The Wachovia Center Complex consists of the Wachovia Center Spectrum and the new, Wachovia Center. The two buildings are located next to each other on South Broad Street in South Philadelphia, across Pattison Avenue from Philadelphia's Veterans' Stadium. Access to the complex is convenient from both I-95 and I-76 (the Schuylkill Expressway) with ample public and private parking in the area.
* The Wachovia Center has 2,000 more seats and is more than 300,000 square feet larger than the Spectrum.
* The Wachovia Center has 30 concession stands on two levels and 20 public restroom facilities.
* Oval design ensures against obstructed-view seats.
* Five concourses alleviate crowd congestion.
* Six public escalators and six available elevators.
* 23 ticket windows provide quick and convenient service.
* Eight, brightly lit and patrolled parking lots hold 6,100 cars. Depending on the event, additional public parking is provided at Veterans' Stadium and other nearby privately run parking areas. Reserved parking is available for many events and can be arranged when purchasing tickets through Ticketmaster. More accessible parking is also available for patrons with disabilities.
Video Board & Sound
The Wachovia Center features a state-of-the-art, eight-sided video/matrix board on which live video, instant replays and animated movie clips can be displayed. An ultra-modern sound system designed specifically for the building allows all patrons to hear the same sound at the same time.
Concessions
The Wachovia Center has concession stands located on both the Main Concourse and Mezzanine levels and features a wide variety of food, refreshments, souvenirs and novelty items. Concession menu items include: jumbo hot dogs, nachos, ice cream, a wide selection of soda, beer and juices, popcorn, peanuts, cheese fries, lemonade, cotton candy as well as other traditional event snacks and food items. Specialty concessions feature Pizza Hut personal pizzas, Gourmet Pretzel Express soft pretzels, A Taste of Philly hoagies, Jack & Jill hand-dipped ice cream, and the Grill Works grilled foot-long hot dogs, cheesesteaks, sausages and chicken.
Philadelphia's own Red Bell Brewery & Pub has a brew pub and restaurant located on the Broad Street south side of the Main Concourse. It is the first brew pub to be located inside an indoor arena in the U.S.! The brew pub is capable of producing more than 45,000 gallons of beer a year, and patrons can see the beer-making process through large glass windows. In addition to premium beers, the brew pub offers many food specialties including Legion of Doom Chili and fresh, hand-carved sandwiches made to order.
Fan Gear, located on the Broad Street north side of the Main Concourse, is the Wachovia Center's flagship retail store featuring Flyers, Sixers and Wachovia Center event-related merchandise. Fan Gear is open on event days only from 5 p.m. through 30 minutes after the conclusion of each event. Extended holiday shopping hours will be offered during the winter holiday season. Visa and MasterCard are accepted.
Exhibits
Several exhibit areas are set up throughout the Wachovia Center. They include:
Flyers Experience - Walk through Flyers history from 1967 through present day with authentic artifacts, memorabilia and images. Interactive kiosks guide you through great moments in Flyers history, player profiles and upcoming events. Located on the Broad Street north side of the Main Concourse. And don't forget to see Hat Trick by Steve Tobin, where fan hats, collected from hat trick celebrations, are randomly selected and bronzed. Look to see if your hat is on display!
76ers Zone - Revisit history with quotes from the greats, the Sixers all-time team, highlights, player profiles and community calendar. Interactive kiosks move you through the past, present and the future of the Sixers. Located at the 11th Street south side of the Main Concourse level.
Video Walls - Presented by Comcast, an 8' x 16' video wall display located in the 11th Street Atrium and a 6' x 8' video wall display located in the Broad Street Atrium bring full color, state-of-the-art visual and audio technology. Upcoming events and live feeds of most events will entertain and inform visitors.
Wachovia Center Showcase - A 16-monitor video wall combines with two, interactive kiosks and uses full-motion video and laser disk technology to inform and educate event-goers about upcoming events, Wachovia Center products and the bank's community-sponsored events.
Portrait Gallery - Flyers and Sixers rosters are presented with oversized head shots of each player in full color. The Flyers and Sixers authentic championship banners frame the space. Interactive displays provide fans with a biography of each player on the active roster. Located at the 11th Street Atrium.
Concerts & Family Shows - Artifacts and historic entertainment and family show images in full color line the wall of this exhibit. Interactive kiosks move you through historic concert footage, upcoming events and services for the Wachovia Center Complex. Located at the 11th Street north side of the Main Concourse.
Party Suites & Banquet Room
Two party suites with private seating for 140 people each are available for all types of business and social gatherings. Party suites, located on the Club level, are furnished with private restrooms and service, television monitors, coat closets and more. Catering and suite set-up can be tailored to meet all group needs.
The banquet room is available for meetings and parties of up to 100 people. Menus are designed to meet your requirements. There are also several large reception areas in which cocktail parties and VIP gatherings can be held.
