The Sixers called New Jersey’s offer thoughtful and compelling, though the team is still talking with Philadelphia leaders about a new stadium in the city.
CAMDEN, NJ — In an attempt to attract the Philadelphia 76ers on the other side of the river, New Jersey offers up to $400 million in tax credits and outlines plans for a mixed-use development on the coast.
In a letter dated Monday, the administration of Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy said it envisioned a multibillion-dollar plan in the city of Camden that includes residential, commercial and retail properties, with the Sixers as the anchor.
The proposal from Economic Development Authority CEO Tim Sullivan comes as the team and Philadelphia are negotiating over a future $1.3 billion stadium the team had announced for the city’s Chinatown neighborhood. The team has said it does not plan to stay in the Wells Fargo Arena in the city’s stadium district beyond 2031, when its lease expires.
Wells Fargo Center is currently the home of the NBA’s 76ers. Photo: AP
Los Sixerswho already have a training complex and headquarters in Camden, called the offer New Jersey “considered and compelling,” though the team is still talking with Philadelphia leaders about a new stadium in the city.
“The reality is that we are running out of time to reach an agreement that allows the 76ers “We are committed to opening our new venue in time for the 2031-32 NBA season,” team spokeswoman Molly Mita McEndy wrote in an email. “As a result, we must take all potential options seriously, including this one.”
A spokesman for the Philadelphia mayor’s office declined to comment on the offer. New Jersey or the state of their own negotiations.
At an unrelated event in suburban Philadelphia on Tuesday, Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro said the team wants to remain in Philadelphia and has not asked for or offered tax incentives.
“I love the Sixers,” he said. “They belong in Philadelphia.”
The team’s move to Chinatown comes at a time when some community members fear that on-street parking could disappear, traffic could increase and it could become more difficult to hold festivals.
The offer of New Jersey It comes just months after the state attorney general filed criminal racketeering charges against a Democratic power broker from Camden, as well as a former mayor of the city and others for what he said was their role in orchestrating the tax incentive legislation and benefiting from it. He and the others have denied the charges and are fighting them in court.
