The final game at the Wells Fargo Center has been played
Photo by Jeff Fusco
With the Flyers’ 3-0 loss to the Blue Jackets on Tuesday night, the final game has been played at the Wells Fargo Center.
The Farg’s era has come to an end.
Yes, the Flyers and 76ers are not moving into their new building until 2031, if not sooner.
Wells Fargo & Co. plans to drop its naming rights of the Philadelphia sports arena when the bank’s contract expires next year, Gillian Tan and Christopher Palmeri of Bloomberg reported back in July.
“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.”
The deal ends in August, according to “a spokesperson for the Philadelphia-based media and telecom giant,” as the Bloomberg article titled the person.
“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 Spectacor said in a statement.
Wells Fargo has held the naming rights of the roughly 21,000-seat building since the 2010-11 Flyers and Sixers season after Wells Fargo acquired Wachovia, the owner of the naming rights from 2003 to 2010.
In that time frame, fall of 2010-spring of 2025, there have not been many positive junctures to recall.
The Wells Fargo Center never hosted a playoff round past the second round. In 15 seasons, not once. The furthest it got was Game 7 of the 2021 Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Hawks. We all remember it.
Since Wells Fargo took over the naming rights, the 76ers have owned a record of 556-639, while the Flyers have posted a 544-454-157 record. Combined, the two organizations have gone through 12 different coaches, eight general managers, 15 playoff appearances, and zero appearances in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The arena has hosted the Sixers’ process, major declines, collapses, draft busts, and innumerable heartbreaks. It has been a place where we have been disgusted, disappointed, perturbed, and so many other dispiriting adjectives.
A curse? A coincidence? You be the judge.
But hopefully, the next giant that purchases the naming rights of the arena will bring some luck. We definitely need it.
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Benjamin Goldstein
Benjamin has been covering Philly Sports for Philly Sports Reports since 2017. He is a podcaster, writer, and founder of Philly Sports Reports. Benjamin is also an intern at the WBCB Sports Network on 1490AM. Through Philly Sports Reports, Benjamin has gotten the opportunity to meet Phillies owner John Middleton in his suite and be honored as the Philadelphia sports fan of the week for KYW News Radio. He hopes to be reporting on Philly sports as a full-time job in the future.
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