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| Formerly | Spectacor (1974–1996) |
|---|---|
| Company type | Division |
| Industry | Professional sports |
| Founded | 1974; 51 years ago (1974) |
| Founder | Ed Snider |
| Headquarters | , U.S. |
Key people |
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| Parent | Comcast (1996–present) |
| Subsidiaries | |
| Website | comcastspectacor |
Comcast Spectacor is an American sports and entertainment company and division ofComcast based inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania. It owns thePhiladelphia Flyers of theNational Hockey League, thePhiladelphia Wings of theNational Lacrosse League, theSeoul Infernal[1] of theOverwatch League, and formerly owned thePhiladelphia 76ers of theNational Basketball Association and theMaine Mariners of theECHL. The company owns and manages theXfinity Mobile Arena and formerly managed theSpectrum in South Philadelphia, plus several community skating rinks in the Philadelphia region. TheComcast SportsNet (CSN) regional sports networks were also owned by Comcast Spectacor prior to parent company Comcast'sacquisition ofNBCUniversal in January 2011; CSN is now operated throughNBC Sports.
The company was formed in 1974 by Flyers founder and chairmanEd Snider asSpectacor, the parent company of both the Flyers and the Spectrum. Snider had been instrumental in getting the Spectrum built in 1967 and assumed control of the arena in 1971. He sold a 63% stake in Spectacor toComcast in 1996 but remained as chairman of the renamed Comcast Spectacor. Shortly afterward, Comcast Spectacor bought the 76ers; as the Spectrum's owner, Snider had been the Sixers' landlord since 1971. Comcast Spectacor sold the 76ers toJosh Harris in 2011. In April 2016, Snider died at his home in California. On September 22, 2016, Comcast bought out the remaining 24% stake in Spectacor that it did not already own.[2]
Comcast Spectacor previously owned Spectra (formerly Global Spectrum, Ovations and Paciolan). Globally, Spectra served 300-plus clients at more than 400 properties including public assembly facilities throughout theUnited States andCanada. Some included:[3]
In August 2021, it was announced that Spectra would be merging withOak View Group to form a full-service live events company.[4] That November, Oak View acquired Comcast's stake in the business, which it has since folded into its holdings.[5]
Comcast Spectacor owns Ovations Food Services, which provides food and beverage services to arenas, stadiums,amphitheaters, fairgrounds and convention centers throughout the United States. The roots of the name Ovations go back to a restaurant in theSpectrum, which was located below the concourse.[citation needed]
New Era Tickets is the full-service ticketing subsidiary of Comcast Spectacor, and provides in-house ticketing in the US and Canada. In Philadelphia, the company operates under the nameComcastTIX and provides tickets to events at Xfinity Mobile Arena,Liacouras Center atTemple University,CURE Insurance Arena inTrenton, New Jersey, and theBorgata Hotel Casino and Spa inAtlantic City, New Jersey.
Comcast Spectacor owned theSeoul Infernal, anOverwatch League team formerly known as the Philadelphia Fusion, until the closure of the Overwatch League. The organization partnered withSK Telecom to establish a joint venture withT1 Entertainment & Sports to develop esports teams around the world; Comcast Spectacor currently owns a 32% stake.[6][7]
Comcast Spectacor also oversaw the second iteration ofG4, a formervideo game-centric cable and satellite network that was operated byG4 Media from April 24, 2002, to December 31, 2014. The network was relaunched in November 2021 and shuttered in November of the following year.[8][9]
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