Xfinity Mobile Arena unveiled: high-power WiFi, Jared McCain, V. J. Edgecombe on relationships, Sean Couturier on team message
Photo by Benjamin Goldstein/Philly Sports Reports
PHILADELPHIA, PA — The Xfinity Mobile Arena is officially here.
Comcast Spectacor ceremoniously introduced the new signage outside the 29-year-old arena, with help from Gritty, Franklin, and an Xfinity Mobile race car, and also announced a WiFi network upgrade, which will provide speeds 10 times faster in and outside the building.
“Fans with the latest smartphones will enjoy an incredible WiFi experience like no other,” Matt Lederer, Vice President of Branded Partnership at Comcast Spectacor, said Tuesday morning outside the arena. “[Fans] can share a Jared McCain three-pointer, a Sean Couturier hat trick, or even live stream Benson Boone’s backflip [Wednesday night]. No more buffering or waiting to send amazing moments that are captured.”
Xfinity Mobile Arena is the first arena on the East Coast to leverage the newly introduced high-power WiFi, engineered to support thousands of devices simultaneously with enhanced reliability and advanced security.
“Xfinity Mobile and Comcast Business Mobile customers will also auto-connect to premium in-venue speeds that are faster than any other wireless provider,” Comcast declared in a press release. “And, Xfinity Mobile Arena will continue to have strong, consistent 5G service from anywhere in the building for all fans. In the coming weeks, Xfinity WiFi will extend to surrounding parking lots, keeping fans connected from tailgate to tip-off.”
The arena now has a new brand, a new color (there is a lot of purple), and extremely strong WiFi.
“This new supercharged WiFi is a living showcase of our brand,” Lederer said. “And we’re proud to power the connections that bring our community of sports fans together.
“But this is just the beginning. With our partners at [Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment] and Comcast Spectacor, we’re creating the next generation of sports entertainment and innovation here in Philadelphia. The future is here, it is today, it’s happening in Philadelphia, and it’s happening at Xfinity Mobile Arena.”
The relationship between Comcast and HBSE was not always vigorous, as it was until just January the two corporations were going back-and-forth, with HBSE threatening to move to Center City or Camden, New Jersey, to build an independent Sixers arena.
Now, they have teamed back together and have a high-tech arena, without moving anywhere, and will team up to construct a “world-class, state-of-the-art arena” in the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, set to open in 2031.
“The strength of our partnership with Comcast and Xfinity Mobile is a shared vision of leveraging technology and innovation to create lasting memories for our fans at games, concerts, and live events. The incredible investments Xfinity Mobile has committed will allow our fans to stay connected and share every shot, dunk, and celebration,” said Tad Brown, CEO of HBSE and the 76ers. “We can’t wait to welcome our fans back to Xfinity Mobile Arena soon as we have some fun things planned for them this season.”
Members of the two teams appeared Tuesday morning, including youngsters McCain and V. J. Edgecombe of the Sixers and veterans Couturier and Travis Sanheim representing the Flyers.
Along with the arena’s unveiling, we learned a little bit about Edgecombe and McCain’s relationship, which is just about as good as it gets.
“We got ice cream,” McCain exclaimed when asked what he and Edgecombe did together this summer. “We went shopping together. We just hung out a few times, got some food together. We just been chilling.”
“There’s not a lot of guidance I can give [Edgecombe],” McCain said on how he has guided the rookie over the offseason. “He knows how to play the game. Just any way I can help, anyway I can do anything to help him. We got great friends, too. I mean, Tyrese [Maxey] has been helping a lot, too… I’m just trying to get on the court, just like he is already on the court, so I’m just looking to help him as well.”
McCain suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee last season, which required surgery in December and cut short his rookie season to just 23 games, a year in which he was on pace to win the Rookie of the Year, and he says he still has a lot of teammates calling him a rookie. He said he will use his shortened season as motivation, but there is more than just that that fuels him.
“You use anything as motivation as you can. Whether it’s that I didn’t win an award that I wanted to win. I wasn’t on a team that I wanted to win. Like, I just use anything I can for motivation.”
Meanwhile, Couturier is looking to send a different message to the Flyers in 2025 with new head coach Rick Tocchet.
“Well, we haven’t quite gotten going yet, but I think that the message is going to be to build that winning culture and start hating losing. We’ve been talking about rebuilding for the last couple of years. I think at one point we take a step forward and have higher expectations of ourselves. I think that’s really going to be the message: take a step forward, expect more out of ourselves, and push ourselves to another level.”
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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