Comcast has begun the final phase of a $400 million renovation project at Wells Fargo Center, home of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and NHL’s Flyers.
The three-year-long project is privately funded by Comcast Spectacor and is set to be complete by this fall, according to the Philly Voice. Its final stages include renovating the arena’s team locker rooms and creating new spaces for training, medical, recovery, and video rooms. However, the 76ers have committed to individually funding their upgraded locker room (about 14,000 square feet) inside the Wells Fargo Center.
Local media were given a recent tour of the transformation at Wells Fargo Center, which opened in 1996. Despite the $400 million renovations, the 76ers plan to leave the arena once their lease expires in 2031 to play at a new venue.
Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, owner of the Sixers and NHL’s New Jersey Devils, has proposed building a new privately funded arena called 76 Place that will cost $1.3 billion to construct and plans to begin hosting 76ers games in 2031.
The team said its proposed arena would bring Philadelphia a $1.9 billion economic impact. However, some residents oppose the proposed arena because it would be built near the city’s Chinatown and potentially cause the displacement of longtime residents and other socio-economic shifts to the neighborhood.
