Stateside Live! Is Getting a $20 Million Glow-Up, Just in Time for Philly’s Biggest Summer

Rendering of the updated Stateside Live! in the South Philadelphia Sports Complex  / Renderings courtesy of Comcast Spectacor

If the South Philly Sports Complex already feels like the center of the universe on game days, it’s about to get a whole lot louder and more ambitious. Comcast Spectacor and the Cordish Companies are unveiling a refreshed Stateside Live! (fka Xfinity Live) on May 29th after a $20 million expansion that they hope will turn the space into something more than a place to grab a drink before kickoff or watch a game you couldn’t get into.

Instead, they’re hoping you might come to Stateside Live! without a ticket to anything — and not feel like you’re missing out.

At the center is a rebuilt plaza designed to handle up to 5,000 people, anchored by a new outdoor concert stage that they hope will pull in national acts as well as watch parties and local events. (Think less tailgate-adjacent and more programmed like a venue.)

For opening weekend they’re planning a free concert by Taking Back Sunday (free tickets will be released online Friday, April 17th at 10 a.m.) followed by DJ duo Two Friends the next night.

“As we look ahead to the future of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, the newly transformed Stateside Live! represents an important anchor for what’s next,” said Dan Hilferty, chairman and CEO of Comcast Spectacor. The expansion connects to a longer-running question about what the Sports Complex could become beyond game days. If you’ll recall the discussions and speculations surrounding the Sports Complex as the 76ers postured their Market East arena plan in 2023, the prospect of adding a stadium-district music venue to capture the ­smaller-show market was one that Comcast Spectacor was entertaining as part of a broader redevelopment vision of the area as all four major teams stayed put.

According to an insider at Comcast Spectacor, that project is now “on hold” as they focus their priorities on plans for the new arena. Once that is built, they’ll have a better idea of what else fits in with the revamped Sports Complex, they said. So, while an additional entertainment venue hasn’t been ruled out entirely, the new outdoor stage at Stateside Live! may be how, for now, live music could play a larger role in the complex’s future.

Rendering of the two-level AVA rooftop bar

Back to Stateside Live!, they’re also planning a new, two-level rooftop bar, AVA, rising above the complex with unobstructed views of the stadiums — a perspective the Sports Complex has never really capitalized on. (Imagine posting up with a cocktail for fireworks games this summer!) They’re going for elevated lounge vibes, with bottle service, DJ sets, and a menu featuring lobster rolls and short-rib sliders.

Rendering of AVA’s second floor

Down below, the country-themed PBR Philly nearly doubles in size with the Backyard and a bigger dance floor; while a new Blue Moon Beer Garden and Stateside Crush cocktail bar add more reasons to linger outside. The whole thing is built to flex: daytime hangs, game-day overflow, nighttime dance parties.

The indoor food lineup sticks with what works: Chickie’s & Pete’s, Lorenzo’s Pizza, Geno’s Steaks.

All of this is landing just as South Philly heads into one of its most packed stretches ever, with both the World Cup and the MLB All-Star Game bringing huge crowds to the complex this summer.

Stateside Live! is clearly trying to capture that moment, but more importantly, it’s trying to stick around after it. The real test may not be opening weekend or those high-profile sporting events that put us on the world stage, but whether this feels like somewhere you’ll go when nothing major is happening at all.