Fusion Arena

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Fusion Arena
Fusion Arena.png
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Fusion Arena
Location in Philadelphia
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Fusion Arena
Location in Pennsylvania
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Red pog.svg
Fusion Arena
Location in the United States
Location Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Coordinates 39°54′13.0″N75°10′59.6″W / 39.903611°N 75.183222°W / 39.903611; -75.183222
Public transit BSicon SUBWAY.svg SEPTA.svg NRG station:
  Broad Street Line
Aiga bus trans.svg SEPTA.svg SEPTA bus: 4, 17
Owner Comcast Spectacor
Type Multi-purpose arena
Capacity 3,500 (planned) [1]
Construction
Broke groundSeptember 25, 2019 [2]
Opened2021 (planned)
Construction cost$50 million (planned) [1]
Architect Populous [1]
Project manager The Cordish Companies [3]
Tenants
Philadelphia Fusion (OWL)
Website
Official website

Fusion Arena was a planned multi-use facility located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Announced on March 25, 2019, the original plan for the venue was to be a dedicated esports arena as the home to the Philadelphia Fusion of the Overwatch League (OWL) within the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. It was originally planned to open prior to the 2021 OWL season.

Contents

After construction was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Comcast Spectacor, the arena's owner, shifted the arena's plan to a multi-use arena. In 2023, the Fusion relocated to Seoul, South Korea and became the Seoul Infernal; Comcast Spectacor later confirmed that the arena would no longer be built.

History

On December 12, 2018, the Overwatch League (OWL), an esports league based on Blizzard Entertainment's 2016 first-person shooter Overwatch, announced the addition of "Homestand Weeks," weeks of games played in cities other than Burbank, California, where all 2018 OWL games were played, for their second season as an effort to push the league towards a full home-and-away schedule. [4] On March 15, 2019, then-OWL commissioner Nate Nanzer tweeted that all teams would have home venues for the 2020 season. [5] [6] On March 25, Comcast Spectacor announced plans to build Fusion Arena, the "largest new-construction, purpose-built esports arena in the Western Hemisphere," adjacent to Xfinity Live!. [1] Fusion Arena was subsequently added to Comcast's $250 million "Transformation 2020" project, a project to renovate the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, which includes Xfinity Live!, Lincoln Financial Field, Wells Fargo Center, Citizens Bank Park, and the surrounding area. [7]

A groundbreaking ceremony was held on September 25, days before the 2019 Overwatch League Grand Finals took place at the Wells Fargo Center. [2] OWL commissioner Pete Vlastelica, Philadelphia mayor Jim Kenney, Fusion players and representatives of Comcast Spectacor participated in the ceremony. [8]

On September 21, 2020, Comcast Spectacor announced a pause in construction caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and that the opening of the arena would likely be delayed. [9] In June 2022, Philadelphia Business Journal reported that Comcast Spectacor changed its plans from having it be a dedicated esports arena into a multi-use facility. [10]

On December 30, 2022, Comcast Spectacor announced that the Fusion would be relocated to Seoul, South Korea, ahead of the 2023 Overwatch League season and rebranding as the Seoul Infernal. A company spokesperson later confirmed that Fusion Arena would not be built and would be replaced by a smaller multipurpose venue. [11]

In February 2024, the South Philadelphia Sports Complex announced its revised renovation plans, with the Fusion Arena being replaced by a 5,000 square feet (460 m2), 5,000 seat concert venue. [12]

Planning and design

Conceptual images for Fusion Arena were released on March 25, 2019. [1] The 60,000-square-foot (5,600 m2) arena will be built on 47 acres (19 ha) next to Xfinity Live! on 11th Street in the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. [13] The arena will be constructed by Populous. [7] The arena will have two balcony bars, seats with USB ports, boxes and suites. It is expected to hold 3,500 people. 10,000 square feet (930 m2) will be used for a training facility, broadcast studio and team offices. [7]

Related Research Articles

Comcast Spectacor is an American sports and entertainment company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It owns the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League, the Maine Mariners of the ECHL, the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League, the Seoul Infernal of the Overwatch League, and formerly owned the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association. The company owns and manages the Wells Fargo Center and formerly managed the Spectrum in South Philadelphia, plus several community skating rinks in the Philadelphia region. The Comcast SportsNet (CSN) regional sports networks were also owned by Comcast Spectacor prior to parent company Comcast's acquisition of NBCUniversal in January 2011; CSN is now operated through NBC Sports.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seoul Infernal</span> American professional esports team

Seoul Infernal is a professional Overwatch esports team based in Seoul, South Korea. The Infernal compete in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's East region. Founded in 2017 as the Philadelphia Fusion, it is one of the league's twelve founding members and was the first professional esports team based in Pennsylvania. The team is owned by Comcast Spectacor, who also own the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). It also manages Fusion University and T1, academy teams for the Infernal that compete in Overwatch Contenders.

The 2019 Overwatch League season was the second season of the Overwatch League (OWL), an esport based on the video game Overwatch. The league expanded from 12 teams from the inaugural season to 20 teams. Of the eight new teams, two were from the United States, two were from Canada, one was from France, and three were from China.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Overwatch League Grand Finals</span> 2019 Overwatch League championship match

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Comcast Spectacor, The Cordish Companies Announce Next-Gen Esports Arena for Philadelphia". Comcast Corporate. March 25, 2019. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  2. 1 2 "Officials Break Ground On Historic New Fusion Arena In South Philadelphia". KYW-TV. September 25, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  3. ↑ "Fusion Arena". The Cordish Companies. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  4. ↑ "Overwatch League's 2019 Schedule Reveals Home Games for Dallas, Atlanta, and L.A." Dot Esports. December 12, 2018. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  5. ↑ Nanzer, Nate (March 15, 2019). "The @overwatchleague is coming home - and away! Starting in 2020, all Overwatch League teams will be playing in their home cities. We're super excited to see our original vision brought to life. Thanks to all of our fans for your amazing support!". Twitter. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  6. ↑ "Overwatch League teams moving to home cities in 2020". Dot Esports. March 15, 2019. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  7. 1 2 3 Kern, Reina (March 25, 2019). "Newest Esports arena to become the home of the Philadelphia Fusion". NBC Sports Philadelphia. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  8. ↑ Wolf, Jacob (September 25, 2019). "Ground broken for new Fusion Arena in Philadelphia, set to open in 2021". ESPN . Retrieved September 26, 2019.
  9. ↑ "Philly esports arena construction delayed by COVID-19". Reuters. September 21, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  10. ↑ Hitt, Kevin (June 1, 2022). "Comcast Spectacor's Fusion Arena in South Philadelphia pivots from esports venue to multi-use facility". Philadelphia Business Journal . Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  11. ↑ Tornoe, Rob (December 30, 2022). "Comcast Spectacor to move Philadelphia Fusion to South Korea, rename Overwatch League team". Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on January 19, 2023. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  12. ↑ Grassi, Emily Rose; McGirl, Siobhan (February 28, 2024). "Check it out: $2.5B transformation coming to South Philly Sports Complex". NBC10 Philadelphia. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  13. ↑ "Comcast Spectacor to build $50M arena for Fusion". ESPN.com. March 25, 2019. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
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