Advice please on visiting Philly for an NBA game

My son is a huge Orlando Magic fan and is gutted to discover that he misses their game at MSG by 2 days when he visits NY for a few days in February. However,the Magic are at Philadelphia while he%26#39;s over. He%26#39;s wondering if going to see that game is an option.

I know it%26#39;s fairly straightforward to get to Philly and back by rail for the day, but how feasible is it to visit, and get back the same night after an evening game? How easy is it to get to the Arena from the Amtrak station?

Grateful for any opinions on whether it%26#39;s do-able before we check Amtrak schedules etc.

Advice please on visiting Philly for an NBA game

Yes it is verry doable. I work in Philly, and make the train ride every day. I would allways reccomend buying tickets in advance. On a side note, I would do a day or two in Phiily it is a great city. Here are somelinks that maybe more helpful than me.

www.gophila.com

www.njtransit.com

www.septa.org

www.amtrak.com

Advice please on visiting Philly for an NBA game

Thanks AERULES. I did a quick search on the Philadelphia forum, and it looks like there will be a good subway service from Centre City to and from the game. He hopes to spend the day in Philly before the game anyway, so your suggestion is a good one.

What%26#39;s not still clear is what time he can expect to get back to the Amtrak station in Philly - and if there will still be trains that late. What time does a game typically finish? American ball games always seem open ended whenever I%26#39;ve watched or attended them,- unlike, say soccer, which fairly timebound. And how long to allow to get out of the stadium, to the subway and on atrain back to the centre?

Any insights?

Thanks

Depends. Soccer is runing clock. Basketball is only while the ball is in play. There is an express subway after the game that heads right to Suburban Station where you can catch the Regonal rail one stop to 30th street.

Another piece of advice is when i visited the Wachovia Center in %26#39;04, they wouldn%26#39;t let us take bags in. My friend and i were asked to take them back to our car - when we said we%26#39;d come by public transport, we got taken to a security room and had to leave our bags there. Still, I saw the Sixers beat Detroit, so it didn%26#39;t spoil the trip! :)

oh, and one other thing - the game is listed for 8pm start but its on TNT so will start a bit later and probably have slightly longer timeouts. i would think if you%26#39;re planning which train to get, i wouldn%26#39;t factor the game finishing before 10:15 ish, possibly 10:30 just to be safe.

The crowds in Philly are probably the closest thing we have to the soccer crowds you guys get in England.