The 76ers select an architect for their new arena in South Philadelphia
The team is the same as the one selected to design the abandoned Center City arena.
The Philadelphia 76ers and Comcast Spectacor have selected an architecture firm to design their new South Philadelphia stadium, the first public steps for the project since the team’s contentious Center City proposal was withdrawn earlier this year.
The partners have chosen Populous, a global arena design firm, to craft the plans for the new South Philadelphia stadium. They will be partnering with architecture firm Moody Nolan, which has an office on Market Street.
The 76ers previously selected those two firms to design their abandoned Center City arena plans.
“Our goal has always been clear — to bring the world’s greatest sports and entertainment venue to the City of Philadelphia,” said David Adelman, who led the charge for Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment’s (HBSE) Center City arena and is now chairman of the joint venture between the Sixers ownership and Comcast Spectacor.
“Populous and Moody Nolan will leverage their collective expertise to help design a best-in-class fan experience with an emphasis on sustainability and multifunctional use,” Adelman said in a statement.
Populous employs 1,500 people across four continents, according to its website, and is responsible for stadiums and venues ranging from the Sphere in Las Vegas to the forthcoming Aramco Stadium in Saudi Arabia, which is designed to host high-end soccer matches. Under an earlier name, the firm designed the Baltimore Orioles’ Camden Yards.
Populous has extensive experience designing NBA arenas and also has master-planned several mixed-use sports and entertainment zones in locales like Seattle and Oklahoma City. Comcast Spectacor has announced plans to fill the vast ocean of surface parking lots around the South Philadelphia stadium district with apartments, hotels, restaurants, and bars, but details are scarce.
In 2022, the Philadelphia 76ers embarked on a quest to split from Comcast Spectacor, owner of the Wells Fargo Center where the Sixers and Flyers currently play, and establish sole ownership of a new arena on Center City’s East Market Street.
The conceptual design of the proposed venue was done by Gensler, but Populous and Moody Nolan won the contest for the final design. That arrangement held even after the East Market proposal fell apart mere weeks after City Council passed highly contentious enabling legislation.
Little has been heard about the new South Philadelphia arena proposal since those dramatic January days, but the 76ers say the new arena will be open for the 2031 season.