Now that the snuff film that was the Republican National Convention has ended, Philly and the DNC have the green light to go ahead and unveil the stage at the Wells Fargo Center, which had previously been a closely guarded secret with no photography allowed inside the arena bowl in recent weeks.

Behold, The Center:

This of course is not the first time the Wells Fargo Center has hosted a convention– it hosted the 2000 Republican National Convention, when George W. Bush won the nomination and Republicans, with the help of THE ROCK, were still encouraging young people and everyone else to get out and vote. Times have changed– now you’re only encouraged to vote by Republicans if you’re a middle-aged white man with an undergrad degree (no more, no less) or a hateful, moronic southerner who thinks we should bring public lynchings back. Can’t imagine why the party is struggling!

Anyway, here are some pictures from 2000. Interestingly, though there’s still three days left to put the final touches on The Well, the building seemingly looked a lot more decked out then. Some familiar faces here…

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Side note: I know those are probably balloons in the seats on the far side, but they could also be giant, Red, White and Blue Twinkies. The Center does have an in with a Twinkie magnante. What’s that? Joshua Harris is a Republican and refuses to even address The Center by its name? Oh well, I guess they are balloons then:

I wonder if Steve Keeley wore a shirt?