Wilmington's 76ers Fieldhouse to also host 3,000-person concerts, making it biggest venue in city

The new 76ers Fieldhouse in Wilmington is more than just an indoor arena for the Philadelphia 76ers' G League team, now known as the Delaware Blue Coats.

When it officially opens for the first Blue Coats game Jan. 23, it will also instantly become the largest concert venue in Delaware's biggest city.

While the Blue Coats and 76ers Fieldhouse-builders BPG|SPORTS weren't necessarily thinking of rock 'n' roll when conceiving the space, that's what's on deck.

VPM Events, the concert producers behind annual Wilmington fests such as Bromberg’s Big Noise Music Festival and People's Festival, approached them several months back with an idea: host major concerts by national acts.

The first concert is already booked at the shimmering $30 million field house.

Veteran Maryland-based alternative rock band O.A.R. will team up with New York pop act Val Astaire and another to-be-announced opening act for the field house's first show on Saturday, Feb. 16.

It is sponsored by WSTW 93.7-FM and has been dubbed "Snow Jam." Tickets ($25-$47.50) are on sale now at eventbrite.com or wstw.com. Fans will also be able to pay more for a meet-and-greet with O.A.R. Exact details were not immediately available and will be announced soon, says Matt Van Belle of VPM Events.

Bigger than The Grand and The Queen

The idea behind the concert is to re-create some of the buzz and excitement that radio stations such as Philadelphia's Radio 104.5-FM generate with live shows at venues such as Xfinity Live!, Franklin Music Hall and The Piazza, Van Belle says.

"There's a void of that in Delaware," he says. "So when we heard the 76ers Fieldhouse was going to be built, we thought that would be a perfect space for something like this.

"At first, I think it was going to be strictly for sports, but after we all spoke, it became something that they were willing to take a shot on and try out."

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WSTW's "Hometown Heroes" program has sponsored a secondary side stage at People's Festival for the past couple of years and that relationship has now grown into producing "Snow Jam" with VPM.

While WSTW already hosts national acts for the annual outdoor Wilmington Flower Market at Rockford Park, there was not a large enough indoor space in the city to do something similar during the colder months.

The 76ers Fieldhouse's capacity for basketball games is 2,500, but for concerts, the number jumps to 3,000. That's because in addition to the bleachers and a VIP mezzanine, the actual basketball court will open as a standing-room only area for music fans.

That dwarfs The Playhouse (1,250), The Grand (1,200) and The Queen (850), giving the city a new space to lure more popular acts that can draw bigger crowds. The Bob Carpenter Center in Newark, the former home of the 76ers' G League team, can hold 5,000 and remains the state's biggest indoor stage.

Live Nation, The Grand may also host shows there

After Van Belle and WSTW reached out to field house officials over the summer, the O.A.R. show quickly came together. They will work with Wilmington-based Electro Sound Systems (The Grand, Clifford Brown Jazz Festival, Big Noise, People's Festival) to produce the best acoustics possible for the airy field house. 

"I've only done one site visit and it's a very impressive space that should be really well received," says Van Belle, who expects to produce more shows there in the future. "There's nothing like it in town. It really jumps out at you."

Last week, officials from Live Nation, the international entertainment giant that runs The Queen, visited the venue to see it for themselves.

Live Nation representatives would not comment about possibly producing shows there. 

And while the team that manages The Grand, The Playhouse and the smaller, 300-person baby grand have not yet visited the field house, they expect to, says Mark Fields, The Grand's executive director.

The Grand has already hosted shows too big for its venues at larger locations. It brought Wilco, Counting Crows, Conor Oberst, Live and Collective Soul to Frawley Stadium on the Riverfront.

"We're always looking for opportunities for presenting programs other than in just our three venues. We do have some seat limitations here," Fields says. "We're very open to the idea of partnering with the field house for concerts. We just have to get in there, take a look and see what's do-able."

Doors open for the first time Jan. 23

Construction of the 161,000-square-foot arena and training facility at 401 Garasches Lane near U.S. 13 in the city's Southbridge neighborhood began in August with an eye toward opening Jan. 4 for a Blue Coats game.

But delays caused the first few Blue Coats home games to be moved north to the 76ers' home at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The new opening date will be the Jan. 23 game against the Memphis Hustle, an affiliate of NBA's Memphis Grizzlies.

All construction should be completed by April, says Steve Cavalier, general manager of BPG|SPORTS, an offshoot of The Buccini/Pollin Group.

But next week's game is when sports fans will get their first look at the sparkling new facility, which features three full-size basketball courts, two indoor soccer fields (one indoor and one outdoor), as well as a performance and training facility.

An arena that glows

With the walls in the main arena made of transparent polycarbonate, the building glows white at night when the lights are on, making it visible from I-95 and even airplanes overhead. With concert lighting, the building should glow all sorts of colors. 

While the Blue Coats' main focus is still trained on getting construction completed, Cavalier says the indoor soccer field could also possibly be used for concerts. If so, the capacity for that space would be even larger than the 3,000 that the main arena holds. (An exact number was not immediately available.)

Now that they're talking to concert promoters, "We'd love to have concerts here throughout the year," Cavalier says. "We're trying to make the biggest economic impact in the city as we can and we think that's part of it."

Contact Ryan Cormier of The News Journal at rcormier@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormier), Twitter (@ryancormier) and Instagram (@ryancormier).

IF YOU GO

What: O.A.R. with special guest Val Astaire. A third act will be announced soon.

When: Saturday, Feb. 16, 7 p.m. (Doors 6 p.m.)

Where: 76ers Fieldhouse, 401 Garasches Lane, Wilmington

Cost: $25-$47.50

Tickets: eventbrite.com or wstw.com