Philadelphia 76ers reportedly being pushed by New Jersey to build new arena in Camden

According to ROI-NJ, the State of New Jersey is pushing for the Philadelphia 76ers to ditch their plans to move to Center City and switch focus over to constructing a new arena in Camden, which is also home to the team’s practice facility.

New Jersey pushing for Philadelphia 76ers’ move to Camden:

“The sources indicated that talks have picked up recently, in part because HBSE’s efforts to build a new arena in Center City Philadelphia have hit repeated roadblocks, despite the fact that the owners have indicated they would self-finance the $1.3 billion proposed project.” [ROI-NJ]

Leaked plans for the Sixers new arena in Camden, New Jersey🔥 pic.twitter.com/w8U8k7HzJW

— Jacob Moreno (@jmoreno76ers) July 18, 2024

The 76ers’ current lease at the Wells Fargo Center ends after the 2030-31 season and the organization has been in search of a home for the better part of the past five years.

Back at the South Philly Sports Complex, there have been multiple reports of Flyers CEO Dan Hilferty and Phillies owner John Middleton working together on a $12 million expansion project for Xfinity Live! – with Eagles’ owner Jeffery Lurie currently in talks to join them. Construction is anticipated to finish up around 2025 to early 2026, so it shouldn’t be long until the full vision is realized.

“The upgrades, totaling approximately $12 million, will include enhancing Xfinity Live!’s outdoor plaza for game days, festivals, and community events, as well as improvements to the interior and exterior of Xfinity Live!, which is celebrating its 12th anniversary this spring. Upgrades to the plaza, which will add several new gathering areas and terraces, is slated to begin this year with an anticipated completion date of 2025 or early 2026. It will be done in phases to allow areas of the facility to always remain open.”

Xfinity Live! announces new $12 million expansion project >>

Needless to say, HBSE is not included in that plan and still continues to work on finding a new location for 76 Place – while the plan to build an arena in Philadelphia’s center city Fashion District is still being debated.

With this project reportedly hitting roadblocks, ROI NJ noted that HBSE’s ownership of the New Jersey Devils could potentially lead to some intrigue along with a few other factors, listed below.

Why New Jersey could make sense for HBSE/76ers:

The Sixers’ team offices and practice facility already are in Camden, at a 66,230-square-foot facility that opened to much fanfare in 2016;

HBSE owns the New Jersey Devils and the Prudential Center in Newark — and its two principal owners, Josh Harris and David Blitzer, have ties to the state;

Gov. Phil Murphy has a longstanding relationship with Harris and Blitzer — he is in regular dialogue with both on various issues;

The state has available land in the Camden area, including along the waterfront, potentially a landing spot for an ultramodern facility that has great views of the Philadelphia skyline;

The transit connectivity between Philadelphia and Camden would make it easy for Philly fans to still attend games;

And, while HBSE’s owners have indicated a willingness to pay for the entirety of the project, coming to New Jersey would make them eligible for a tax credit of up to $400 million through the state’s Aspire program.

[ROI-NJ]

Will the 76ers actually move to Camden?

I highly doubt it. David Adelman told our guys over at Crossing Broad on the Crossing Broadcast that Josh Harris and David Blitzer, along with himself that “from day one” the 76ers are a Philadelphia team and they would not be moving to New Jersey.

“I promise you that. Josh (Harris), David (Blitzer), and I have said from day one that this is a Philadelphia team and it’s not moving to New Jersey.” [CB]

More from Crossing Broad, Governor Josh Shapiro spoke with them in regards to the 76ers on-going efforts to build their own arena and also wants to make sure the Sixers are here for a “good, long while.”

I’ll just say as a Governor, as a huge Sixers fan, I want to make sure the Sixers are here for a good, long while, and that they have a great facility to play in.” [CB]

So the entire conversation is pretty up in the air at this point. There are a ton of people that don’t want the Philadelphia 76ers to stay put while others supported the initial plans of relocating to the Fashion District. Now we have Camden entering the ring but based on previous statements, no one really believes that’s a real option.

ROI NJ did mention that 76ers officials acknowledged the difficulty of relocating from Wells Fargo Center, but have maintained a desire to remain in the City of Brotherly Love and construct “76 Place”.

“We remain focused on bringing a state-of-the-art arena to Philadelphia, as we have been for the last four years […] We are hopeful to reach an agreement with the city this summer to ensure legislation is introduced in early September, which will allow the 76ers to open our new home in time for the 2031-32 season…” [ROI-NJ]

No kidding.

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