March 12, 2020
Kate Frese/Kate Frese
The Flyers are currently schedule to play a pair of home games at the Wells Fargo Center this weekend, but that could change.
UPDATE [3:40 p.m.] — The Wells Fargo Center announced on Thursday afternoon that it would no longer be hosting any events for the remainder of the month as fears of the spreading coronavirus continue to grow. Here's the statement released by Comcast-Spectacor:
“In light of recent announcements made today, all Philadelphia Flyers, 76ers, and Wings games scheduled for the Wells Fargo Center are postponed until further notice. All other events scheduled through March 31 will be rescheduled.
"We recognize that fans and event-goers will have questions regarding their ticket purchases. We are asking fans to hold their tickets as we determine plans to reschedule events. We thank our fans for their patience and understanding during this time. We will continue to closely monitor the situation and will share information as it becomes available.”
Stay tuned...
While most people only think of the Wells Fargo Center as the arena where the Sixers and Flyers play, there are also many people who work there on a daily basis, including Comcast-Spectacor employees, some NBC Sports folks, and others.
On Thursday, the morning after the Sixers beat the Pistons in the last game before the NBA put its season on hold indefinitely due to coronavirus concerns, those workers were told to stay home while the arena underwent "extensive cleaning and sanitization."
The reason for the sudden cleaning could have to do with more than just the 20,000 fans in attendance on Wednesday night. The Pistons, who took the court in South Philly last night, were one of the teams told to self quarantine because they recently played against the Utah Jazz and Rudy Gobert, who tested positive for the coronavirus.
Here's the statement from Comcast-Spectacor:
“In light of the ongoing coronavirus situation and out of an abundance of caution, the Wells Fargo Center’s facilities are undergoing an extensive cleaning and sanitization on Thursday, March 12. To facilitate this, non-essential Wells Fargo Center employees are working from home today.
"Today’s Wells Fargo Center events will be rescheduled. Tickets will be honored for a later date or will be refunded at the point of purchase.
"The health and safety of our employees and guests is our highest priority. We will continue to closely monitor the coronavirus situation and will share information as it becomes available.”
The cleaning also means the cancellation of country music act Dan and Shay's concert that was scheduled for Thursday evening. Billie Eilish is scheduled to perform at the Wells Fargo Center on Friday night, but there's been no word yet on whether or not that will take place.
The Flyers are currently on the road with a game in Tampa on Thursday, assuming the NHL doesn't follow the NBA's lead and postpone its season as well — they've already cancelled morning skates and team meetings around the league. If they do play on, however, the Flyers would return home this weekend for a pair of games at the Wells Fargo Center. But it's beginning to feel less and less likely that those games will be played with fans, if at all.
Stay tuned...
Follow Matt on Twitter: @matt_mullin
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports
