NBA Commissioner Adam Silver played a key role in ending a bitter feud between billionaires Josh Harris, David Blitzer, and Brian L. Roberts over the Philadelphia 76ers’ arena plans.
The feud began when Comcast Spectacor, owned by Roberts, opposed the 76ers’ proposal for a new arena in Center City. However, after a meeting with Harris, Silver helped facilitate negotiations between the two parties. A joint venture to build a world-class arena at the South Philadelphia Sports Complex was announced Monday, ensuring the Sixers will remain in South Philly.
Silver’s priority was keeping the team in Philadelphia, as he believed having two competing projects would be detrimental to both the city and teams. The commissioner had built relationships with Roberts through NBA broadcast deals, which helped pave the way for a partnership.
The deal aims to accomplish Mayor Cherelle Parker’s goals of ensuring a world-class arena for the 76ers and bringing a WNBA team to Philadelphia. Harris stated that they “felt we could build a better arena [with Comcast], we could also revitalize Market East, and we felt it was a one-plus-one-equals-three situation.”
Source: https://www.inquirer.com/politics/philadelphia/adam-silver-sixers-arena-market-street-south-philly-20250113.html