Wells Fargo Center

Comcast-Spectacor, owner and operator of the Wachovia Center, is changing the name of the 21,000-seat home of the Flyers and 76ers, to the Wells Fargo Center, effective immediately, to reflect the name change in the financial institutions, it was announced Tuesday by Comcast-Spectacor President Peter Luukko. "As the owner and operator of the arena, Comcast-Spectacor is honoring the contract as it was agreed upon with the bank that the successor shall keep the naming rights of the facility," said Luukko.

With the turn of the calendar from June 30 to July 1 yesterday, the Wachovia Center has become the Wells Fargo Center with the start of the new fiscal year. Wachovia, which owned the building's naming rights, was bought out by Wells Fargo Corporation effective Dec. 31, 2008. Wells Fargo now holds the naming rights at a reported cost of $1.4 million per year until the contract expires on June 30, 2023. No signage has been replaced in the building, which will publicly undergo its fourth name change transition this fall before the Flyers and 76ers begin their seasons in October.

PROMINENT AREA businessman Marty Judge has been the driving force behind a unique Army-Navy indoor football game for veterans that will be played June 22 after the Soul's game at the Wells Fargo Center. The purpose of the game is to bring attention to the difficulties members of the armed services have trying to re-enter the workforce. Judge also is a part owner of the Soul. Former Navy quarterback Ricky Dobbs already has promised his support. There will be tryouts leading up to the game, including this Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center.

LEGENDARY BOXER Joe Frazier will lie in state tomorrow and Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center, a source confirmed to the Daily News. Fans may pay their respects to the former champion, who died Monday of liver cancer at age 67, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. tomorrow and from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. "This will be an opportunity for his many fans, supporters and boxing lovers from around the world to pay their final respects to Joe Frazier," his family said in a release. A memorial service will be 11 a.m. Monday at Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church, 2800 W. Cheltenham Ave., where a viewing will be held at 9 a.m. Donations in his memory may be sent to the American Cancer Society, 8400 Silver Crossing, Oklahoma City, Okla.

Mother Mary Phresh Out the Runaway Birthday Cake Talk That Talk Pour It Up Cockiness (Love It) Numb You Da One Man Down Rude Boy What's My Name Jump Umbrella All of the Lights Rockstar 101 What Now Loveeeeeee Song Love the Way You Lie Take a Bow Cold Case Love We Found Love S&M Only Girl Don't Stop the Music Where Have You Been Stay Diamonds ...

ALL OF A SUDDEN, the Wells Fargo Center has become an available venue. With the NBA canceling the first 2 weeks of the regular season over the lack of a collective bargaining agreement, with possibly more to follow, there will be some free time between Flyers home games and concerts there. Yesterday, Comcast-Spectacor president and chief operating officer Peter Luukko outlined what the building's future may hold. "We remain optimistic that we will have an NBA season," Luukko said in a statement.

Villanova announced Wednesday that the men's basketball team will play three of its 2012-13 home games at the Wells Fargo Center, all against Big East opposition. The Wildcats will play Louisville on Jan. 22 and Syracuse on Jan. 26 in South Philadelphia. They will return to the Wells Fargo Center on March 6, when they close their regular season against Georgetown. With the Wells Fargo Center hosting second- and third-round games in the 2013 NCAA tournament, Villanova is limited to three regular-season games there if it wishes to remain eligible to be placed in Philadelphia by the committee in charge of selecting teams and placing them at the various locations.

Villanova has expanded its presence at the Wells Fargo Center this season, opting this time not to wait until the new year when the Big East schedule is in full swing to make its first trek to South Philadelphia. The 10th-ranked Wildcats (8-1) take on Delaware (5-2) Saturday night in their first of what will be seven games at the center. "I like it," Villanova coach Jay Wright said. "I know our guys like playing down there. It's a great atmosphere. "It's good that we get to play there in December.

Villanova's basketball team, which opens the season at the Pavilion against Bucknell on Nov. 12, will play seven times at the Wells Fargo Center, including five Big East games. That would be the most games the Wildcats will have taken to South Philadelphia in one winter. They're going off campus to host conference opponents Louisville (Jan. 12), Georgetown (Jan. 29), West Virginia (Feb. 5), Syracuse (Feb. 21) and St. John's (Feb. 26). Delaware (Dec. 18) and Maryland (Jan. 15) will also make play at the Wells Fargo Center.

THE SOUL seems to be more comfortable on the road than a fleet of truck drivers. After being upset in May by lowly Pittsburgh at the Wells Fargo Center, the Soul returned the favor by thumping the host Power, 59-21, on Saturday at the Consol Energy Center. Philadelphia set a team record for fewest points allowed and improved to 7-5. The Soul is 5-1 away from home. "This is the time of year when you have to get on a roll and start stringing wins together," coach Clint Dolezel said.

Today on PhillyDailyNews.com : Check out a full photo gallery of the boy bands coming to Philly this summer, reaction from social media, plus a Spotify playlist. LOOK WHO'S BACK on tour this summer! New Kids on the Block. The Backstreet Boys. 98 Degrees. Boyz II Men. Even the Monkees. All started as well-scrubbed, adorable and energetic, young, pop-harmony groups - a/k/a/ boy bands - expected to last only a lunchtime. But, oh, nostalgia lovers, look at them now! Historically, most of these cutie-pies were packaged by corporate entities at casting calls.

