The Philadelphia 76ers announced Monday a dramatic reversal of their arena plans, unveiling a “50-50 joint venture” with Comcast on a new building that will house both the NBA team and the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers, who are owned by the media giant.
The news came about a month after the City Council voted to approve the 76ers’ previous plan, a controversial $1.3 billion building in a different part of town, and following roughly two years of often-vitriolic fighting between the team’s owners and Comcast. The plan for a new joint venue in South Philly’s existing pro sports district, which both groups called a compromise, came together in just the last few weeks.
“The journey to the best solution doesn’t always go in a straight line,” Sixers co-owner Josh Harris said Monday in a press conference. “But I am certain that today we have found an incredibly positive solution for Philly. Now it’s time to get to work.”
But what exactly does that solution entail? What changed in recent months? And what concessions were made? Here are seven quick takeaways from the surprising union:
1) New NBA TV Deals: It’s likely not an exaggeration to say that this deal might not have happened had Comcast not joined the NBA’s new $77 billion media deals last year. Comcast is now a leaguewide media partner—in addition to its RSN holdings—and that carries a whole new bucket of obligations and pressures.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who spoke first during Monday’s press conference, clearly played a significant role in the talks. Silver was present in Harris’ box at the Washington Commanders game on Dec. 1, alongside Comcast chair Brian Roberts and a number of other industry leaders, for a gathering that reportedly helped thaw the relationship between the two sides. Both Harris and Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker mentioned Silver and the NBA’s role in the new partnership. So too did Ryan Boyer, who leads a coalition of powerful unions in the city.
“Listen, Comcast is now the media partner for the NBA, so obviously that played into the deal,” Boyer, business manager of the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council, said Monday, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. “The NBA is back on NBC. Peacock—they’re going to be streaming some games. So, I’m sure that that partnership played a lot in this decision that you see now, as belated as it may be.”
(An NBA spokesman didn’t respond to an email seeking comment on Silver’s involvement; a representative for the Sixers declined to comment on specific deal points).
2) 50-50 Partnership: The two sides haven’t released any details on how they’ll share revenue and expenses, but there is plenty of precedent across pro sports. In the mid-2000s, for example, the New York Jets and New York Giants teamed up to build MetLife Stadium at a cost of $1.6 billion. The two NFL teams split the costs evenly and share in operations of the venue. They evenly split much of the revenue, too—including those from the MetLife naming rights and cornerstone building sponsors like Verizon and Bud Light.
Things get slightly more complex when building and team revenue blend. MetLife sells all-event suites, but the Giants and Jets also sell their own, which stays on each team’s side of the financial ledger. Ticket sales from their own games—Giants tickets are generally more expensive—also remain on each team’s P&L.
There are similar arrangements in the NBA/NHL—two teams with different ownership groups, a 50-50 arena venture and shared economics. In Chicago (Bulls and Blackhawks), and in Dallas (Stars and Mavericks), venues are operated along similar lines. This is different than buildings like Boston’s TD Garden, and the 76ers’ current setup at the Wells Fargo Center, where the arenas are controlled by one team with another as a tenant.
3) Lack of Competition: Going from two Philly-area arena projects to one also concentrates revenue opportunities on non-gamedays. With the current plan, the Flyers won’t be competing against the Sixers trying to lure concerts, monster truck rallies, rodeos and other events that boost revenue when the teams aren’t playing. Besides New York and Los Angeles, there are few cities in North America with multiple 15,000-seat arenas that separately house NHL and NBA teams.
4) Naming Rights: As part of the deal, Comcast will have naming rights to the new building, which is set to open in 2031. It’s unclear if the company is paying directly for the right or if it is an in-kind concession, but that’s valuable advertising real estate either way. Projecting value seven years in advance is inexact, but based on current deals for multi-team arenas, those naming rights could be worth $25 million to $35 million per year, according to sponsorship consultant Eric Smallwood, president of Apex Marketing Group.
5) Equity: Comcast is also “planning to take a minority stake in the 76ers,” according to the press release. Again, it’s unclear if Comcast would pay for that (and at what valuation), or be given it as part of the partnership, but it’s another major financial concession. The Sixers are worth $4.57 billion, according to Sportico’s most recent number, which ranks eighth in the NBA.
This equity is almost certainly Sixers-only, and will not include HBSE’s other major sports asset, the New Jersey Devils. Comcast’s Flyers ownership precludes the company from holding equity in multiple NHL teams.
It likely does, however, extend to a possible WNBA franchise. The expansion fee for the W’s 16th team could easily reach $100 million, and the average WNBA team is now worth $96 million, according to Sportico.
This wouldn’t be the first time a league’s national broadcaster also holds equity in a team. Rogers Communications (NYSE: RCI) has the NHL’s Canadian TV rights—a 12-year deal signed back in 2004—and is also a prominent investor in MLSE, which owns the Maple Leafs.
6) WNBA Expansion: Speaking of the WNBA, this announcement certainly strengthens Philadelphia’s push to land an expansion team. There are a number of different cities vying for the 16th spot—some tied to NBA owners, some not—and it’s been an open question as to how much weight the NBA would place on choosing one of their own. Recent expansion choices have been Golden State (NBA owner), Portland (NBA minority owner) and Toronto (tied to NBA owner).
It’s worth also noting that comedian Wanda Sykes and her wife, Alex, were both present on the stage at Monday’s press conference alongside Harris, co-owner David Blitzer, Roberts, Mayor Parker, Phillies owner John Middleton and others. Wanda and Alex Sykes have long pushed for Philadelphia to land a WNBA team, and Parker has joined the efforts, with WNBA commissioner Kathy Engelbert confirming in October that the city was “on the list.”
WNBA expansion bids are due in the coming weeks, and the Philadelphia offering now has a new arena to tout, and the focused attention of Silver.
7) Lingering Bitterness? This partnership would have seemed unthinkable just a few months ago, as the two sides tried to undermine each other behind closed doors and in the public. In September 2023, the Wells Fargo Center’s X account said some of the Sixers’ projections for their own arena were a “myth.” Around the same time, David Adelman, a Sixers investor and the team’s lead negotiator on the project, accused Comcast of “lurking in the shadows, hiding behind others, while it lobbies decision makers and twists arms to try to stop the [76ers] from building our own privately funded arena.”
How much of that bitterness still exists? It’s unclear, though it wasn’t present at Monday’s press conference.
“I don’t think there’s anyone more surprised that we’re standing together than me,” Adelman said. “But having been on the opposite team the past couple years, I can say that being on the same team is a much better feeling.”
(This story has been corrected in the 6)WNBA section to note that Portland’s WNBA team has a NBA minority owner.)
With assistance from Kurt Badenhausen.