A couple of years ago, Christine Mina started talks to bring the Wells Fargo Center's team merchandise more in-house while giving the arena something all its own.
This season, for the Flyers and Sixers, the jerseys, hats, and league-designed shirts and hoodies will be there in the team stores and merch stands just like they've always have, but there's going to be more variety to it, too, with new, specially-designed items that run the spectrum between sleeker lifestyle fits and nostalgic fan favorites.
The hope, Mina said during an arena preview event last week, is that by turning the Wells Fargo Center's efforts inward for what its teams could design and rollout, they'd not only be able to cater to more fans coming in, but do it in different ways, too.
"You'll see a lot more lifestyle options," said Mina, the Wells Fargo Center's Senior VP of Marketing. "There's a lot more women's offerings, a lot more children's offerings. You still have your classic jerseys, T-shirts, everything that a fan wants on game day, but there are a lot of new options that can show your fandom in your everyday life – a little bit more of a trendy fashion-forward way."
To get the ball rolling on that initiative, Adrienne Briones-Carlson was brought on as the Wells Fargo Center's Vice President of Retail in the summer of 2023 – bringing in over 20 years of experience leading notable brands like Lululemon and Banana Republic – and development commenced over the next calendar year.
They reached out to other brands to help, too, ranging from Line Change (a women's hockey clothing line started by Angela Price and Julie Petry in Montreal), Travis Matthew, Sport Design Sweden, Pro Standard, '47 Brand, and Mitchell and Ness right in Philadelphia's own backyard to create something unique and different for the Flyers and Sixers – former Flyer Ville Leino's fashion company Billebeino, which was brought to the arena a couple of years ago and has since been worn frequently by current Flyers players, factors into that as well.
The goal was to keep to each team's respective identity with the new items, but not necessarily in a way that blasts full orange or blue.
Wells Fargo Center / Comcast Spectacor/for PhillyVoice
A couple of the Wells Fargo Center-exclusive Sixers jackets that will be available this year.
"It's a way to expand your expression and your creativity," Mina said. "But also something that's more aesthetic for your everyday life. Sometimes you don't want to walk into work in a giant orange sweatshirt. That's okay. You want to be in gray or beige or black and still show your fandom, but in something that's maybe a little bit more your everyday personality."
"We really worked on exclusivity, too," Briones-Carlson added, noting that of all the new items they're set to release, part of it is having the buzz that you can only get it at the Wells Fargo Center.
What '47 Brand and Mitchell and Ness brought to the table, for example, will only be found at the arena, and the Billebeino tracksuits that the Flyers wore out to their opening games in Western Canada this past week, it's the same deal – with the idea that what the players wear off the ice can be found for fans in the exact same place they play.
"We want to match it here," Briones-Carlson said. "Because we do have that appetite for our fans."
Both the old and the new.
With its introduction of arena-exclusive apparel lines, the Wells Fargo Center will also be opening up two new shops on the main concourse to help in the approach.
Threads will be the new shop on the 11th Street side of the main concourse and will focus on the fashion-forward items.
The Vault on the Broad Street side will be the throwback specialty store, offering vintage designs and wears that tap into the Sixers' and Flyers' storied pasts.
"It's where we get to have a little fun," Briones-Carlson said of the contrast between the two stores, acknowledging that there's always a line to walk between appealing to the old and the new. "We're mindful of both."
Wells Fargo Center / Comcast Spectacor/for PhillyVoice
The Threads store on the 11th Street side of the Wells Fargo Center.
Follow Nick on Twitter: @itssnick
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports
