The city of Philadelphia’s vaccination policies are requiring proof of vaccination upon entering the Wells Fargo Center, starting after the new year. This new policy will be in effect for all WFC events, including Flyers games.
Here is the official statement from the Wells Fargo Center website:
“Effective January 3, in compliance with the city of Philadelphia’s policies, all guests and arena employees are required to show proof of vaccination in order to enter the arena. Until January 17, guests also have the option to present proof of a negative test to enter the arena. Children between 5-12 must have at least one vaccine shot by January 17 in order to enter the building and must be fully vaccinated by February 3 to enter. Also in compliance with the city of Philadelphia’s policies, all guests and employees are still required to wear a mask while inside Wells Fargo Center, except while actively eating or drinking.”
Again, just to be clear, this requirement is coming from the city of Philadelphia, not the WFC, Comcast or the Flyers themselves. On top of the new vaccination requirements, the mask mandate is also still in effect, requiring all fans in attendance to wear a mask unless they are actively eating or drinking. And if for some reason someone doesn’t want to show their vaccine card or they aren’t vaccinated yet, they can still provide a negative test to enter until January 17th.
The mask mandate was not heavily enforced in the Wells Fargo Center, with most people taking them off the second they cleared security, so this policy change could have something to do with that. With widely ranging and polarizing opinions on these topics, it will be interesting to see the response from Flyers fans, as well as Sixers fans, concert-goers, and everyone in between.
But at the end of the day, this policy was made with the intent to protect as many people as possible, while still allowing us to watch our favorite teams play. Personally, I think it’s a solid move and have no issue showing my vaccination card to keep others safe.
