The current home of the Flyers and Sixers will be in need of a new name in 2025.
Wells Fargo, the naming rights holder of the arena in South Philadelphia, announced on Wednesday that they would not be renewing the deal upon its expiration in August of 2025.
“Wells Fargo regularly reviews and adjusts our overall sponsorship strategy,” the bank said in a statement. “As such, we have made the business decision not to renew the naming rights contract to Wells Fargo Center.”
“We are grateful for our long-standing relationship with Wells Fargo and look forward to working with a new partner as we continue to bring the best sports and entertainment experience to fans in the Philadelphia region,” Comcast’s Spectacor unit said in a statement.
The Wells Fargo Center opened as the CoreStates Center in 1996. The name of the arena has changed several times due to bank mergers. CoreStates Center became First Union Center in 1998, then Wachovia Center in 2003, followed by Wells Fargo Center in 2010.
The news comes at an interesting time for the South Philly arena. The Sixers, a tenant of the arena, have been considering a move for months, proposing a deal for a new arena in the Chinatown region of Philadelphia and speculation that an arena in New Jersey, could be a backup plan. In the midst of the Sixers bid for a new arena, Comcast Spectacor announced an agreement with the Phillies on a planned $2.5 billion mixed-use development in the South Philadelphia sports complex, an effort that has been spearheaded by Comcast Spectacor chairman and CEO Dan Hilferty.
The “new” Wells Fargo Center also has undergone a complete overhaul in recent years. The overhaul started in 2016 with the remodeling of the suite level, and each level of the arena was remodeled over the next eight years with construction halted during the COVID-19 pandemic. The final phase of the transformation was a remodeling of the exterior, which now includes LED digital boards and customizable strut lighting.
