Wachovia Center

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The Wachovia Center (formerly known as the CoreStates Center and the First Union Center) is an indoor arena located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is the home arena of the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL and the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA. The arena was completed in 1996 on what was once the site of John F. Kennedy Stadium at a cost of $206 million, largely privately financed (though the city and state helped to pay for the local infrastructure). The building lies at the southeast corner of the South Philadelphia sports complex, which includes Lincoln Financial Field, Citizens Bank Park, and the arena's predecessor, The Spectrum.

The arena seats 21,600 for basketball and 19,519 for hockey. It has 126 luxury suites and 1,880 club seats. The arena was originally named for CoreStates Bank, which agreed to pay $40 million over 21 years for the naming rights, with additional terms to be settled later for an additional eight year period at the end of the contract. The naming rights were taken by First Union Bank in a merger in 1998 and then by Wachovia Bank in a 2003 merger with First Union. While under the First Union name, it was affectionately referred to as the "F.U. Center" by Philadelphians. Due to this, a name alteration was considered, the "First Union National Center." However, this was met with much derision from fans and athletes who played in the facility, such as former Philadelphia Flyers forward Brantt Myhres, who said the name change would make the building sound like a "circus venue."

Because of the 2004-05 NHL lockout, and later in the season, the unavailability of ice at the Wachovia Spectrum caused by other events at that venue, the Flyers' American Hockey League affiliate, the Philadelphia Phantoms, played selected games in the arena, including the entire 2004-05 Phantoms playoff schedule, including a record 20,103 in the Calder Cup clinching Game 4. This was repeated for the first two games of the 2005-06 season.

Notable Events

1996 World Cup of Hockey, 1996 (three games)
WWF In Your House #10, 1996
NHL Stanley Cup Finals, 1997
AHL All-Star Classic, 1999
WrestleMania XV, 1999
WWF Unforgiven, 2000
Republican National Convention, 2000
NCAA Tournament, East Regional, 2001 (won by Duke University)
NBA Finals, 2001
NBA All-Star Game, 2002
WWE Royal Rumble, 2004
AHL Calder Cup Finals, 2005
NCAA Tournament, first and second rounds, 2006
WWE Survivor Series, 2006 (to take place November 26, 2006.)

Teams

The Wachovia Center is home to the:

Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL
Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA
Philadelphia Wings of the NLL
Philadelphia Soul of the AFL (Sunday home games only)
The men's basketball team of Villanova University plays some of its high-profile home games here instead of at its much smaller on campus arena, The Pavilion.

Trivia

The arena was the site of and was used as the site of the Republican Convention that nominated Senator Arnold Vinick for President on the TV show The West Wing in the 2004-05 season.

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Current arenas in the National Hockey League
Eastern Conference		Western Conference
Air Canada Centre \| BankAtlantic Center \| Bell Centre \| Continental Airlines Arena \| HSBC Arena \| Madison Square Garden \| Mellon Arena \| Nassau Coliseum \| Philips Arena \| RBC Center \| St. Pete Times Forum \| Scotiabank Place \| TD Banknorth Garden \| Verizon Center \| Wachovia Center		American Airlines Center \| Arrowhead Pond \| Gaylord Entertainment Center \| GM Place \| Glendale Arena \| HP Pavilion \| Joe Louis Arena \| Nationwide Arena \| Pengrowth Saddledome \| Pepsi Center \| Rexall Place \| Savvis Center \| Staples Center \| United Center \| Xcel Energy Center

Current arenas in the National Basketball Association
Eastern Conference		Western Conference
Air Canada Centre \| AmericanAirlines Arena \| Bradley Center \| Charlotte Bobcats Arena \| Conseco Fieldhouse \| Continental Airlines Arena \| Madison Square Garden \| Palace of Auburn Hills \| Philips Arena \| Quicken Loans Arena \| TD Banknorth Garden \| TD Waterhouse Centre \| United Center \| Verizon Center \| Wachovia Center		American Airlines Center \| ARCO Arena \| AT&T Center \| Delta Center \| FedExForum \| Ford Center \| KeyArena \| New Orleans Arena \| Oakland Arena \| Pepsi Center \| Rose Garden \| Staples Center \| Target Center \| Toyota Center \| US Airways Center

Current arenas in the Arena Football League
American Conference		National Conference
Allstate Arena \| Delta Center \| Gaylord Entertainment Center \| HP Pavilion \| Pepsi Center \| Staples Center \| Thomas & Mack Center \| US Airways Center \| Van Andel Arena		American Airlines Center \| Frank Erwin Center \| Kemper Arena \| Nassau Coliseum \| Nationwide Arena \| Philips Arena \| St. Pete Times Forum \| TD Waterhouse Centre \| Wachovia Center¹ \| Wachovia Spectrum²
¹The Philadelphia Soul play Sunday home games only at the Wachovia Center. ²The Philadelphia Soul play Saturday home games only at the Wachovia Spectrum.

Current arenas in the National Lacrosse League

Coordinates: [39°54′04″N, 75°10′19″W]

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