Car? Train? Foot? Sixers fans say getting to the games could change for them at a new arena

Sixers fans Maura Gallagher and Marilyn Candeloro used to take the subway to games at the Wells Fargo Center, but since the pandemic hit, they get there one way and one way only.

They drive.

The trip from their Kingsessing home in Southwest Philadelphia is quick and cheap, and there’s plenty of parking at the arena.

Definitely, traffic clogs at the final buzzer when everyone leaves at once, said the spouses, both 38. But most cars turn onto Interstates 95 or 76, leaving them a clear lane heading north on Broad Street.

“It’s so easy,” Gallagher said.

They hope the construction of a new downtown arena — if it happens — won’t force them back to public transit.

Other fans say they’re ready for what comes.

“I’m very excited about the new arena,” said Lauren Gordon, 53, a season-ticket holder who in 2019 was named “Fan of the Year” by FanSided sports website. “I embrace change.”

She plans to drive to the new venue from her home in Norristown, the same as she drives to the South Philadelphia arena now. If Center City parking and traffic prove onerous, she’ll try public transit.

The important thing is being there, she said.

Of course, no one likes the traffic jams that bloom outside the Wells Fargo Center on game nights.

Arena owner Comcast Spectacor said it’s working on improvements, including a multilane parking system at the Broad Street entrances. That’s expected to ease cars’ entry by increasing the number of sale points from eight to 24.

“I bleed 76ers,” said Anne Koons, 70, who has rarely missed a home game in nearly 30 years and is a familiar TV presence behind the team bench. But she thinks 10th and Market is a poor choice for a stadium site.

She drives to the games from her home in Voorhees — and groans at the prospect of taking public transit to a new arena downtown, doubting its reliability, safety, and convenience.

To take PATCO from South Jersey to Center City, she would first have to drive 15 minutes to Woodcrest Station. At that point she’s almost to I-295, she said, so why not just keep driving?

The Sixers plan a public-transit heavy, $1.3 billion showplace, built atop Jefferson Station. That would presumably boost a SEPTA system that’s endured heavy declines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In February overall SEPTA ridership was 55% of what it was in February 2020. Meanwhile, crime has become a major worry.

Season-ticket holder Mike Perkel rides the subway to games at least half the time, appreciating the quick trip from his home near the Italian Market in South Philadelphia.

“The Broad Street Line is so convenient,” he said. “It leaves you 30 seconds away from the entrance to the Wells Fargo Center. There’s something about being on the subway to a game, especially a playoff game, that really puts the fire in your belly.”

At the same time, said Perkel, 34, crime concerns helped cause him to drive more often. He’s seen fights. He’s seen people using drugs.

“When I go to the games with my girlfriend,” he said, “I have my head on a swivel.”

If he’s living in the suburbs in 2031, when a new arena would open, he figures he’ll take SEPTA Regional Rail to the games. If he’s still in the city, he’ll likely walk the 12 blocks.

Fan Stephen Chapman, 41, said how he gets to the games depends on his departure point. If he’s coming from his Gloucester County home, he drives on I-295 to the Walt Whitman Bridge to Packer Avenue.

That’s the easy part, he said.

From there it can take 30 to 60 minutes to get through traffic and into the parking lot. And it can be the same getting out to go home. He tries to park near an exit, then hurries to his car at the final buzzer.

“The congestion is ridiculous,” he said. “I hate it.”

For him, Chapman said, a downtown venue could turn out to be more convenient, because he works in Center City. So for some games he’ll have already parked his car that morning and can walk to the arena.

Gallagher and Candeloro used to drive to Snyder Station, park, then climb aboard the Broad Street Line and speed south. That changed when the pandemic made it unsafe to be in crowds. And now the subway itself can feel risky, they said.

They may be forced back to transit if downtown arena parking becomes difficult and expensive. But they hope not.

“The location now,” Gallagher said, “is so easy to get to.”