Wells Fargo Won’t Renew Naming Rights on Philadelphia Sports Arena

The Wells Fargo Center sports arena in Philadelphia will have a new name late next year.

The bank’s naming rights contract with the arena expires in August 2025, and Wells Fargo will not review it, Bloomberg reported Wednesday (July 24).

“Wells Fargo regularly reviews and adjusts our overall sponsorship strategy,” the bank said in the report. “As such, we have made the business decision not to renew the naming rights contract to the Wells Fargo Center.”

The bank acquired the sponsorship as part of its merger with Wachovia bank a decade ago, according to the report.

Wells Fargo has ended some other sponsorships as well. Last year, it took its name off a PGA Tour event. This year, it did the same with an office tower in Jacksonville, Florida, the report said.

The Wells Fargo Center, which is the home of the Flyers hockey team and the 76ers basketball team, is owned by media and telecom giant Comcast, per the report.

“We are grateful for our long-standing relationship with Wells Fargo and look forward to working with a new partner as we continue to bring the best sports and entertainment experience to fans in the Philadelphia region,” Comcast’s Spectacor unit said in the report.

This report comes at a time when Wells Fargo, like other financial institutions, is navigating an ongoing digital shift and a challenging macro environment.

During a July 12 earnings call, Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf said: “Our efforts to transform Wells Fargo were reflected in our second quarter financial performance. However, the economy is slowing and there are continued headwinds from still elevated inflation.”

In terms of consumer spending and credit trends, Wells Fargo also said that it has seen improvements in the metrics on card performance that have come in tandem with credit tightening.

The bank’s 30-plus-day delinquency rate for the card segment was 2.7% in the June period, where that rate had been 2.3% a year ago. It moved downward from the 2.9% rate logged in the first quarter.