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Ryan Boyer, president of the Philadelphia Building & Construction Trades Council, told NBC10's Lauren Mayk that instead, the team plans to demolish Wells Fargo Center and will eventually build a new arena in South Philadelphia for the Sixers and Flyers. "We actually get more jobs," Boyer said. "For the building trades, this is good news."
The home of the Philadelphia Flyers and the 76ers -- well, the Sixers, for now -- will soon need a new name. Banking giant Wells Fargo says it will not renew its naming rights deal with the arena in the South Philadelphia sports complex that has served as home to the city's NHL and NBA teams, most major entertainment touring acts, two political conventions, WrestleMania, lacrosse, college basketball and countless other events. Wells Fargo said Wednesday it will not renew its deal with building owner and operator Comcast Spectacor -- the parent company of the Flyers -- when it expires in August 2025.
Wells Fargo plans to drop its name from the South Philadelphia sports arena, the home of the Flyers and 76ers, after the bank's contract expires in 2025. "Wells Fargo regularly reviews and adjusts our overall sponsorship strategy," a Wells Fargo spokesperson said in a statement on Wednesday. "As such, we have made the business decision not to renew the naming rights contract to Wells Fargo Center. We value our relationship with Comcast Spectacor and we look forward to collaborating on live entertainment and sporting events at the Wells Fargo Center through the end of our contract in August 2025."
Jeff Goodman: Dayton’s DaRon Holmes will withdraw from the draft and go back to the Flyers, he told @Stadium.
Dayton center DaRon Holmes should be on the shortlist of any breakout player projection in college basketball. A 6-foot-10 big man, Holmes had a monster freshman season that saw him make the All-Defense team in the Atlantic 10, win Atlantic 10 Freshman of the Year and earn second-team All-Atlantic 10 honors. Dayton coach Anthony Grant couldn’t have expected all of that so quickly, but it’s not a surprise that the twitchy big man out of Goodyear, Ariz., made an early impact. He was the highest-rated recruit to ever commit to Dayton back in 2020, a direct result of the Flyers’ success the previous year.
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For most of Klay Thompson’s NBA career, the Golden State Warriors often described him as “no maintenance.” Why? Thompson consistently shattered shooting records. He played in nearly every game. And he rarely complained. But after experiencing two season-ending injuries in 2019-20 (torn ACL in left knee) and 2020-21 (ruptured right Achilles tendon), will Thompson prove in the 2021-22 season that he no longer requires such hefty repairs? “I would be optimistic that he’s going to be able to get back and compete at a high level again,” said Dr. Michael G. Ciccotti, director of sports medicine and research at Rothman Orthopaedic Institute and an outside consultant for the Philadelphia Sixers, Eagles and Flyers. “But his ability to perform precisely at where he was before? That is something that only time will tell.”
Derek Bodner: Wells Fargo Center statement on Pennsylvania allowing indoor events to reach 15% capacity: "If city of Philadelphia matches new state restrictions or raises their own, fans can return to Wells Fargo Center for Flyers and 76ers games within days."
Sixers having up to 5,000 fans at games next month?
The Sixers, Flyers, and Wells Fargo Center officials recently sent the city a proposal to have 5,000 fans in attendance for games beginning some time next month, according to sources. One of the sources said the Sixers would be satisfied with a limit of 2,500. Before Wednesday’s game against the Houston Rockets, the Sixers had played in front of only media members and team officials.
In addition to Strom, the Hall’s 2020′s class is headlined by Kobe Bryant, the basketball superstar from Lower Merion High who died in a helicopter crash this year. It includes former Phillies president Dave Montgomery; basketball coaches Bo Ryan and Ken Hamilton; tennis star Lisa Raymond, the Flyers' Rick Tocchet; ex-Eagles Jerry Sisemore and Vic Sears; heavyweight champion Tim Witherspoon; Olympic runner Herm Frazier; early Phillies star Cy Williams; Temple football’s Deron Cherry; boxing promoter J. Russell Peltz; lacrosse’s Cherie Greer Brown; and the three-time world champion 1910-13 Philadelphia Athletics.
The proposal is sure to spark intense debate, the latest in the long history of disputes over how to revitalize the Delaware River waterfront and where to put sports complexes in Philadelphia. The team wants to move out of the Wells Fargo Center, which it shares with the Flyers and is owned by Comcast Spectacor, by the 2031 season, according to a planning document viewed by The Inquirer. The document is a draft of talking points assembled to help the Sixers lobbying efforts with elected and other officials.
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Flyers standout Glaude Giroux, Sixers forward Tobias Harris, Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins, Phillies catcher Andrew Knapp, Phillies infielder Scott Kingery, ONE Championship fighter Eddie Alvarez, Eagles defensive back Jalen Mills, Eagles tight end Zack Ertz and his wife, Julie, a member of U.S. woman’s soccer team, and Sixers limited partner Michael Rubin are among the growing list of supporters.
Lucas would leave tickets for Bryant to attend 76ers games but had to make a special arrangement when the Chicago Bulls came to town. Bryant was obsessed with Michael Jordan and desperately wanted to meet him, so Lucas cleared the Flyers’ locker room for the two to have a conversation. Jordan walked in, dressed exquisitely in a suit, and Bryant followed behind, nervously. “Kobe went in there and said, “Hello Mr. Jordan,” Lucas said. “Michael talked to him about Carolina and some other stuff. And I said, ‘If you’re going to go the pros next year, you can’t be calling him, ‘Mr. Jordan.’ And he laughed and from that point on, he kept going.”
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