Why Philadelphia Is the Place to Be for Sports Fans in 2026

This Fourth of July is going to be extra special as America is celebrating its 250th birthday. While major events beyond the traditional firework shows will be taking place across the country, the spotlight is just a little bit bigger in and around Philadelphia. It's only fitting that the Declaration of Independence was signed in the Pennsylvania State House, now known as Independence Hall. 

Wondering how big of a 250th birthday celebration we are talking about? There is a Visit Philly page dedicated to citywide events taking place over several months. If you're a sports fan, the calendar includes the 2026 MLB All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park and the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club. Of course, we can't forget about the six FIFA World Cup Games at Lincoln Financial Field.

The Philadelphia area is just getting started with what is shaping up to be one unforgettable 250th birthday celebration.

Why these major sporting events made the cut 

MLB sports bettors might be wondering why we didn't include any Philadelphia Phillies home games. It’s because a regular-season series doesn't really measure up to sporting events that attract fans from across the country and beyond. 

We weighed several different factors, including:

• Significance of event
• How often it takes place
• Ticket cost
• Attendance
• National TV audience

7 Ways To Celebrate America’s 250th Birthday Around Philadelphia 

NBA Playoffs: Philadelphia 76ers vs. New York Knicks 

Yes, the Philadelphia 76ers, not the Boston Celtics, are facing the New York Knicks in the second round of the NBA Playoffs. We’re talking about the same Sixers team that was down 3-1 in their best-of-seven series to the Celtics. NBA bettors who took Joel Embiid and company to upset the Celtics made a pretty penny. 

This NBA Playoffs series makes the list because it's a sporting event that nobody saw coming. Besides these Atlantic Division rivals going 2-2 against each other during the regular season, their fan bases are starving for a championship. Philadelphia has not won the NBA Title since the 1982-83 season. New York fans have been waiting since the 1972-73 season.

Games 3 and 4 are taking place in Philadelphia.

Stanley Cup Playoffs: Philadelphia Flyers vs. Carolina Hurricanes 

We had to include the Philadelphia Flyers making the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs because it’s another major sporting event that nobody expected to see. This is a young Flyers squad that is back in the postseason for the first time since 2020. They didn’t clinch a playoff spot until the second-to-last game of the regular season. 

There is some excitement surrounding this team, especially with Porter Martone showing his NHL breakout star potential in the opening series against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Even though the Flyers are trailing the Hurricanes 0-2 as the series comes to Philly for Games 3 and 4, orange and black are the most popular colors in and around Philadelphia right now. 

PGA Championship

Aronimink Golf Club hosting this year’s PGA Championship just happens to coincide with the United States semiquincentennial celebration. Located in Newtown Square just outside of Philadelphia, the course also hosted the 1962 PGA Championship. 

This year’s event is taking place May 14-17. DraftKings Sportsbook has defending champion Scottie Scheffler as the early favorite over Masters champion Rory McIlroy to win the prestigious Wanamaker Trophy. It's the second of four majors on the PGA Tour calendar, and has been held every year since 1916. 

Yes, even with the event days away, event tickets and parking are still available on Seat Geek. Final round tickets are listed for $264 each. 

FIFA World Cup

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is a unique one being that the United States, Canada, and Mexico are serving as joint hosts. It would be extremely fitting if Team USA  plays  a Fourth of July Game at Lincoln Financial Field. The two teams are TBD as it’s going to be a Round-of-16 game. 

The FIFA World Cup USA edition guide provides a full rundown of what you need to know about attending the event. Six games taking place at Philadelphia Stadium. If you're thinking about attending any games, one ticket for the June 19 game between Brazil and Haiti is going for $1,000 on StubHub. 

MLB All-Star Game 

The Major League Baseball All-Star Game coming to Philadelphia as part of America’s 250th birthday celebration has been several years in the making. The press conference announcing the Midsummer Classic even took place in front of Independence Hall. This is the first time Citizens Bank Park, which opened in 2004, is hosting the All-Star Game. The game is on July 14, but there are several MLB events taking place prior to it. 

It’s too early to say how many Philadelphia Phillies will be representing the National League. Sites like StubHub and Seat Geek have tickets. A seat directly behind home plate is going for over $5,000.    

MLB Home Run Derby 

For some baseball fans, the Home Run Derby is the highlight of All-Star Week. This is also the first year that the event is airing on Netflix. Will Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber be participating in front of his hometown fans? It certainly makes sense being that he has over 350 career dingers. The participants will be announced as it gets closer to All-Star Week.

Even without knowing the players, tickets to the Home Run Derby are in high demand. The cheapest one we could find on StubHub was for just under $600. Sorry, it doesn’t come with a guarantee that you’ll be leaving Citizens Bank Park with a home run ball. 

March Madness

It’s too late to purchase tickets for this one, but Xfinity Mobile Arena hosted opening round games for this year’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. The great thing about this March Madness fan experience was that Philadelphia hosted East and Midwest Region games, with two of the eight teams making the Final Four.

The UConn Huskies - the East Region’s No. 2 seed. While the Big East squad lost to Michigan in the national championship game, the Huskies Road to the Final Four began with victories over No. 15 Furman and No. 7 UCLA.

Tennessee, the No. 6 seed in the Midwest Region, knocked off No. 11 Miami (Ohio) and No. 3 Virginia. Altogether, Tennessee was eliminated by Michigan. 

Altogether, over 58,000 fans attended the six NCAA games over two days.