Sixers and Comcast plan a new South Philly arena and event complex; Mayor Parker calls change of plans a ‘curveball’

The deal that will keep the 76ers in South Philadelphia has its roots in Landover, Md.

On the afternoon of Dec. 1, Sixers co-owner Josh Harris, who also owns the Washington Commanders, hosted a group of sports business heavyweights at a home game of his football team 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 chair and CEO Brian L. Roberts.

Roberts’ presence was notable. For several years, Comcast and Harris Blitzer Sports Entertainment, the 76ers’ parent company, had been feuding over the Sixers’ attempts to move into a new arena when their lease expires in 2031 at the Wells Fargo Center, which is owned by Comcast Spectacor, a subsidiary of the Philly-based cable and internet giant.

When Mayor Cherelle L. Parker in September unveiled the terms of the agreement she reached with the 76ers to build a new arena in Center City, she vowed to go all out to help promote the project to the public and win City Council approval for it.

”We are fighting back to back for this,” Parker told reporters.

It turns out the 76ers did not have the mayor’s back.

Gov. Josh Shapiro needs to see the plans for the Market East developments and full sports complex project before making a decision on whether state resources should be used to revitalize the struggling corridor, and separately, the sports hub, a spokesperson said Monday.

Shapiro, who publicly and privately opposed using state resources toward the Sixers’ original plan to build a new arena in Center City, wants to review the full South Philly proposal and the Sixers’ and Comcast’s promise to revitalize East Market Street before taking a position on whether Pennsylvania should invest in the project, reflecting a shift in his earlier opposition to state involvement in the project.

In a statement earlier in the day Monday, Pennsylvania’s first-term Democratic governor praised Comcast and the Sixers for their decision to pursue building a new arena and event complex in South Philadelphia and for putting “their differences aside.” Behind the scenes, Shapiro encouraged leaders at Comcast and the Sixers to talk to one another when negotiations between the two parties stalled.

Mayor Cherelle Parker said that the city will “start from scratch” on a new community benefits agreement, canceling the hotly debated plan with the 76ers and making way for a new one now that the stadium is planned for South Philadelphia.

As part of a now-defunct Center City stadium deal, the 76ers had agreed to provide $60 million worth of community benefits intended to offset the project’s impacts on surrounding communities and support city programs while avoiding paying regular property taxes.

The mayor said at a press conference Monday that the city is still committed to revitalizing East Market Street and supporting Chinatown. And in a new partnership with Comcast Spectator, the 76ers pledged to supporting a Market Street makeover even without a stadium in Center City. There has yet to be a specific proposal for the area now that a Center City stadium is no longer in the picture.

Anti-arena organizers say “the sky is the limit” when it comes to reimagining what Market East could look like without a Sixers arena.

A community center, health clinic, school, and an incubator for small businesses are just some examples the Save Chinatown Coalition believe could help revitalize Market East, Asian Pacific Islander Political Alliance executive director Mohan Seshadri and Asian Americans United engagement director Wei Chen told reporters Monday.

Also on their wish list: A “Welcoming District” for immigrants that would centralize employment, housing, and language resources. The idea was floated last summer by The Welcoming Center — an immigrant support agency — and the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation, but was panned by arena supporters as unrealistic.

The Save Chinatown Coalition stressed that they are willing to work with Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, City Council, and the Sixers organization on a revamped community benefits agreement at a news conference Monday — even if there’s some lingering frustration.

“It was a heartbreaking process,” Asian Pacific Islander Political Alliance executive director Mohan Seshadri told reporters, recalling instances of anti-arena demonstrators getting handcuffed on the floor of City Council.

Still, Seshadri reiterated that Chinatown organizers were willing to go back to the drawing board on both a long-promised urban plan for the neighborhood and a revamped community benefits agreement.

While Monday's news brought a "good day" for arena opponents, Philadelphia Suns president and director of the Chinese Christian Church and Center Harry Leong said he felt "mixed emotions."

The yearslong battle against the arena was "discouraging," as arena opponents went up against an arena plan supported by a majority of City Council — 12 of whom chose "to support billionaires" by voting in favor of it, Leong said. The five Council members who voted against the plan, Leong added, voted "in support of communities."

"The billionaires got the best out of this bargain," Leong said. "They got their arena in South Philly."

Opponents of the Sixers' plan to build an arena on the doorstep of Chinatown were "so proud and so happy" to see the team's reversal, said Asian Pacific Islander Political Alliance executive director Mohan Seshadri said Monday.

"We're so relieved and heartened that there will not be an arena in the heart of our city," Seshadri told reporters at a No Arena Chinatown news conference. "We are so proud and happy and relieve that Chinatown, a 150-year-old community, will continue to stand strong."

Seshadri added that with the Sixers planning on staying in South Philly, the focus ought to be on community.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro lauded Comcast and the Sixers on their plans to construct a new arena in South Philadelphia, saying in a statement that he had encouraged leaders of both organizations over the past year to "put their differences aside and work together for the betterment of Philadelphia."

“I want to applaud all parties involved — from Mayor Parker and City Council, to Comcast and the Sixers — for working collaboratively and staying focused on delivering for the people of Philadelphia," Shapiro said. "I’m excited about Philadelphia’s future — a future filled with growth, opportunity, and hopefully, many years of great Sixers basketball and more NBA championships.”

