April 26, 2022
Courtesy/Comcast Spectacor
The rendering above shows the Loge seating option that will be part of Wells Fargo Center's revamped Club Level. The $50 million renovation, which includes four new bars and an exclusive team shop, will debut in fall 2022.
The long-term transformation of the Wells Fargo Center, a $300 million initiative that has revamped the arena's concourses and amenities, will turn next to the Club Level to modernize the fan experience in South Philadelphia.
Comcast Spectacor unveiled plans Tuesday to bring four new bar concepts to the redesigned Club Level, which will be remodeled with an open layout and new seating options. The $50 million plan is a refined version of renovations that were previewed just before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in a 16-month pause on construction at the arena.
“The new Club Level at Wells Fargo Center will celebrate the iconic sports and music moments that have taken place right here on South Broad Street while also looking to the future,” said Wells Fargo Center president Valerie Camillo. “When we set out to transform Wells Fargo Center, we sought to balance a respect for our history and traditions with a goal to modernize the arena to meet the evolving expectations of our guests. The Club Level redesign is the latest phase in our effort to deliver exceptional amenities, technologies, and guest service—while never forgetting what makes Philadelphia sports the best in the world.”
When the Club Level is overhauled in the coming year, all seat and suite holders in these areas will have access to the four new bars.
The East and West bars, located on opposite sides of the arena, will offer a centralized place to relax and grab drinks both before and during games and concerts. Each of the two bars will have a theme that highlights the changeover process that takes place when an ice hockey rink switches to a hardwood basketball court or a concert venue, and vice versa.
Features will include signature bar top tables that switch from an icy surface to a lined maple hardwood top depending on whether the Flyers or Sixers are playing that night. Behind the bars, OLED displays will display time lapses of the arena changeovers.
Life-size holograms of Flyers, Sixers or musical stars also will welcome guests to the bars depending on the event, with themed cocktails available to match the scenario.
Two other themed bars will debut this coming fall for premium seating guests. The Showplace Bar, a whiskey bar, will honor the legacy of the Spectrum with artifacts, portraits and personal lockers to store bottles. The Center Bar will focus on the sports and entertainment history of the Wells Fargo Center with memorabilia and memories from the last few decades of Philadelphia sports, music and culture.
The new Club Level also will have exclusive retail outlets with specialty items only allowed to premium guests.
The team store, switching between the Sixers and Flyers, will feature a mix of premium products from high-end brands and custom streetwear from designers with local ties. Luxury items like winter coats, travel bags, watches and glassware will be available from brands such as Tumi, Peter Millar, Cutter & Buck, Vineyard Vines and North Face.
There will also be a new entrance and lobby for premium seating ticket holders on the Broad Street side of the arena adjacent to the VIP parking lot. The lobby area will have a high-end bar, seating areas, fireplaces and a secured coat check.
A rendering of the premium entrance for the Wells Fargo Center's Club Level.
•Club Premier: 248 seats - The only seat in Wells Fargo Center with in-seat service from any food and beverage location in the arena. Each ticket comes with $30 in loaded value that can be used for food, beverages or merchandise throughout the arena. Flyers and Sixers playoff tickets are included in the price of the seat. These exclusive seats are already sold out for the 2022-2023 season.
•Club Select: 1,021 seats – Similar to the Club Premier option, this tier includes loaded value for food, beverages and merchandise. In-seat service is limited to Club Level menu options and Flyers and Sixers playoff tickets are not included.
•Loge seating: 136 heated seats - The largest, most comfortable seats in the building will come with great views and $30 in loaded value for food, beverages and merchandise. The seating areas have a ledge to support dining and drinks and USB ports for charging devices.
•Grille Row: 180 seats - These seats are located directly in front of the Grille, providing easy access to the reimagined members-only restaurant that will feature a new, Philly-specific culinary concept to be announced soon. These tickets also come with loaded value for food, beverages and merchandise.
“This fall, when the doors open on a new season of events at Wells Fargo Center, we want our guests to be blown away by the transformation of our Club Level," Camillo said. "With the interior redesign of the arena complete by the end of 2022, Philadelphia sports and entertainment lovers will have an arena on par with any new building in the world."
Comcast Spectacor expects the full $300 million transformation of the arena to be completed by fall 2023.
The changes at Wells Fargo Center are part of a larger push to develop new amenities and offices at the sports complex in South Philadelphia. Plans are still in the works for an office building next to Xfinity Live! that's expected to bring more than 1,600 jobs to the area and generate $295 billion in economic benefits for the city and state over a 30-year-period.
The $50 million Fusion Arena, a 3,500-seat esports venue, also is planned for the sports complex in the coming years.
Both of these projects were delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The renovations at the Wells Fargo Center are part of a push to keep the Sixers at the facility beyond the expiration of the team's current lease in 2031. The Sixers submitted a losing bid to the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation in 2020 to build a new arena at Penn's Landing with public financing, but the organization continues to keep its options open.
“The Wells Fargo Center Transformation project – including the new Club Level – is part of a historic investment in South Philadelphia," Camillo said. "We’re funding this arena transformation project entirely with private dollars, and on a scale that no other arena has matched, making this the boldest transformation project in the history of sports arenas. We’re not done, either. We are committed to investing in the Stadium District, and in 2023, we will both transform the exterior of the arena and hope to break ground on exciting mixed-use developments right next door.”