Victors Club
Victors Club offers fine dining for members. Located on the Club level, it is the perfect setting for parties, business meetings, seminars and banquets. Seating capacity ranges from 300 for dinner to 400 for receptions. For membership or booking information, call the Premium Services Department at (215) 389-9545.
Smoking Policy - Smoke-free area of the Wachovia Center include carpeted areas, restrooms, seating and the Club level. Smoking is discretionary in the Balcony and Luxury Suites and is permitted in designated areas in the Victors Club and on the Main Concourse and Mezzanine levels.
Miscellaneous Facts
| 7,000 | tons of steel.
| 19,000 | cubic yards of concrete.
| 32,500 | square feet of glass.
| 62,000 | linear feet of driven piles.
| 400,000 | square feet of drywall. | | | | |
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Holt's Cigar Club
Comcast-Spectacor, owner and operator of the CoreStates Center, recently added a 2,800 square-foot, members-only cigar bar to the club level of the new arena. The expansion also includes an additional 2,800 square feet to the main level of the Red Bell Brewery & Pub. "When we opened the CoreStates Center we wanted to offer our patrons the total sports experience, as well as being the trend leader," says Comcast-Spectoacor's Peter Luukko, President of the CoreStates Complex. "We were the first arena with our own microbrewery and now we are the first with our own cigar bar."
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Directions
From the Walt Whitman Bridge
Follow the signs for Broad Street. At the end of the Broad Street exit, you will make a left hand turn. Follow the signs to the Sports Complex.
From New York and New Jersey
via the New Jersey Turnpike
Take New Jersey Turnpike South. Look for signs for 295 South and the Walt Whitman Bridge. Follow the signs which will lead you to the bridge. From this point, follow signs for Broad Street. At the end of the Broad Street exit, you will make a left hand turn. The CoreStates Complex will be on your left.
From the Pennsylvania Turnpike
(For Downingtown and points further West) Follow the Turnpike 76 East to Exit 24 (Valley Forge). Follow signs for 76 East. Continue on 76 East until you see signs for Walt Whitman Bridge/Sports Complex. Follow until Exit 45, Broad Street. At the end of the exit ramp, make a right at the light. The CoreStates Complex will be on your left.
From the Schuylkill Expressway
Traveling East on the Schuylkill Expressway, you will see signs for South Jersey, Walt Whitman Bridge/Sports Complex. continue on 76 East until you see signs for Exit 45, Broad Street/Sports Complex. Take this exit and follow down the ramp to the light. Make a right at the light onto Broad Street. The CoreStates Complex will be on your left.
From Route 476/Blue Route
Follow I-476 South to the end. Road splits, follow signs for I-95 North, Philadelphia. Take I-95 North past Philadelphia Airport to Broad Street exit. After exit ramp, bear right for parking. The CoreStates Complex is on your right.
From Interstate 95, Delaware & Maryland
Follow I-95 to Broad Street Exit. After exit ramp, bear right for parking. You will see CoreStates Complex on your right.
THE ULTIMATE SPORTS ROAD TRIP
By: Andrew Kulyk & Peter Farrell
| Wachovia Center Ranking by USRT |
| Architecture |  | 7 |
| Concessions | | 8 |
| Scoreboard | | 7 |
| Ushers | | 5 |
| Fan Support | | 8 |
| Location | | 4 |
| Banners/History | | 8 |
| Entertainment | | 5 |
| Concourses/Fan Comfort | | 8 |
| Bonus: Comcast Studio | | 2 |
| Bonus: Interactive Kiosks | | 3 |
| Total Score |  | 65 |
May 13, 2000 & March 16, 2002 - Opened in 1996, the First Union Center is home to the NHL Flyers and NBA 76ers, and also plays as host to a number of minor league teams and to the Atlantic 10 basketball tournament. This outstanding facility replaced the Spectrum, which stands next door and is still used as the home venue to the Flyers AHL affiliate, the Phantoms. Together, these two venues compliment each other in presenting a wide range of sports and entertainment events.
Getting to the Venue
The arena is located at the south end of the city of Philadelphia, and getting here is pretty
easy. Take either I-76 or I-95 south of the city and signs will direct you to the "Sports
Complex". The main thoroughfare in town ... Broad Street, runs right by the facility. Traveling by subway is also an option, with the Pattison station dropping you off a short
walk from the arena door.
Outside the Venue
The First Union Center is part of the city's "Sports Complex" which also includes the
Spectrum and Veterans Stadium. These facilities all share parking, thus the building is
surrounded by large surface lots. The landscape around the center is changing fast, as
new stadiums for both the Eagles and the Phillies are under construction nearby, and
eventually Veterans Stadium will be demolished for parking. Interestingly, this is the only
city which houses all of its sports franchises in one central location.