Shapiro for months has said that the original Center City arena project would receive no state dollars, telling The Inquirer in September that the team had not asked for government funding, and that he did not plan to offer it. He reiterated that messaging publicly as recently as last week during a visit to Northeast Philadelphia.

Comedian Wanda Sykes, who has for years been working to help Philadelphia get a WNBA franchise, said the announcement that the 76ers and Comcast Spectacor were working together to build a new arena in South Philly was a good development.

“I don’t think our odds could be any more favorable,” Sykes said at a City Hall news conference.

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, who is supportive of landing a WNBA franchise, first met with Sykes about the project in 2021, when Parker was a City Council member. Sykes said Parker had the “same energy” then that she does now for the effort to land a new team.

Comcast and the 76ers are planning to create an event complex in South Philadelphia that is the city’s version of “The Battery Atlanta,” a sprawling complex that includes retail and restaurants.

Brian Roberts, the CEO of Comcast — which owns the Wells Fargo Center through a subsidiary — said Monday that Comcast and the Sixers ownership would team up to construct a new “world-class” arena at the South Philadelphia sports complex that they plan to use as a “launch pad” to expand offerings in the stadium district.

He reiterated that the telecommunications behemoth and the basketball team owners are committed to a “revitalization” project in Market East, but he did not provide further details in his initial remarks.

Sixers owners have been working with Comcast Spectacor for two weeks to develop a new plan for the team to remain in the South Philadelphia stadium complex, according to Josh Harris, the team’s managing partner.

Harris, who rarely made public comments about the team’s initial plan to construct a Center City arena, said the Sixers and Comcast — which owns the Wells Fargo Center through a subsidiary — “both saw an opportunity to do something bigger than we both had planned.”

“Both of our organizations love this city,” Harris said, “and together we can do incredible things, both in Market East and in the arena district in South Philly.”

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker aimed to cast the Sixers’ plan to stay in South Philadelphia as a positive, calling the decision an “unprecedented” opportunity and said it has “the potential to benefit our city for generations to come.”

“We want to just generally say to you that the revitalization of our historic East Market commercial corridor is essential,” Parker said. “The building of a new state of the art arena for the Sixers is essential. And also, the potential for that WNBA team is essential.”

Parker stood in City Hall flanked by Josh Harris, managing partner of the Sixers, part owner David Adelman, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, and Phillies owner John Middleton.

While the Sixers have abandoned their plans to build a new arena in Center City, the team said they remain committed to being part of the city’s efforts to revitalize Market Street, according to an email obtained by The Inquirer,

In the email, the Sixers said they plan to invest in a mixed-use development at Market East. More details are expected during a news conference Monday.

“I know this is a shock, and so I want to be very clear: we remain committed to revitalizing Market East and catalyzing the uplift of that area,” David Gould, the Sixers’ chief corporate affairs officer, wrote in the email.

The Sixers and Comcast Spectacor have agreed to form a 50-50 joint venture to build a new arena in South Philadelphia, both confirmed in a statement Monday.

The new arena in South Philly would open in 2031, according to the announcement, which noted a "potential to accelerate to an earlier date." It would be a joint venture with Comcast owning the naming rights.

The team’s partnership with Comcast Spectacor, the owner of the Flyers and Wells Fargo Center, would “also include a 50-50 venture to invest in the revitalization of Market East in Center City.”

The No Arena coalition said in a statement the Sixers' decision to scrap their plans to build a new stadium in Center City should send a message to leaders across Philadelphia.

“We were clear from day one that it was dangerous to play in the viper pit with billionaires, but City Hall toyed with the snakes, and they got bit," the group said. "12 of 17 Councilmembers turned their backs on decades of research on the false promise of stadium developments, common sense, their voters, and the 70% of Philadelphians who opposed this arena."

“This sham of a process laid bare what Philadelphians have long known," the group added. "Decisions about the future of neighborhoods are not being made by the people of those communities nor with their best interest in mind, but by a select few who represent their own benefits and bank accounts and a City Hall that’s bought and paid for."

The 76ers are going to stay in South Philly after all, according to City Council members and a key labor leader.

The team has struck a deal with Comcast Spectacor to remain in the South Philadelphia sports complex, after more than two years of heated debate over moving to a potential new arena on East Market Street.

The reversal is a stunning end to a saga that has dominated city politics for more than a year and a setback for Mayor Cherelle L. Parker and others who championed the $1.3 billion Center City proposal.

Ryan Boyer, head of the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council, said the new deal involves the 76ers and Comcast Spectacor, which owns the Flyers and the Wells Fargo Center, working together to build an arena in South Philadelphia.

Boyer, whose organization is a politically powerful coalition of more than 30 unions, said the deal also involves a commitment for major developments on East Market Street, but he did not yet have details on what that would look like.

”The commissioner of the NBA was involved in it, and the commitment to Market Street redevelopment is still there,” Boyer said. “We think that overall it will be good for the city. It’s just a pivot.”

A Chinatown community that believed its ruination lay in the planned construction of a new Sixers arena rejoiced on Sunday as the team abandoned its efforts to build on the neighborhood’s southern doorstep.

For more than two years the community resisted the $1.3 billion project, pointing to multiple studies and findings and citing the city’s own analysis, which projected damaging losses to businesses — only to see its pleas ignored by a mayor who cheered the development and a City Council that voted 12-5 in favor.

“I’m feeling elated,” said Mary Yee, a veteran Chinatown organizer who helped lead opposition, as word spread on Sunday.