76 Place at Market East

The Wells Fargo Center is owned by Comcast Spectacor, so the 76ers do not make money off secondary events at the stadium, such as concerts or naming rights agreements.[2] In 2013, there were rumors that team owner Josh Harris, who also owned the Prudential Center, would be moving the team to Trenton, New Jersey.[7] Talk of a new arena increased in 2015 when team ownership began referring to The Wells Fargo Center as just The Center.[8] In 2020, the team proposed a plan, that would be partially publicly-funded, to build a new arena at Penn's Landing, but they were outbid for the site by the Durst Organization.[9]

Fashion District Philadelphia is an indoor shopping mall located along Market Street. Opened in 2019, it is anchored by Burlington, Primark, AMC Theatres, and Round One Entertainment.[10] The Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, which co-owned Fashion District Philadelphia, declared bankruptcy in 2020, and Macerich, the other co-owner took substantial control over the mall's operations.[11] The mall lost a number of tenants due to shutdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic.[11] Macerich endorsed the plan to convert part of Fashion District Philadelphia into an arena and referred to it as a "natural evolution" of the property.[11]

Fashion District Philadelphia was preceded by another indoor mall, Gallery at Market East, which opened in 1977, but by the mid-2000s had significantly declined as a result of losing a significant number of anchors, which were replaced by lower end stores. It closed in 2015.[12]

• 2022-2024: Approval of construction permits from city and state[2]
• 2024-2026: Stadium engineers and developers design arena[2]
• 2026-2027: Portions of Fashion District Philadelphia demolished[2]
• 2028-2031: Construction of 76 Place at Market East[2]

The developers claim the project will be privately funded unlike Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field and Citizens Bank Park.[1] However, a previous 30-year agreement that the property taxes for the site will be reduced remains in place through 2035.[1] Additionally, leaders within 76Devcorp have said they are open to accepting state or federal funding for this project.[15]

"Save Chinatown No Arena" posters at SW corner 9th Street/Arch Street in Philadelphia's Chinatown neighborhood opposing 76ers proposed Chinese-American displacement

76 Place at Market East would be located one block from Chinatown.[2] Asian Americans United, a local advocacy group, opposed the arena following the developers release their plans.[2][16] Steven Zhu, the President of the Chinese Restaurant Association, said in a statement "We know these big sports arenas do not contribute to the neighborhoods that they are in; they serve only their own needs and their own profits."[2][17] Zhu also used Capital One Arena as a cautionary tale given that the Chinese population and number of Chinese restaurants have declined significantly in Chinatown, Washington, D.C. since the arena's construction.[4]

76Devcorp has vowed to reach a "public benefits agreement" with neighbors and have met with local organizations including the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corp.[2] After months of private closed-door meetings, 76Devcorp failed to win over community members at the first public meeting organized by over 20 local community organizations in December 2022. At this public meeting, community members voiced their concerns around traffic, community safety, and parking.[18][19]

In January 2023, more than 40 Chinatown community groups, nonprofits, and business organizations announced the "Chinatown Coalition to Oppose the Arena". This coalition has the assistance from the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund.[20]

Howard Eskin, the longtime Philadelphia sports talk radio personality on 94.1 WIP and sports anchor on FOX 29 News, has been a vocal critic of the proposed arena, which he calls one of the "worst ideas for [a] sports arena."[21] He has argued that the site has little infrastructure for parking and is in a high-crime area, which would dissuade fans from attending the games.[21] Eskin stated also stated that because of the little parking in the area that the 76ers would ultimately end up having to bus fans from parking lots, that are not in walking distance of the stadium, to the games.[22]

Geoff Gordon, the Philadelphia Regional President of Live Nation Entertainment, raised concerns that the new stadium would make it hard for fans to tailgate prior to games.[22]

Sam Katz, a Philadelphia businessman and the Republican nominee for Mayor of Philadelphia in 1999 and 2003 has stated with the exception of Madison Square Garden, no arena located a in city with competing arenas are actually profitable.[23] Therefore, Katz has argued that 76 Place at Market East would be unprofitable and argues this raises suspicions that the developers will look for public funding from the state.[23] Katz has also said that despite the arena being privately-funded, improvements to the infrastructure - such as subways - to provide transportation for the fans would have to be paid for by the city.[23]

Some local residents have criticized the plan as it would demolish a block of the Fashion District, a local public space accessible to the multi-generational neighborhood residents.[4] Others highlighted the missed opportunity for investors to fund Philadelphia's poorer neighborhoods rather than Center City.[4] Then-Philadelphia City Councilman David Oh speculated that the plan to build the arena may be smoke and mirrors and an attempt for the 76ers to gain concessions from the Wells Fargo Center's owner, Comcast Spectacor.[14]

Some members of the community criticized Hercules Grigos, a lawyer working with the 76ers’ development team, for sending the Philadelphia City Council a revised version of a bill to refinance a downtown parking garage that specifically included an unrelated provision that would have made it easier to close Filbert Street between 10th and 11th Streets against the publicly stated wishes of local residents and push through the City Council the 76ers' proposal.[24][25]

In an interview with ESPN on the day of announcement, Sixers CEO Tad Brown said that the 76ers would welcome the Flyers joining them in the new venture. The Flyers currently play at the Wells Fargo Center as well. Comcast Spectacor owns both the Flyers and the Wells Fargo Center. Comcast Spectacor and Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment are currently in discussions about the 76ers moving.[3]

A June 2021 article in Billy Penn stated that one of the potential draws of a WNBA team to Philadelphia would be a new arena that serves as a home to the 76ers.[26] The Athletic reported in June 2022 that Philadelphia was one of six cities on a shortlist for an expansion team for the WNBA by the year 2024.[27]