76ers and Flyers to play in new South Philadelphia arena in 2031

The Philadelphia 76ers will partner with Comcast Spectacor, their current owner, to build a new arena in South Philadelphia and abandon a deal with the city to move downtown.

The stunning reversal comes as a relief to critics of the plan to build a $1.3 billion arena near City Hall on the edge of Chinatown. Mayor Cherelle Parker on Monday called the proposal a “win, win, win, win for Philadelphia.”

“Philly, it’s a lot. It’s an upset that none of us saw coming, but nonetheless, we’re here,” Parker said at a midday news conference.

However, some critics and city council members felt betrayed after two years of difficult negotiations on the downtown project. City Council member Jim Harrity told a news station he felt “completely bamboozled.”

Parker was joined Monday by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, who appeared remotely, as well as team and Comcast executives who promised the new plan would bring dynamism and a new vision to both venues . The parties also committed to working with the city to try to bring a WNBA team to Philadelphia.

“Even though plans have changed, the one thing that hasn’t changed is our commitment to doing something good for the Sixers, our fans and, most importantly, our city,” said David Adelman, associate of the group. owned by the 76ers, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment.

The City Council voted just weeks ago to approve the team’s plan to open 76 Place downtown by 2031, despite opposition from residents of neighboring Chinatown the city and others. The team, which shares space with the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers in an arena owned by Comcast, had said it wanted to own its own facility when its lease expired.

But the rival sides began talking two weeks ago before involving city leaders in the high-stakes talks over the past three days.

The team, whose ownership group is led by investor Josh Harris, said it has formed a 50-50 joint venture with Comcast to replace its arena in Philadelphia’s South Stadium neighborhood by 2031. Comcast will also take a minority stake in the team and will work together on the WNBA bid, the parties said in a joint statement Monday.

And they pledged to invest in the abandoned site, Market East, a once-bustling downtown commercial corridor that struggled for many years despite repeated attempts to revive it.

The partners, who also own the NHL’s New Jersey Devils and have a majority stake in the NFL’s Washington Commanders, had agreed not to seek municipal grants for the downtown project, which they said them, would bring $2 billion in economic growth to the city center. They did not immediately disclose the financial terms of the new project.

Chinatown activist Vivian Chang said the community was cautiously optimistic, but troubled that “our city was being held captive by developers” and wasting time that could have been spent on other pressing issues.

“We always said they were playing people,” Chang told the Associated Press. “These billionaire developers didn’t have anyone’s best interests in mind, in terms of the community. They just had their profits in mind.”

Economist Victor Matheson, a professor at Holy Cross College who studies stadium financing issues, said it’s not uncommon for team owners to change course as they search for the best deal. In Washington last year, the NBA Wizards and NHL Capitals decided to stay in the city after a deal to move to the $515 million northern Virginia suburb imploded. dollars of public funding.

“It happens all the time,” Matheson said, noting that the 76ers “played New Jersey against Philadelphia” in the race for public subsidies.

He thinks the team had planned to “pick up a few grants along the way, and since that didn’t happen, of course they ended up back where they started.”

Supporters of the downtown project hoped a glitzy 18,500-seat arena would be the catalyst for the revival of Market East, which stretches eight blocks from City Hall to Liberty Bell. “The way they made this decision reflects a profound lack of respect for city leaders, stakeholders and residents,” council members Jamie Gauthier and Rue Landau said in a statement. “It was shameful for 76DevCo to pit working-class Philadelphians against each other and pressure the City Council to consider a half-baked proposal on an artificially rushed timeline.”