The Wachovia Center , formerly known as Spectrum II (prior to construction), 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 National Hockey League, the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association, and the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League. The arena was completed in 1996 on what was once the site of John F. Kennedy Stadium (neé Philadelphia Municipal 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 southwest corner of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, which includes Lincoln Financial Field, Citizens Bank Park, and the Wachovia Spectrum, its predecessor as home to the Flyers, 76ers, and Wings.
Name
From CoreStates to First Union to Wachovia
Before its construction, the proposed arena was tentatively called "Spectrum II". 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."
Battle between Citi and Wells Fargo
On September 29 , 2008 , the FDIC made moves to have Citigroup purchase all Wachovia banking operations during the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis, which more than likely included the naming rights being transferred in the deal. But four days later, Wells Fargo purchased all Wachovia banking operations; Citigroup and federal regulators insisted that because Citigroup offered to buy Wachovia first and for much less (Citi offered $2.1 billion compared to Wells Fargo $15.1 billion), that Citi should purchase Wachovia. On October 9, Citigroup dropped the offer for Wachovia, and the Wells Fargo/Wachovia merger closed on December 31, 2008. The arena name will change once the integration between Wells Fargo and Wachovia takes place, and once the basketball and hockey seasons end.
Wells Fargo currently has its name on two other arenas, on the Arizona State University campus in Tempe and in Des Moines, Iowa. The Des Moines venue is managed by Global Spectrum, which also manages the Wachovia Center.
Facilities
The arena officially seats 21,600 for basketball (NBA, NCAA) and 19,519 for hockey (NHL) and indoor ("box") lacrosse (NLL), although with additional standing room admissions available in suites for purchase by their lease holders the total paid capacity is actually somewhat greater. The Wachovia Center has 126 luxury suites, 1,880 club seats, and a variety of restaurants and clubs (both public and private) available for use by patrons. In addition, the offices, studios, and production facilities of CSN Philadelphia are all located in the facility.
On May 31 , 1997 , the building set the record for the highest attendance for a hockey game in the state of Pennsylvania (20,291) when the Flyers hosted the Detroit Red Wings in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals. The building also set a record for the highest attendance for a college basketball game in the state of Pennsylvania on February 13 , 2006 , when Villanova University played and defeated the #1 ranked University of Connecticut before a crowd of 20,859.
On August 1 , 2006 , Comcast Spectacor announced it would be installing a new center-hung scoreboard to replace the original one made by Daktronics. The new scoreboard, manufactured by ANC Sports is similar to other scoreboards in new NHL & NBA arenas. An additional linear LED display lining the entire arena was also installed between the suite and mezzanine levels. Other renovations for the building's 10th year anniversary included upgrading the suites with more flat screen HDTV's, as well as changing ticket providers from Ticketmaster to New Era Tickets, which is owned by Comcast Spectator.
The PA Announcer at the Wachovia Center for Philadelphia Flyers games is Lou Nolan, who moved with the team from the Spectrum where he had worked since 1972.
Concerts
The Wachovia Center has held numerous concerts of big-name stars such as AC/DC, Aerosmith, Christina Aguilera, Alice in Chains, Barenaked Ladies, Beyoncé, Blink-182, Bon Jovi, David Bowie, Garth Brooks, Brooks & Dunn, Mariah Carey, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, Coldplay, Phil Collins, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Miley Cyrus, Dave Matthews Band, Neil Diamond, Celine Dion, The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Genesis, Green Day, Don Henley, Janet Jackson, Jay-Z, Billy Joel, Elton John, Jonas Brothers, KISS, Korn, Avril Lavigne, Madonna, Barry Manilow, Paul McCartney, Metallica, George Michael, New Kids On The Block, Stevie Nicks, Oasis, Pearl Jam, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Phish, P!nk, The Police, Prince, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Rolling Stones, Rush, Simon & Garfunkel, Britney Spears, Spice Girls, Bruce Springsteen, Gwen Stefani, Barbra Streisand, Justin Timberlake, Shania Twain, U2, Van Halen, Velvet Revolver, Roger Waters, The Who, Steve Winwood, Stevie Wonder, and Yanni.
The inaugural concert was on September 2 , 1996 by Oasis with Manic Street Preachers and Screaming Trees. An estimated crowd of 12,000 attended the show.
