A new arena will be built in South Philadelphia for the NBA’s 76ers and NHL’s Flyers.
Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (HBSE) and Comcast Spectacor have entered a 50/50 partnership to build the venue, which will give Comcast a minority stake in the 76ers. The arena is set to open by 2031.
“From the start, we envisioned a project that would be transformative for our city and deliver the type of experience our fans deserve,” said HBSE co-founders Josh Harris and David Blitzer, and limited partner David Adelman.
Comcast will have naming rights to the venue, and will join HBSE’s bid to add a WNBA team in Philadelphia. Comcast is already the Flyers’ majority owner.
The 76ers originally received city council approval for a US$1.3 billion arena in Philadelphia’s downtown Market East area in December. The city’s community impact reports found that the proposed location could accelerate gentrification in Chinatown, just north of the site, and around half of small businesses nearby would likely see negative effects.
HBSE and Comcast also agreed to invest in Market East’s revitalisation, as part of the new agreement to instead construct the arena in South Philadelphia.
“By coming together with [Comcast CEO Brian Roberts] and Comcast, this partnership ensures Philadelphia will have two developments instead of one, creating more jobs and real, sustainable economic opportunity,” said Harris, Blitzer, and Adelman.
Both the Flyers and the 76ers currently play in South Philadelphia, at the 21,000-seat Wells Fargo Center.
Comcast’s (NASDAQ: CMCSA) share price closed at US$36.45, up from a previous close at $36.36. Its market capitalisation is $139.48 billion.