Getting to the Broad Street Run can sometimes be just as difficult as running in the annual 10-miler.
This year there will still be plenty of free parking down at the Stadium Complex for folks looking to take SEPTA's Broad Street Line to the start in Olney without having to hope that a train rolls by that isn’t packed with runners (something anyone who has ever waited at the Lombard-South stop on BSR morning can relate to).
But if you plan on heading to the Stadium Complex to park for the run, don’t plan on parking in the Wells Fargo Center lot.
“With the 76ers playing an afternoon game at Wells Fargo Center, racers are being encouraged to park in other lots at the sports complex,” Comcast-Spectacor (the company that owns the WF Center) spokesman Ike Richman told NBC10.
The trick is that with the Sixers-Bulls playoff game set to tip off at 1 p.m. and with XFINITY Live! set to open at 9 a.m. (it’s 5 o’clock somewhere), the Comcast-Spectacor folks wanted to make sure there were spots near the arena available for Sixers fans.
For their part, the BSR folks say the decision was out of their hands. Here is part of the message posted to their website Thursday night:
Due to the 76ers’ playoff game versus Chicago Bulls on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. the Wells Fargo complex has decided to keep their gates locked throughout the morning until the 76ers crowd arrives. However this decision was not ours to make.
We are strongly encouraging all race participants to carpool as much as possible or take public transportation to the race on Sunday. All other stadium parking lots and FDR Park will be open beginning at 5:00 a.m. We request that you be patient and follow the various message boards which will direct you into the open parking lots.
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If you want to risk it and try to pick up a train in Center City instead of South Philly there will be express train pickups at Walnut-Locust, Race-Vine and Spring Garden stations.
Basically the message is, get an early start on your BSR morning to make sure you make it to the start line in time to stretch and prepare before the starting gun goes off. Also a morning of the BSR and an afternoon of Sixers playoff action could make for a great Sunday.
And in case you were wondering, the weather forecast is looking clear for Sunday.
