A proposed replacement for the home of several Philadelphia pro sports teams took a step forward Monday.
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Kansas City-based architecture firm Populous has been selected to design a replacement for the Wells Fargo Center, the Philadelphia 76ers said in a press release. Construction on the collaboration with Philadelphia Flyers owner Comcast Spectacor is scheduled to wrap up by 2031.
“Our focus is to create a new home that not only delivers a next-gen experience for fans but is also authentically Philly,” Populous Managing Director Jonathan Mallie said in a statement.
A conceptual design for the arena will be released in the coming months, he told the Philadelphia Business Journal.
Sports fans should expect “a best-in-class fan experience with an emphasis on sustainability and multi-functional use,” Sixers minority owner David Adelman said in a statement.
The announcement comes after workers took the Wells Fargo Center signage off the South Philadelphia Sports Complex’s current indoor arena last week. It will be officially redubbed Xfinity Mobile Arena in September.
Populous has worked on several high-profile sports venues, including the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the UBS Arena on Long Island and Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.
The company and associate architecture firm Moody Nolan were selected through a request for proposals the Sixers undertook for their now-defunct Center City arena proposal, the outlet reported.
The proposal, which would have replaced part of the Fashion District at 10th and Filbert streets, was approved by the Philadelphia City Council late last year before the Sixers backtracked at the last second and elected to stay in South Philly.
The abrupt about-face followed intense outcry from some residents of Chinatown and other nearby neighborhoods who were worried the arena would bring gentrification and intense gridlock to Center City.
The South Philly arena proposal will also need to be approved by city council.
The Wells Fargo Center opened in 1996. Comcast began renovating the venue in 2016. That $400M project entered its final phase in September 2023.
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