April 16, 2026
Kate Frese/for PhillyVoice
Comcast Spectacor, which owns the Flyers, and the Sixers plan to construct their new arena at the site of the former Spectrum, which was demolished in 2010-11 and is now a parking lot. Xfinity Mobile Arena is expected to be demolished after the new arena is completed. The teams hope to open the facility in 2030.
The Sixers and Flyers reportedly plan to build their new arena at the site of the former Spectrum, their original shared home near the intersection of Broad Street and Pattison Avenue.
The site's selection, first reported Thursday by the Inquirer, is part of preliminary work the teams are conducting at the Sports Complex as they prepare to seek regulatory and legislative approvals for the project. The facility also will be shared with Philadelphia's new WNBA team. The goal is to have the building ready in 2030.
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Representatives for the Sixers and Comcast Spectacor, which owns the Flyers and Xfinity Mobile Arena, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday.
Dan Hilferty, chairman and CEO of Comcast Spectacor, revealed the location during a tour of the site with Mayor Cherelle Parker.
"We believe there's only one logical spot for it," Hilferty told the Inquirer. "Just think of it in terms of roughly the area where the Spectrum was, closer to Pattison Avenue running parallel to Broad Street."
Hilferty said legislation for the new arena could be introduced as early as the fall, but the teams intend to work on the city's timeline with a busy summer ahead for the nation's 250th anniversary. The city is also bidding to host the 2028 Democratic National Convention, which could impact the planning and construction timeline at the Sports Complex. Projects of this size typically take two to three years to complete.
The arena figures to be a centerpiece of long-term development plans at the Sports Complex. Comcast Specactor and the Phillies have partnered on a $2.5 billion master plan that includes a range of new retail, restaurant, hospitality and entertainment venues. Specific details about those plans have not been shared.
The Phillies separately are expected to undertake a $600 million renovation of Citizens Bank Park. The Eagles, who are not part of the partnership, are exploring their own future stadium plans for when their lease at the Linc expires in 2032.
The future of the Sports Complex was shaken up last year when the Sixers abandoned their $1.3 billion plan – already approved by the city — to construct their own home on East Market Street in Center City. The project faced years of opposition from residents in nearby Chinatown and neighboring communities, but had earned key support from Parker and City Council President Kenyatta Johnson based on the Sixers' commitment to pay for the arena without public funding from the city.
The Sixers and Flyers each will own an equal share of the new arena. The cost of the project and details about how it will be financed have not been disclosed.
Johnson, whose district includes the Sports Complex, answered questions about the arena after Thursday's City Council session. He said he's not overly concerned about how the DNC could impact construction timelines, noting the city has the capacity to host it at the Convention Center, but said specifics about the teams' proposal remain to be seen.
"If we are going to move forward with a stadium, it should be a world-class Stadium, but also there should be a component that brings alive that part of South Philadelphia, not only during game days, but all throughout the year" Johnson said. "...When games aren't taking place, it should be a thriving place where anyone can come and enjoy themselves."
Comcast Spectacor and the Sixers are expected to bring engineers to the site in the coming months to determine whether it's suitable for the new venue, which will be designed by architecture firms Populous and Moody Nolan. The building will be constructed by Turner and Aecom.
Xfinity Mobile Arena, which received $400 million in upgrades over the past several years, is expected to be demolished after the new arena has opened.
The Spectrum opened in 1967, the same year that construction began on Veterans Stadium — where the Eagles and Phillies played for decades — at what was then an undeveloped site. John F. Kennedy Stadium, formerly Municipal Stadium, stood at the site where Xfinity Mobile Arena was later built in the mid-1990s, at the southwest end of the Sports Complex.
Lincoln Financial Field, which opened in 2003, sits at the site of a former parking lot near 11th Street and Pattison Avenue, and Citizens Bank Park opened the following year at the site of a former warehouse along 11th Street and Pattison Avenue.
The Spectrum was demolished in 2010 and 2011. The site of the Vet, demolished in 2004, also serves as a parking lot for the Sports Complex.
