Wachovia Center

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the skyscraper in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, see Wachovia Center (Winston-Salem).

Wachovia Center

Location	3601 S Broad St Philadelphia, PA 19148
Broke ground	September 14, 1994
Opened	August 31, 1996
Owner	Comcast-Spectator L.P.
Operator	Global Spectrum
Construction cost	$210 million
Architect	Ellerbe Becket
Former names
CoreStates Center (1996–1998) First Union Center (1998–2003)
Tenants
Philadelphia Flyers (NHL) (1996-present) Philadelphia 76ers (NBA) (1996-present) Philadelphia Wings (NLL)(1997-present) Philadelphia Soul (AFL) (2004-present)
Capacity
21,600 (basketball) 19,519 (hockey) 17,486 (arena football)

Philadelphia Portal

The Wachovia Center (formerly known as the CoreStates Center and the First Union Center, and nicknamed The Big House and The Loud House by Philadelphia sports fans) is an indoor arena located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is the home arena of the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL and the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA. The arena was completed in 1996 on what was once the site of John F. Kennedy Stadium at a cost of $206 million, largely privately financed (though the city and state helped to pay for the local infrastructure). The building lies at the southeast corner of the South Philadelphia sports complex, which includes Lincoln Financial Field, Citizens Bank Park, and the arena's predecessor, The Spectrum.

The arena officially seats 21,600 for basketball and 19,519 for hockey, although with additional standing room admissions available in suites for purchase by their lease holders the total paid capaciy is actually somewhat greater. It has 126 luxury suites and 1,880 club seats. The arena 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. The naming rights were taken by First Union Bank in a merger in 1998 and then by Wachovia Bank in a 2003 merger with First Union. While under the First Union name, it was affectionately referred to as the "F.U. Center" by Philadelphians. Due to this, a name alteration was considered, the "First Union National Center." However, this was met with much derision from fans and athletes who played in the facility, such as former Philadelphia Flyers forward Brantt Myhres, who said the name change would make the building sound like a "circus venue."

Because of the 2004-05 NHL lockout, and later in the season, the unavailability of ice at the Wachovia Spectrum caused by other events at that venue, the Flyers' American Hockey League affiliate, the Philadelphia Phantoms, played selected games in the arena, including the entire 2004-05 Phantoms playoff schedule, including a record 20,103 in the Calder Cup clinching Game 4. This was repeated for the first two games of the 2005-06 season.

The building also set a record in February 2006 for the highest attendance for a college basketball game in the state of Pennsylvania when 4th-ranked Villanova hosted and defeated top-ranked UConn.

On December 6, 2002 popular rock band Guns N' Roses were scheduled to perform there on their Chinese Democracy Tour. The opening bands (CKY, Mixmaster Mike) went on to perform as usual, but the main act, Guns n' Roses, never showed up fusing a riot in the arena and causing thousands of dollars in damage. No reason was ever given for the no-show of Guns n' Roses, other than the public announcer of the building citing that one of the band members was sick.

In 2006, Billy Joel set a complex record for most sellouts at the Wachovia/First Union/CoreStates Center - 17, for a Philadelphia total of 46. Only the Grateful Dead have sold out more shows at the complex (55, all at the Spectrum)

On August 1, 2006, Comcast-Spectacor announced it would be installing a new center-hung scoreboard to replace the original one made by Daktronics. The new scoreboard, manufactured by ANC Sports will be similar to other scoreboards in new NBA arenas such as FedExForum. An additional linear LED display lining the entire arena will also be installed between the suite and mezzanine levels. Other renovations for the building's 10th year anniversary include 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-Spectator.

[edit] Teams

The Wachovia Center is home to the:

Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL
Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA
Philadelphia Wings of the NLL
Philadelphia Soul of the AFL
The men's basketball team of Villanova University plays some of its high-profile home games here instead of at its much smaller on campus arena, The Pavilion.

