Bait and switch in Philadelphia: 76ers basketball team won't move to Downtown, will remain in South Philly

An arena supporter is in the chamber Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024 as opponents are on the floor before City Council is scheduled to give final approval to the Sixers arena during its regular meeting. Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer

It's been more than a year that the Philadelphia 76ers basketball team has been pursuing a relocation to downtown, modeled after the Wizards in DC and the Celtics in Boston.  

The City Council just approved the move, and inducements, even after recognizing some serious deleterious effects on Chinatown and SEPTA, the transit agency ("City Council gives final approval to the 76ers’ Center City arena proposal," "Inside the 76ers arena agreement approved by Philly City Council members", Philadelphia Inquirer).

I was somewhat supportive, because I think it's better to have such uses downtown and proximate to high quality transit like the Knicks in Manhattan and the Nets in Brooklyn (and yes, the teams in DC and Boston).  

I think Chinatown has a lot more realizable strength than it realizes because it is still a destination for first generation immigrants, while in DC, first generation Asian immigrants move directly to the Virginia suburbs ("Richard's Rules for Restaurant (Food) Based Revitalization, Salt Lake City and DC's Chinatown").

But now the 76ers have announced they're not moving ("The 76ers have struck a deal with Comcast Spectacor to stay in South Philly and abandon plans for a Center City arena," PI).

Was this bait and switch to get a better deal from Comcast, the owner the complex where the 76ers play?

In any case, the city should negotiate for better transit connections for the Wells Fargo Center.

And given that Macy's has just announced they'll be closing their store in Downtown Philadelphia ("What we know about the Macy's closing in Center City," PI), it's clear that the City needs a new plan for energizing Downtown, Market Street East.

I was thinking that they could try to recruit Boscov's Department Store, which is based in Reading, Pennsylvania and still has stores in downtowns, but serves the Philadelphia area through suburban stores in PA and NJ, or Von Maur, which is based in Iowa, but recently opened a store in the Pittsburgh suburbs ("Pennsylvania's first Von Maur department store opens in South Hills Village," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette).   Nordstrom's doesn't seem interested in new downtown locations.

It's a stretch, I know, but large center city downtowns can still be places where department stores focused on experiential marketing, can be successful.