on July 27, 2010, with the removal of the Wachovia Center signage, followed by the installation of the new Wells Fargo Center signage. Work was completed in September 2010.

Facilities
The Center officially seats 20,318 for NBA and NCAA basketball and 19,537 for NHL hockey and indoor ("box") NLL lacrosse. With additional standing-room admissions available in luxury and club-box suites, the total paid capacity increases. The Center has 126 luxury suites, 1,880 club-box seats, and a variety of restaurants and clubs (both public and private) available for use by patrons. In addition, the offices, studios, and production facilities of Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia are all located in the facility.

On June 9, 2010, the Center set the record for the highest attendance for an indoor hockey game in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania (20,327) when the Flyers lost Game 6 of the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals to the Chicago Blackhawks. The Center also set a record for the highest attendances for a college basketball game in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania on February 13, 2006, when Villanova University played and defeated the #1 ranked University of Connecticut before a crowd of 20,859.

On August 1, 2006, Comcast Spectacor announced it would install a new center-hung scoreboard to replace the original one made by Daktronics. The new scoreboard, manufactured by ANC Sports is similar to other scoreboards in new NHL & NBA arenas. An additional linear LED display lining the entire arena was also installed between the suite and mezzanine levels. Other renovations for the Center's ten-year anniversary included upgrading the suites with more flat screen HDTV's, as well as changing ticket providers from Ticketmaster to New Era Tickets, which is owned by Comcast Spectacor.

The PA announcer at the Center for Philadelphia Flyers games is Lou Nolan, who moved with the team from the Spectrum, where he worked since 1972. Tom Lamaine is the PA announcer for Philadelphia 76ers' games. Jim Bachman is the PA announcer for Villanova basketball games. Kevin Casey handles PA duties for the Philadelphia Wings.

Concerts
On August 12, 1996, a private concert by Ray Charles was the first event at the Center, with a crowd of nearly 12,000. Each spectator was given a commemorative key acknowledging they helped "open the arena". The inaugural concert, on September 2, 1996, featured Oasis, with The Manic Street Preachers and The Screaming Trees, before an estimated crowd of 12,000. The Center has since held other concerts by many famous artists.

On December 6, 2002, hard rock band Guns N' Roses was scheduled to perform there on its Chinese Democracy Tour. The opening bands CKY and Mixmaster Mike performed, but the main act, Guns N' Roses, never appeared, fueling a riot in the arena and causing about $30,000 to $40,000 in damage. No reason was ever given for the non-appearance by Guns N' Roses, other than the public announcement that one of the band members was ill.

In 2006, Billy Joel set a record when he sold-out his eighteenth Center concert.

In addition, hanging from the rafters of the Center are two banners in the orange and black colors of the Flyers honoring both Billy Joel's 48 Philadelphia sellouts and Bruce Springsteen's 53 Philadelphia sellouts.

American pop singer Madonna performed at the arena during her MDNA Tour on August 28th 2012, to a sold-out crowd of 15,741 people.

British band Coldplay performed at the arena on the North American leg of their Mylo Xyloto Tour on July 5th and 6th, 2012. They sold out both nights to a total crowd of 33,680.

Full time

 * Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA
 * Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL
 * Philadelphia Wings of the NLL
 * Philadelphia Soul of the AFL

Part time

 * Villanova University Wildcats of the NCAA Big East Conference; some high-attendance men's basketball home games which the on-campus arena, The Pavilion, is inadequate to accommodate.

Former part time

 * Philadelphia Phantoms of the American Hockey League (AHL); the Flyers' AHL development club played some regular season and Calder Cup playoff games at the Center each season between 1996 and 2009 when the Spectrum was unavailable because of other events.
 * Philadelphia Soul of the original AFL; split games between the Center and the Spectrum between 2004 and 2008; AFL folded in 2009. Soul returned in 2011 (see above).

Capacity
The capacity for 76ers games has gone as followed:
 * 20,444 (1996-2006)
 * 20,318 (2006-2011)
 * 20,328 (2011–present)

The capacity for Flyers games has gone as followed:
 * 19,463 (1996-1997)
 * 19,511 (1997-1998)
 * 19,519 (1998-2001)
 * 19,523 (2003-2008)
 * 19,537 (2008–present)

Notable events

 * 1996 World Cup of Hockey (three games)
 * WWF In Your House 10: Mind Games, 1996
 * 1997 Stanley Cup Finals
 * 1998 United States Figure Skating Championships
 * 1998 NLL Championship
 * 1999 AHL All-Star Classic
 * 2000 NCAA Women's Basketball Final Four
 * 2000 Republican National Convention
 * WWF Unforgiven, 2000
 * 2001 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament East Regional
 * 2001 NBA Finals
 * The Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA Championship at the Center, winning Game 5 and the series, 4-1.
 * X Games VII, 2001
 * 2002 NBA All-Star Game
 * X Games VIII, 2002
 * WWE Royal Rumble, 2004


 * 2005 AHL Calder Cup Finals
 * The Philadelphia Phantoms won the Calder Cup at the Center, defeating the Chicago Wolves in Game 4 and winning the series, 4-0.
 * NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, first and second rounds, 2006, 2009
 * WWE Survivor Series, 2006
 * American Idol auditions, 2007
 * U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Gymnastics, 2008
 * WWE Night of Champions, 2009
 * UFC 101, 2009
 * 2010 Stanley Cup Finals
 * The Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup at the Center, winning Game 6 and the series, 4-2.
 * NCAA Men's Wrestling Championship, 2011
 * UFC 133, 2011
 * NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, second and third rounds, 2013
 * NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship, 2014