Renovations have been ongoing at Wells Fargo Center this summer, and when the Flyers host the Islanders for a preseason game Sept. 17, fans will see "corridors doubled in width, providing an exponential increase in food and drink choices, many from Philadelphia's restaurant and craft beer scene," according to Sam Donnellon of the PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER. There also are "gray seats throughout, replacing the red scheme that was carried over from the Spectrum 22 years ago." This summer's upgrades "built upon last summer's upgrades, and further upgrades are due next summer." The jewels of the redesign are the "opened ends of the arena," which will "offer a more expansive viewing concept, the sound and lighting systems that will transform the acoustics and visuals, and finally the glass windows that will both dramatically change the façade and provide a view of the expanding city skyline." Wells Fargo Center VP/Operations Phil Laws has "overseen the ambitious rebuilding" of the facility that began two summers ago and will cost in excess of $250M by the summer of '20. That year, the top rung of the building will be turned into a "millennial-oriented meet-and-eat." Laws said, "I don't know if you could do a project like this 30 years ago the way we're doing it. The pace of everything is different now, like any business. Just managing the supplies, the just-in-time deliveries. We can't have 500 yards of pipe laying around the day you're putting on a concert. We have to get it only at the point we need it" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 8/28).
