Philly teams have tried to leave South Philly before. Here’s where — and why it didn’t work

The 76ers want a new home in Center City.

But the proposal, which would put a new NBA arena at 10th and Market Streets, is not the first time that developers or city leaders have considered moving a major league team to the heart of the city.

» READ MORE: Everything we know about the Sixers’ plans for a new Center City arena

Here are a few other proposals for moving Philly sports arenas .… and why they didn’t work:

In 1998, developer Dan Keating proposed that the Phillies build a new ballpark at 30th and Walnut Streets to replace the aging Veterans Stadium. The proposed site was sandwiched between the Schuylkill Expressway and Amtrak tracks.

A study was completed by HOK Sport, the firm whose credits included Baltimore’s Camden Yards, for a 45,000-seat park facing the Schuylkill with views of Center City beyond the outfield walls. The University of Pennsylvania opposed the plan, saying that “baseball stadium is not the highest and best use of this particular property.”

The site eventually became home to Penn Park, with two athletic fields and a multi-purpose stadium.

Former Mayor Ed Rendell and the Phillies favored a downtown ballpark at Broad and Spring Garden Streets, a proposal that was floated in 1999. The plan would have closed 15th Street between Spring Garden and Callowhill Streets.

It was opposed by many residents and business people, citing potential traffic and parking difficulties. Criticism also came from then-State Sen. Vincent Fumo, whose home was a few blocks away. The Phillies abandoned the idea later in 1999.

» READ MORE: What if the Phillies ballpark had been built in Center City?

In 2000, Rendell’s successor, Mayor John F. Street, advocated for the new Phillies ballpark to be built at 12th and Vine Streets in Chinatown.

The Phillies viewed the proposal as unworkable and overly expensive, and the last-ditch effort to build downtown would have thrown the team off its goal of moving into a new stadium by 2003. The plan also encountered fierce opposition from Chinatown residents, who felt the neighborhood was harmed by previous major projects such as the Vine Street Expressway and the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

The proposal died when Street announced in November 2000 that the Phillies would build their ballpark in South Philadelphia.

In 2020, Sixers managing partners Josh Harris and David Blitzer submitted a proposal to build a new basketball arena at Penn’s Landing. The plan included an 18,500-seat arena and 11 towers of residences, hotel rooms, shops, restaurants, and museums spread along the waterfront between Market Street and South Street.

Harris and Blitzer planned to seek state and local legislation granting them tax subsidies worth as much as $885 million. The Delaware River Waterfront Corp. rejected the Sixers plan in favor of one from New York’s Durst Organization to build residences, shops, and offices on the site.