Bruce Springsteen rocked the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on Wednesday night and ticket holders to the Boss' show were also treated to a pre/post concert opportunity to experience XFINITY Live! before its grand opening party on Friday night. We were among the thousands of fans who got to take in the new venue on Pattison Avenue. Here are a few random observations.
This isn't a review, by any means, because I didn't get to experience the whole venue. Just a few random thoughts.
-The job they've done with the space is impressive. While I had zero expectations as to what to expect, the outdoor spaces at Victory Beer Hall and the PBR Grill are the kind of places you'll look forward to meeting your friends at before/after a game during the summer. The fire pits were a nice touch.
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-Victory Beer Hall's selection is legit and a craft beer runs about $6, I believe -- about the same as most bars in the city. Not only do they have all of Victory's beers but also plenty of other brewery's like Dogfish Head and Troegs among many others. The pretzels were tasty.
-The NBC Sports Arena has a Vegas sports book feel to it, which I think makes for a great atmosphere to watch a game.
-The old Spectrum memories were kept alive in some really nice touches. The Mitchell and Ness store uses the actual boards from the Flyers days at America's Show Place.
-The Dr. J statue is prominently placed on the walk up to the venue.
-The band stage outside is pretty nice and could be very cool if they get bands like the B-Street band that played last night on a regular basis.
-It's hard not to stare. The waitresses/dancers at the PBR Grill are in fact very scantily clad.
-We didn't even really get to see the Spectrum Grille or the Broad Street Bullies Pub.
-McFadden's at the Ball Park and Chickie's and Pete's around the corner can't be too happy about it.
-I want to go back again to check the rest of it out.
My prediction: the debate about where to go before/after a game to meet up with your friends will now only take 10 seconds. You're going to meet at XFINITY Live! for a couple of beers and take the night from there.
You can see more photos of the venue from last night here.