[edit] Notable Events

1996 World Cup of Hockey, 1996 (three games)
WWF In Your House #10: Mind Games, 1996
NHL Stanley Cup Finals, 1997
NLL Championship, 1998
AHL All-Star Classic, 1999
WrestleMania XV, 1999
NCAA Tournament, Women's Final Four, 2000 (won by University of Connecticut)
WWF Unforgiven, 2000
Republican National Convention, 2000
NCAA Tournament, East Regional, 2001 (won by Duke University)
NBA Finals, 2001
NBA All-Star Game, 2002
X Games, 2002
X Games, 2003
WWE Royal Rumble, 2004
The West Wing site for fictional Republican Convention, 2004-05 season
AHL Calder Cup Finals, 2005
NCAA Tournament, first and second rounds, 2006 and scheduled for 2009.
WWE Survivor Series, 2006

[edit] External links

Official Website

Preceded by The Spectrum 1967–1996	Home of the Philadelphia Flyers 1996–present	Succeeded by current
Preceded by The Spectrum 1967–1996	Home of the Philadelphia 76ers 1996–present	Succeeded by current
Preceded by {{{before}}}	Home of the Annual Philadelphia Wing Bowl {{{years}}}	Succeeded by {{{after}}}
Preceded by Fleet Center	Host of WrestleMania XV 1999	Succeeded by Arrowhead Pond

Coordinates: 39°54′4.38″N, 75°10′19.36″W

Western Conference		Eastern Conference
Current arenas in the National Hockey League
American Airlines Center \| General Motors Place \| HP Pavilion \| Honda Center \| Jobing.com Arena \| Joe Louis Arena \| Nashville Arena \| Nationwide Arena \| Pengrowth Saddledome \| Pepsi Center \| Rexall Place \| Scottrade Center \| Staples Center \| United Center \| Xcel Energy Center		Air Canada Centre \| BankAtlantic Center \| Bell Centre \| Continental Airlines Arena \| HSBC Arena \| Madison Square Garden \| Mellon Arena \| Nassau Coliseum \| Philips Arena \| RBC Center \| St. Pete Times Forum \| Scotiabank Place \| TD Banknorth Garden \| Verizon Center \| Wachovia Center

Western Conference		Eastern Conference
Current arenas in the National Basketball Association
American Airlines Center \| ARCO Arena \| AT&T Center \| EnergySolutions Arena \| FedExForum \| Ford Center \| KeyArena \| New Orleans Arena \| Oracle Arena \| Pepsi Center \| Rose Garden Arena \| Staples Center \| Target Center \| Toyota Center \| US Airways Center		Air Canada Centre \| AmericanAirlines Arena \| Amway Arena \| Bradley Center \| Charlotte Bobcats Arena \| Conseco Fieldhouse \| Continental Airlines Arena \| Madison Square Garden \| The Palace of Auburn Hills \| Philips Arena \| Quicken Loans Arena \| TD Banknorth Garden \| United Center \| Verizon Center \| Wachovia Center

American Conference		National Conference
Current arenas in the Arena Football League
Allstate Arena \| EnergySolutions Arena \| HP Pavilion \| Nashville Arena \| Orleans Arena \| Pepsi Center \| Staples Center \| US Airways Center \| Van Andel Arena		American Airlines Center \| Amway Arena \| Frank Erwin Center \| Kemper Arena \| Nassau Coliseum \| Nationwide Arena \| New Orleans Arena \| Philips Arena \| St. Pete Times Forum \| Wachovia Center¹ \| Wachovia Spectrum²
¹The Philadelphia Soul play Sunday home games at the Wachovia Center. ²The Philadelphia Soul play Saturday home games at the Wachovia Spectrum.

Eastern Division		Western Division
Current arenas in the National Lacrosse League
Air Canada Centre \| Blue Cross Arena \| HSBC Arena \| Madison Square Garden¹ \| Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum² \| Sears Centre \| Wachovia Center \| Xcel Energy Center		HP Pavilion \| Jobing.com Arena \| Pengrowth Saddledome \| Pepsi Center \| Rexall Place \| Rose Garden Arena
¹The New York Titans play four of their home games at Madison Square Garden. ²The New York Titans play four of their home games at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.