* The Package Tour, with New Kids on the Block, Boyz II Men and 98 Degrees, Wells Fargo Center, 3601 S. Broad St., 7:30 p.m. Saturday, $92.50-$20, 800-298-4200, comcastTIX.com. * The Rolling Stones with "surprise" guest, Wells Fargo Center, 3601 S. Broad St. 8 p.m. Tuesday and June 21, $597-$67. 800-298-4200, comcastTIX.com. (Note: Watch for last-minute ticket availability at reduced cost, the concert promoters' new "dynamic pricing" strategy.) * One Direction, Wells Fargo Center, 3601 S. Broad St., 7:30 p.m. June 25, sold out, but tickets available from secondary market.

The Soul maintained their recent dominance over the punchless New Orleans VooDoo (four straight wins coming into Saturday night's game at the Wells Fargo Center), but had to rally to do so. After trailing for much of the game, the Soul finally went ahead on a Derrick Ross 1-yard touchdown plunge with 5 seconds remaining to beat the 2-9 VooDoo, 65-56. The inspired VooDoo, who the previous week beat the Cleveland Gladiators, 69-40, ran off to a 14-7 lead in the first quarter and then tried to hold off the Soul, who narrowed the gap to 49-48 to start the fourth quarter.

In a move to reposition the Convention Center amid fierce competition, the board of the troubled facility voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to privatize a range of management functions and hire an outside firm to lead it. The board also voted, 13-2, to hire SMG, a West Conshohocken-based management group that runs arenas and other large facilities in the United States and overseas. The board selected SMG over Global Spectrum, a unit of Comcast-Spectacor. The decisions leave unanswered what role the Convention Center's current president and chief executive, Ahmeenah Young, will have under the new management structure, said Board Chairman Gregory J. Fox. In other cities, such as Chicago, where SMG now directs the convention center, the authority's CEO was retained and works closely with SMG. "I am thrilled that the board today has embraced a bold and bright future for the Convention Center, born of a new management model that sets the stage for future improvements," Fox said after the board voted 12-3 to privatize and before selecting SMG. "It's a willingness to depart from the past and embrace the future.

THE SOUL lost a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter and fell to the Arizona Rattlers, 64-57, at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday night. The Rattlers (10-1) were last week's top-ranked Arena team in a coaches' poll. The Soul dropped to 5-5. "We did a lot of good things today both offensively and defensively," Soul coach Clint Dolezel said. "I'm proud of my team. They fought back and did everything they could. I'm proud of my team as a whole and I know we did a good job today.

The Roots Picnic is this weekend, which means the summer music season in the Philadelphia region is about to get underway in earnest. The selections highlighted here only begin to touch on the range of activity between now and Labor Day, outdoors and in, on a grand and intimate scale. In the oversize category, there's pop country's Kenny Chesney, coming to Lincoln Financial Field on June 8 with a compelling undercard that includes Eric Church and Kacey Musgraves. The Mann Center for the Performing Arts has the National and Dirty Projectors on June 7, Belle & Sebastian and Yo La Tengo on the Skyline stage on July 10, and New Order on July 26. Delbert McClinton plays the Keswick Theatre in Glenside on June 15 and Buddy Guy is there on July 30. Last summer's addition to the local scene, Morgan's Pier, is back with a winning schedule of indie bands and DJs, with We Were Promised Jetpacks on June 12, Dmitri From Paris on June 15, James Murphy on July 6, and Parquet Courts on July 24. Union Transfer hosts Tricky on June 11, Quadron on June 16, Savages on July 14, and El-P and Killer Mike as coheadliners on Aug. 12.   Roots Picnic You know this year's Roots Picnic lineup is money because there are two acts on the undercard with dollar signs in their names.

Saturday at 4 p.m., Wells Fargo Center TV: The Comcast Network (8:30 p.m., tape). Records: Soul, 5-4; Rattlers, 9-1. About the Soul: They will try for their third win in a row in a rematch of ArenaBowl XXV, which was won by Arizona, 72-54. . . . Soul defensive lineman Bryan Robinson is No. 1 in the Arena Football League with 121/2 tackles for loss and second with 71/2 sacks. . . . Robinson has six sacks in his last four games. . . . The offense leads the AFL with an average of 311.4 yards per game.

The Philadelphia Soul host Daddy-Daughter Night on Saturday with a free postgame concert featuring performances by Disney television and music stars. The Soul vs. the Arizona Rattlers arena football game, a rematch of Arena Bowl XXV, begins at 4:05 p.m. About 7 there will be a 90-minute postgame concert with Disney network's Caroline Sunshine and RoShon Fegan from the show Shake It Up. Boy group IM5 will also perform. Concert host for the evening will be Sierra McCormick from Disney's A.N.T.

YOU CAN'T ALWAYS GET what you want, but WMGK's John DeBella thinks he knows what the Philadelphia Boys Choir needs. The mustachioed morning-radio host thinks the Rolling Stones should invite the Philadelphia Boys Choir onstage when they play the Wells Fargo Center on June 18 and 21. (Tickets are still available for the "50 and Counting" tour at ComcastTIX.com.) The Philadelphia Boys Choir is "an untapped gem in this city. It's crazy we have this world-class choir that people don't know exists," DeBella told me, adding he ran it by Stones keyboardist Chuck Leavell when he visited his show.