No matter where you are in the parking lots, you can catch a view of downtown
Philadelphia's impressive skyline, off in the distance. Also we recommend that you take a
walk around the Spectrum and view the scultpures that symbolize the essence of sport in
Philadelphia --- a statue of Kate Smith and her famed rendition of "God Bless America"; a memento to Dr. J, and our favorite, "Thunder in the Heart", depicting character Rocky
Balboa from the "Rocky" movies. This statue was shown in the movie on the steps of the
Philadelphia Museum of Art. - who can forget that memorable scene of Rocky running up
those stairs, fists pumped high in the air!?
This arena is beautiful! The main entrance and drop off area is on the west side. A separate
ticketing lobby is adjacent to the main entrance, and as you walk through the doorways,
right off to the side is an atrium shaped team store displaying merchandise in the many
windows.
The Concourses
Stepping into the huge atrium on the Broad Street side is a feast to the eyes! Here you will
find a stage offering pre game entertainment, an impressive video wall with a jumobtron
type video screen, long escalators to take you to the top of the building, and the
centerpiece hanging from the ceiling is a beautiful glass paneled sculpture, cascading
down and depicting silhouetted figures of athletes and entertainers.
Explore the concourses here and you will find all sorts of cool stuff - Along all the corridors
one can find historical exhibits and memorabilia of the teams. Interactive kiosks allow you
to look up players, games and great moments in Flyers and 76ers history. Also tastefully
displayed are showcases and memorabilia of the city's NPSL team, the Kixx and the NLL
team, the Wings. One of the coolest and most unique displays we saw were exhibits of
Flyers hat tricks. In essence, the hats tossed onto the ice were collected, placed into a
display box along with a photo of the Flyers player who performed the feat and the date it
happened. Nice! One can also find a portrait gallery of current Flyers and 76ers players,
complete with player stats and bios, and all framed by replica championship banners of the
two teams. Throughout the concourses one can find air hockey tables and near the
escalators in the upper concourse is a skeet basketball area.
Concessions
Food areas are grouped into action stations. Each of these areas has a different theme,
and the food selection is superb. Of course no visit to this city is complete unless you try a
Philly Cheese Steak, and the ones we had here at the arena were outstanding! Here at the
arena is a facility called the "Red Bell Brewery and Pub", with its own microbrewery and beer produced onsite, and carving station offering fresh carved sandwiches. Adjacent to
the pub is Holt's Cigar Store, selling fine cigars and accessories.
The Seating Bowl
All seats in the bowl are colored wine red. The arena is set up in two levels, with the upper
part of the lower level designated as club seating, with access to a private concourse.
Suites can be found on three different levels - some on the club level, a suite level, and
skybox suites at the top of the building. An eight sided jumbotron board and single color
dot matrix board hangs in the center, and of course, a state of the art digital LED board was
added last season and wraps around the upper balcony. Atop the lower level are backlit ad
panels and out of town scoreboards.
Club Seating and Premium Seating
This arena offers a separate club and suite level, and a fine dining establishment called the
Victors Club with a view of the playing surface at the top of the lower level. Luxury suites
are served by their own private elevator, concierge service access to premium dining
areas such as Victors Club and the Red Bell Back Room, a membership only club adjacent
to the brewery.
Banners/Retired Numbers
Both franchises have a great history - the Flyers Stanley Cups in the 70s, the Sixers NBA
titles in 1966 and 1983, and the rafters here are loaded with banners celebrating the
accomplishments of these two franchises. You know the names - Bernie Parent, Bobby
Clarke, Wilt Chamerlain, Dr. J. and Charles Barkley amidst a whole host of others. Even
Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel have their banners commemorating their incredible run of
sellouts here.
Hat Tricks, Extra Points, Penalties
Hat Trick - to Comcast Sports, who have built a full fledged studio right in the concourse.
Fans can watch the execution of a sports broadcast from behind glass panels. Awesome
concept!
Extra Point - the number of games available, the air hockey and basketball shoot is the
most extensive of any place we have seen - games can be found anywhere in the
concourses.
Hat Trick - to the magnificent atrium lobby complete with stage! How nice to have live music
serenading patrons as they walk in.
Summary
An awesome venue! We can only come up with two deduction points - the upper
concourses are somewhat congested (suggestion - move the air hockey tables to open up
more space). Second, we always prefer these venues to be downtown. Otherwise this
venue offers superior design, ambience, decor and we have seen elements of this venue
incorporated into newer building elsewhere. While a Sixers game is a fun experience here,
it is the Flyers who are top dog in this building, combining their on the ice success with a
terrific marketing program which combines their AHL affiliate in the building next door into
one stop shopping for the hockey fan. It is for this reason that we bestow the Flyers our 5
star rating as one of the top NHL experiences.
