Comcast Spectacor reveals new location for Sixers and Flyers arena
The chairman and CEO of Comcast Spectacor, which owns the Flyers and is working with the 76ers on the new facility, said it would be located where the old Spectrum was located.
Comcast Spectacor and the Philadelphia 76ers have decided on a precise location in the South Philadelphia sports complex for their new arena, which will also host the Flyers and an as-yet unnamed WNBA team.
The new stadium will be located at the southeast corner of the intersection of Broad Street and Pattison Avenue, right next to SEPTA’s Broad Street Line, which serves the sports complex.
The location echoes the Sixers and Flyers’ original home, the Spectrum, as will the ultimate — and still unrevealed — design.
“We believe there’s only one logical spot for it,” said Dan Hilferty, chairman and CEO of Comcast Spectacor. “Just think of it in terms of roughly the area where the Spectrum was, closer to Pattison Avenue running parallel to Broad Street.”
While Comcast Spectacor has long talked about building a sprawling mixed use development — and turning the district into a real neighborhood — Hilferty says that’s still in the future.
For now, the company is focusing on adding more retail around the new arena.
“We see [this location] as a unique opportunity to connect the retail affiliated with the arena, to the retail that we have in Stateside Live! and the expansion of that effort,” Hilferty said.
He spoke to The Inquirer during a tour, led by Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, of the key areas of economic activity in South Philadelphia, including the port, the Navy Yard, and the emerging economic hub in the Bellwether District, where the South Philadelphia refinery used to be.
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In the coming weeks, pre-construction engineering work will be conducted at the site, as the development team stress tests the site and its ability to accommodate the weight of the new building. So don’t be surprised if you see fencing going up and a crane.
But that doesn’t mean work will begin on the actual building any time soon. Regulatory and legislative approvals are still needed, for one thing, and Hilferty says the Spectacor-Sixers alliance is very much leaving the timing in City Hall up to Parker and City Council President Kenyatta Johnson, who represents the area.
“We are being very careful to ensure that we are staying on the mayor’s schedule and Council’s schedule,” Hilferty said. “We’re hoping that this legislation will be introduced sometime late or early fall, but again we are following the direction of the mayor and council president.”
The 76ers’ abortive effort to open a new arena in Center City became a defining issue of Parker and Johnson’s first year in their current roles.
In 2024, the mayor and a number of City Council members spent a lot of time and political capital approving the Sixers contentious plans, only for the team to cancel the proposal weeks later and sign back on with Spectacor.
After legislative approval is secured and development of the new South Philadelphia arena begins, construction is expected to take three years. Philadelphia’s WNBA team is expected to debut in the 2030 season, so the new facility needs to be completed by then.
The Xfinity Mobile Arena where the Flyers and Sixers play now will be demolished after the new arena is completed. Industry best practices usually leave previous stadium infrastructure in place for six months to a year after a replacement opens in case of emergency.
“We want to build the greatest arena in the world right there in the sports district,” Hilferty said at a roundtable hosted by Parker on Wednesday.
Ultimately, he said, they want to make the South Philadelphia sports district a home for all four major league teams long term and “a destination, not just to watch a game, a concert, or whatever it might be, but a place to live, play and just enjoy the fruits of South Philadelphia.”