On December 6 , 2002 , hard rock band Guns N' Roses were scheduled to perform there on their Chinese Democracy Tour. The opening bands (CKY, Mixmaster Mike) went on to perform as usual, but the main act, Guns N' Roses, never showed up, fueling a riot in the arena and causing about $30K-$40,000 in damage. No reason was ever given for the no-show of Guns N' Roses, other than the public announcer of the building citing that one of the band members was sick.
In 2006, Billy Joel set a Complex record for most sellouts at the Wachovia/First Union/CoreStates Center - 17, for a Philadelphia total of 46. Only the Grateful Dead have sold out more shows at the Complex - 53, all at the Spectrum.
In addition, hanging from the rafters of the Wachovia Center are two banners in the orange and black colors of the Flyers honoring both Billy Joel's 48 Philadelphia sellouts and Bruce Springsteen's 49 Philadelphia sellouts respectively (through October 2009 and includes two shows Joel did with Elton John at Citizens Bank Park).
Tenants
Full time:
- Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL
- Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA
- Philadelphia Wings of the NLL
Part Time:
- Villanova University Wildcats of the NCAA Big East Conference; some high-attendance men's basketball home games which the on-campus arena, The Pavilion, is inadequate to accommodate.
Former (Part time):
- Philadelphia Phantoms of the AHL; The Flyers' AHL development club played some regular season and Calder Cup playoff games at the Center each season between 1996 and 2009 when the Wachovia Spectrum was unavailable because of other events.
- Philadelphia Soul of the AFL; split games between the Center and the Wachovia Spectrum between 2004 and 2008; AFL folded in 2009.
Notable events
- Host to Philadelphia's annual Wing Bowl
- World Cup of Hockey, 1996 (three games)
- WWF In Your House 10: Mind Games, 1996
- NHL Stanley Cup Finals, 1997
- U.S. Figure Skating Championships, 1998
- NLL Championship, 1998
- AHL All-Star Classic, 1999
- WWF WrestleMania XV, 1999
- NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Final Four, 2000 (won by University of Connecticut)
- Republican National Convention, 2000
- WWF Unforgiven, 2000
- NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament East Regional, 2001 (won by Duke University)
- NBA Finals, 2001
- X Games VII, 2001
- NBA All-Star Game, 2002
- X Games VIII, 2002
- WWE Royal Rumble, 2004
- The West Wing site for fictional Republican Convention, 2004–05 season
- AHL Calder Cup Finals, 2005
- NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, first and second rounds, 2006
- WWE Survivor Series, 2006
- American Idol auditions, 2007
- U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Gymnastics, 2008
- NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, first and second rounds, 2009
- WWE Night of Champions, 2009
- UFC 101, 2009
- NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, first and second rounds, sc
Union Bank - Enjoying Retirement
You may have retired, but your savings need to keep on working.
Union Center National Bank - Your Heart Smart Banker
Welcome to Union Center National Bank, New Jersey's leading financial institution and your
Welcome to Union Bank — your neighborhood bank since 1891.
UNION BANK SECURITY INVESTOR RELATIONS HOW TO CONTACT US. Open your checking account today and ... Forget your PIN? Login to UB VISA Card Center; We are a CDARS Participant
Union Bank - Certification Center
Certification as a Woman Business Enterprise (WBE) and/or Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) can open doors to lucrative government or large corporation contracts.
Union National Community Bank - Lancaster County, PA
Union National Community Bank services Lancaster County, PA. Branch offices located in Mount Joy, Columbia, Hempfield, Manheim, Elizabethtown, Maytown.
Union Center National Bank in Union, New Jersey (NJ) - Detailed ...
Union Center National Bank; General: FDIC Certificate #: 6431 Status: Active Federal Reserve ID: 29104 Bank Holding Company (Regulatory Top Holder): Center Bancorp, Inc. (RSSDID ...
Union Center National Bank - What does UCNB stand for? Acronyms and ...
Acronym Definition; UCNB: Union Center National Bank (Union, New Jersey) UCNB: United Communities National Bank (various locations)
UCNB
Acronym Finder: UCNB stands for Union Center National Bank (Union, New Jersey)
Union Center National Bank: Private Company Information - BusinessWeek
Get Union Center National Bank company research & investing information. Find executive management and the latest company developments.
Union Bank of California Center - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
901 Fifth Avenue (formally known as Union Bank of California Center) is a 536ft (163m) tall skyscraper in Seattle, Washington. It was completed in 1973 and has 42 floors.