The deal that will keep the 76ers in South Philadelphia has its roots in Landover, Maryland.
On the afternoon of December 1, Josh Harris, managing partner and co-owner of the Sixers, who is also managing partner of the NFL Washington Commanders, hosted a group of sports business heavyweights at the team’s home game. football against the Tennessee Titans.
The group included two other Sixers co-owners – David Blitzer and David Adelman – as well as NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian L. Roberts.
Roberts’ presence was remarkable. For several years, Comcast and Harris Blitzer Sports Entertainment, the 76ers’ parent company, have been feuding over the team’s efforts to move to a new arena when their lease expires in 2031 at the Wells Fargo Center, which is owned by Comcast Spectacor, a subsidiary from the Philadelphia-based entertainment, cable TV and Internet giant.
In early December, the City Council was close to approving the 76ers’ proposal, despite Roberts’ objections. But the path for Comcast and HBSE to reach an agreement that would render the proposal moot began at the meeting, which helped thaw relations between the four billionaires, according to people familiar with the matter.
Negotiations on a possible collaboration between the two companies accelerated during the holidays. And on Sunday, weeks after the Council approved the downtown proposal following a grueling legislative fight, news broke that the Sixers would remain in South Philadelphia.
The two companies announced Monday morning that they had entered into a “50-50 joint venture to build a world-class, state-of-the-art arena in the South Philadelphia Sports Complex that will be the new home of the Philadelphia 76ers and Philadelphia 76ers.” Leaflets.
Comcast Spectacor also owns the Flyers.
Commissioner and host
By most accounts, Silver played a key role in bringing the parties together.
The commissioner’s top priority was keeping the Sixers in Philadelphia, regardless of which district they ended up in, according to sources with knowledge of the behind-the-scenes conversations. As recently as the fall, the Sixers had considered the idea of moving to Camden.
Silver, who has served as NBA commissioner since 2014, believes having two competing arena projects in Philadelphia in the same time frame would be detrimental to both the city and the teams, according to sources.
Silver had formed a relationship with Roberts when the NBA negotiated a new broadcast and streaming rights deal with NBC and Peacock, which are owned by Comcast.
At a news conference at City Hall on Monday, Roberts said the partnership was “serendipitous.”
“A lot of friends in the city, in government, throughout this process, have said we should really prioritize Philadelphia,” Roberts said. “And so I think about that moment, and when we had the opportunity to visit with Josh (Harris) and his team, we both came to what I think was the right place.”
Harris added: “Adam Silver said, ‘Look, you guys are fighting.’ »
In July 2024, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker visited Silver at the NBA league offices in New York. She outlined her goals and also discussed the possibility of bringing an NBA flagship store to Philadelphia, as well as the possibility of adding a WNBA team to the city.
» LEARN MORE: Mayor Cherelle Parker called the Sixers’ decision to stay in South Philadelphia a “curve.” Some say she just breathed.
“You made your goals very clear,” Silver said of Parker during the news conference he attended virtually. “You told me that in addition to ensuring the 76ers continue to play in a world-class arena in Philadelphia, you expressed a strong desire to bring a WNBA team to the city” and help the city to develop economically thanks to a major project.
The agreement unveiled Monday, he said, helps achieve or advance those goals.
“A situation one plus one equals three”
On Monday, 76ers owners did not provide a clear explanation for why the team abandoned the downtown project weeks after it was approved by the council.
“We haven’t really changed our minds,” Harris said at the news conference. “We were actually really committed to Market East, but … our North Star was doing the right thing in Philadelphia.”
He added that “deals don’t happen exactly when you want them to.”
Comcast Spectacor had proposed working with the 76ers on a facility in the stadium complex long before the team took the downtown proposal to the City Council. The 76ers have maintained for months that the team would under no circumstances remain in South Philadelphia after its lease expires in 2031.
Harris did not say what changed in December when he and Roberts began moving forward on a deal.
“We thought we could build a better arena (with Comcast), we could also revitalize Market East, and we thought it was a one plus one equals three situation,” he said, “so we pivoted .”
» LEARN MORE: Mayor Cherelle Parker says city will ‘start from scratch’ on 76ers community benefits deal
Bringing the two sides together was no easy feat given the enmity that had developed during the debate in the arena.
At one point, a Wells Fargo Center social media account took shots at the Sixers, describing their projections for the tax revenue that would be generated by the Center City arena as a “myth.” Adelman responded by accusing Comcast of “hiding in the shadows, hiding behind others, while it pressures policymakers and twists arms.”
Ryan Boyer, who heads the Philadelphia Building and Trades Council, a coalition of politically powerful unions, said Silver “brought them together.”
“Look, Comcast is now the media partner of the NBA, so that obviously played a role in the deal,” Boyer said. “The NBA is back on NBC. Peacock – they will stream games. So I’m sure that partnership played a lot into this decision that you’re seeing now, as late as it is.
Adelman, a promoter and minority owner of the Sixers who was the face of the Center City proposal, said he was relieved that the two corporate heavyweights had come together.
“I don’t think there’s anyone more surprised than me that we’re here together today,” he said, “but having been on the opposite team the last two years, I I can say that being on the same team is a much nicer feeling.
Staff writers Jake Blumgart and Anna Orso contributed to this article.
