PPL Center
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| Location | 701 Hamilton Street, Allentown, Pennsylvania 18101 |
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| Coordinates | 40°36′9″N 75°28′22″W / 40.60250°N 75.47278°WCoordinates: 40°36′9″N 75°28′22″W / 40.60250°N 75.47278°W |
| Owner | City of Allentown |
| Operator | Global Spectrum |
| Capacity | 8,420; 9,046 with standing room (Hockey) 10,500 (Concerts) 8,500 (Football) unknown (Basketball) |
| Surface | Multi-surface |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | January 3, 2012 (site demolition) November 29, 2012 (official) |
| Opened | September 10, 2014 |
| Construction cost | $191.4 million ($282 million total project) |
| Architect | Sink Combs Dethlefs Elkus Manfredi Architects |
| Project manager | Hammes Company Sports Development, Inc. |
| Structural engineer | Martin/Martin, Inc. |
| Services engineer | M–E Engineers, Inc. |
| General contractor | Alvin H. Butz Jr. |
| Tenants | |
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Lehigh Valley Phantoms (AHL) (2014–present) Lehigh Valley Steelhawks (NAL) (2015–present) Philadelphia Soul (AFL) (2016) (late season and playoffs) |
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PPL Center is a sports arena in Allentown, Pennsylvania that opened on September 10, 2014. Its naming rights are owned by the PPL Corporation, which is headquartered in Allentown. PPL paid an undisclosed sum over 10 years.
The arena is part of a larger redevelopment project of the central business district of Allentown. The project encompasses a 5-acre square block area, in which several new structures are planned to be erected: Part of the arena site was previously developed in the 1980s as an office building called Corporate Plaza; shortly after opening, on February 23, 1994, it collapsed into a sinkhole, due to limestone in the ground and the decision to not place the building on a concrete pad, but rather on spread footings; the plaza was imploded on March 19 of that year. Inside the arena will be a new ground-floor studio that will house WFMZ-TV's news operation.
Rebuilding an arena on the site of the Spectrum in Philadelphia was rejected in favor of the more profitable Xfinity Live! project and a new 180-room Renaissance by Marriott hotel. The competition to build a new arena for the Phantoms in 2008 was primarily between Allentown and Camden, New Jersey. While Camden was closer, Allentown had a more elaborate proposal which helped secure Allentown's bid for the team.
Plans to build the PPL Center at the corner of 7th and Hamilton Streets in downtown Allentown were announced in late 2009. For much of 2009 and 2010, the focus of the project was on securing funding. The project took a major leap forward in 2011, when several properties were purchased by the city to help clear the way for the project to begin. By the end of January 2012, all of the properties had been purchased with final demolition of all buildings occurring in early February 2012.
The arena plays host to two local minor league sports teams, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the American Hockey League and the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks of indoor football's National Arena League. It also served as the site for the last remaining home games and two home playoff games for the Arena Football League's Philadelphia Soul due to the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia hosting the Democratic National Convention in 2016. The arena hosted a NHL preseason game between the Phantoms' NHL affiliate, the Philadelphia Flyers, and the New Jersey Devils on September 28th, 2016.
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