The State of New Jersey sent the Philadelphia 76ers a proposal to build new arena in Camden, Josh Harris and HBSE expected to take it ‘seriously’

Back in July, there was an initial report from ROI-NJ saying that the state of New Jersey was pushing for the Philadelphia 76ers to ditch their Center City plans and switch focus over constructing a new arena in Camden, New Jersey – the home of the organization’s practice facility. 

New Jersey’s plan is to lure the Philadelphia 76ers across the Delaware River with up to $400 million in tax credits and plans for a sprawling mixed-use waterfront development. Details sent to 76ers ownership included an opportunity to use state-owned land in Camden for a “massive mixed-use development” that would include a “world class arena” as well as commercial, residential and retail offerings.

Josh Harris and Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (HBSE) are considering any and all options and are reportedly taking New Jersey’s offer “seriously”.

Tom Bergeron at ROI-NJ.com: Philadelphia 76ers Arena in Camden

Officials from the state of New Jersey sent details to the owners of the Philadelphia 76ers regarding an opportunity to use state-owned land in Camden for a massive mixed-use development that would include a world-class arena as well as commercial, residential and retail offerings, ROI-NJ has learned.

The multibillion-dollar project, championed by Gov. Phil Murphy and supported by the Legislature, would be built on the former state prison site area that is adjacent to the Delaware River and north of the Ben Franklin Bridge.

The project, which would be self-financed by Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (the entity that owns the Sixers), would be eligible for hundreds of millions of dollars in tax incentives.

Because the project would contain both an arena and a full-scale mixed-use component, HBSE could be eligible to receive two Aspire tax credits worth up to $400 million each.

In addition, the Governor’s Office aims to work with the Legislature to enable the structuring of up to $500 million of special-purpose bonds supported by fees and surcharges on tickets, concessions and parking (meaning there will be no impact to New Jersey taxpayers) to support the development of an arena.

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.

I definitely do not see the Philadelphia 76ers crossing the Delaware and building a new arena in Camden, New Jersey. That would be absolutely insane and honestly, the fact that they are even taking this proposal “seriously” is too much already. 

This is the type of shit that happens when you let a weasel like Josh Harris take over ownership of the franchise. Harris and HBSE have no loyalty or ties to anyone in Philadelphia. They doesn’t give a shit about fans or really, anything to do with sports. It’s all business and making business decisions only. 

That being said, if Josh Harris and HBSE don’t give a shit about Philly then why should anyone give a shit about Josh Harris, HBSE, and the Philadelphia 76ers? 

It would be one thing if the Philadelphia 76ers were contending to win the NBA Finals every season but over the last decade, it’s been everything but that.

The dark days of “The Process” still weigh heavy on the fanbase and the failure to build a winning team around an elite talent like Joel Embiid, while having draft pick after draft pick (outside of Maxey) turning out to be a complete and utter failure already has even the most faithful 76ers fans keeping this franchise at arm’s length. 

Now what’s happening? Josh Harris and the ownership group are trying to build an arena in Center City and send Market East into YEARS worth of construction while Chinatown continues to throw a hissy fit about the entire plan.

The state of New Jersey is getting involved and trying to move the 76ers across the Delaware River, and reports that HBSE is considering all options continue to make their rounds on social media.

All of this for the Philadelphia 76ers and their ownership to breakup what’s happening down at the South Philly Sports Complex. It’s insanity.

Look, I understand that the South Philly Sports Complex isn’t perfect and the logistics of getting to the stadiums can be an absolute nightmare but at the same time, it’s a location in Philadelphia where sports are played and outside of building out into the Navy Yard, any other option seems pretty stupid.  

It’s 4-for-4 down in South Philly and for whatever reason, the Philadelphia 76ers have zero interest in being a part of that? Why? Has anyone actually figured that out yet?

You can’t possibly convince me that there aren’t options to remain in South Philly when this city approved plans to build a Fusion Arena for a bunch of video gamers. There has to be other options outside of center city and Camden. 

On top of that, 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.

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

“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.”

Of course, this is really the city and ownership groups of all the sports teams finally making good on what was originally announced when they first built the venue. As you can see below, they planned a mall but wound up just building the food court.

This was the original plan for Xfinity Live back in 2009, and they built about 1/8 of it and called it a day, so I personally am very excited to see how much of this expansion is actually built, and how much is just PR war by Comcast intended as leverage against a S*xers Ar*na https://t.co/acbmuMWWgw pic.twitter.com/OCG9WCof7O

— Chris OIIey (@chrisoIIey) February 28, 2024

Right now, 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.

Understandably, you can see why some fans are skeptical with not only the HBSE re-location plan, but also the Xfinity Live! renovations – myself included.

Here’s to hoping this actually gets done and that the Philadelphia 76ers will want to be a part of it. If they don’t? I guess that’s fine too. Just don’t expect fans to be jammed up on the Benjamin Franklin Bridge during the winter to come watch the Philadelphia Camden 76ers play basketball.

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