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Wells Fargo Center (Philadelphia) facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

The Wells Fargo Center is a big indoor sports and entertainment building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Before it was built, people called it Spectrum II. It has also been known by other names like the CoreStates Center, First Union Center, and Wachovia Center.

This arena is the home for several professional sports teams. These include the Philadelphia Flyers (ice hockey), the Philadelphia 76ers (basketball), the Philadelphia Wings (lacrosse), and the Philadelphia Soul (arena football). The Wells Fargo Center opened in 1996. It replaced the old Spectrum as the main home for the Flyers, 76ers, and Wings. It was built where the John F. Kennedy Stadium used to be. Building the arena cost about $210 million. Most of this money came from private companies. The city and state helped pay for things like roads around it. The arena is owned by Comcast Spectacor, which also owns the Flyers. Another company, Global Spectrum, runs the arena every day. Comcast Spectacor also owns Global Spectrum.

The Wells Fargo Center is located in the southwest part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. Other famous buildings there are Lincoln Financial Field, Citizens Bank Park, and Xfinity Live!.

Cool Features of the Wells Fargo Center

WachoviaCenterInterior
The Wells Fargo Center before a 76ers game.

The Wells Fargo Center can hold many fans! For NBA and college basketball games, it officially seats 20,318 people. For NHL hockey and indoor NLL lacrosse, it seats 19,537. There are also special luxury suites and club seats. This means even more people can attend games.

The Center has 126 luxury suites and 1,880 club-box seats. It also has many restaurants and clubs for fans to enjoy. The offices and studios for Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia are also inside the building.

On June 9, 2010, the arena set a record for the most people at an indoor hockey game in Pennsylvania. A total of 20,327 fans watched the Flyers play the Chicago Blackhawks. The Center also set a record for a college basketball game on February 13, 2006. A huge crowd of 20,859 people watched Villanova University beat the top-ranked University of Connecticut.

In 2006, the Wells Fargo Center got some cool upgrades. A new, big scoreboard was added in the middle of the arena. This new scoreboard is like the ones in other modern NBA and NHL arenas. A long LED screen was also put up around the arena. It runs between the suite and mezzanine levels. Other updates included new flat-screen TVs in the luxury suites.

The voice you hear announcing things at Flyers games is Lou Nolan. He has been the PA announcer since 1972. Matt Cord is the PA announcer for 76ers games. Jim Bachman announces Villanova basketball games. Kevin Casey handles the PA duties for the Philadelphia Wings.

Teams That Call It Home

Many exciting sports teams play their home games at the Wells Fargo Center.

Full-Time Teams

These teams play all their home games here:

Part-Time Teams

Some teams play only certain games at the Wells Fargo Center:

  • Villanova University Wildcats (college basketball, NCAA Big East Conference). They play some of their biggest home games here. Their campus arena, The Pavilion, is sometimes too small for these games.

Former Part-Time Teams

Some teams used to play here part-time:

  • Philadelphia Phantoms (ice hockey, AHL). This was the Flyers' minor league team. They played some games at the Center from 1996 to 2009 when the Spectrum was busy.
  • Philadelphia Soul (arena football, original AFL). They played games at both the Center and the Spectrum from 2004 to 2008. The original AFL league stopped in 2009. The Soul team came back in 2011 and now plays full-time at the Center.

Images for kids

  • Philly (35)

    The then-Wachovia Center, December 2005

  • Wells Fargo Center (Philadelphia) Rinkside Shot

    Rink-side view of the Wells Fargo Center's hockey rink during a game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Columbus Blue Jackets.

  • WellsFargoCenterPhila 29

    The Flyers playing the New Jersey Devils at the Wells Fargo Center.

  • Villanova Banners

    Villanova Wildcats NCAA National Championship banners on display in the rafters. The Wildcats play select home games at the Wells Fargo Center.

  • Wachoviacenterpriortoflyersgame

    The then-Wachovia Center prior to a Flyers game against the New York Islanders.

  • Wachovia Center satellite view

    Satellite view of the Wachovia Center

  • Phantoms CalderCup 2

    The AHL Phantoms winning the 2005 Calder Cup before a crowd of 20,103 on June 10, 2005; then the Wachovia Center.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Wells Fargo Center para niños

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