The Wells Fargo Center, which will be known as the Xfinity Mobile Arena beginning September 1, will be replaced by a new stat-of-the-art arena in South Philadelphia by 2031. (Credit: National Hockey League)
When Comcast Spectacor and Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment suddenly settled their differences in January and decided to build a new arena for the Flyers and Sixers at the sports complex in South Philadelphia, they promised a state-of-the-art, world class facility.
In other words, go big or go home.
They swung for the fences by choosing a world renowned architect to design the new building.
The partners announced they have chosen Populous, a global arena design firm, to design the new arena, which is slated to open in 2031, if not sooner.
Populous will partner with the architectural firm Moody Nolan, which has a Philadelphia office.
If the names sound familiar, they were the architects chosen to design 76 Place, the abandoned arena project for the Sixers at Market East.
“Together with our partners at Comcast Spectacor, we are excited to welcome Populous and Moody Nolan to help execute on our shared vision for a new arena in South Philadelphia, said David Adelman, limited partner in HBSE and chairman of the joint venture between the two companies, in a statement. "Our goal has always been clear — to bring the world’s greatest sports and entertainment venue to the City of Philadelphia.
"Populous and Moody Nolan will leverage their collective expertise to help design a best-in-class fan experience with an emphasis on sustainability and multifunctional use."
Populous is a massive company with offices on four different continents around the globe. It designed the Sphere in Las Vegas, and 20 professional arenas including T-Mobile Arena, Climate Pledge Arena and UBS Arena. It also designed Oriole Park at Camden Yards under a different company name.
Moody Nolan has an arena design portfolio that includes Wintrust Arena in Chicago and the refurbishments of Progressive Field in Cleveland.
This is the first new news about the arena plans since the surprise 180 that saw the owners of the Sixers and Flyers go from sniping with one another and threatening to compete with one another at two different arenas to agreeing to share 50 percent ownership of a new arena in South Philadelphia overnight, catching everyone, including Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker and the entire City Council by surprise after they passed legislation to allow for the arena in Center City despite contentious negotiations and vocal opposition from many, including residents of Chinatown.
