A night after Philadelphia mayor Cherelle Parker held a town hall with constituents concerned about the impact a potential center city arena — dubbed "76 Place at Market East" — would have on Chinatown, renderings of an alternate location have surfaced.
Tom Bergeron of ROI New Jersey obtained the first image of one of the alternate proposals, which would see the Sixers arena move to Camden, New Jersey.
Rendering of a potential Sixers arena in Camden.
Photo: @ROINJNews pic.twitter.com/XO5i87Jfdj
First of all, it is surely not a coincidence that this image is coming out the night after Mayor Parker's town hall about 76 Place. Secondly, having the Ben Franklin Bridge featured prominently in the photo is certainly done to remind those who are skeptical of the move just how close Camden is to Philly.
So what now?
A source familiar with the situation told On Pattison's Austin Krell that the team feels they are running out of time for the 76 Place site to be ready by 2031, and while they hope to remain in Philly, the organization doesn't intend to stay at the Sports Complex in South Philly. The source added that the Sixers do view the offer in New Jersey as serious.
Ultimately, it remains to be seen whether the Sixers would actually pull the trigger on leaving Philadelphia, even if the city name would remain the same. But the team's practice facility is already in Camden, and while it would be a little strange for the Sixers to be playing outside of Philadelphia, if you want to get technical, Camden is actually closer to the historic part of Philadelphia than South Philly is.
