Quote:
Originally Posted by allovertown
But the question is, why would anyone decide to book a venue in Camden VS. One in the sports complex? It's not like there is an actual problem with the wells Fargo center as a venue, the problem as far as the sixers owners are concerned is simply that they don't own it.
Trying to secure events in a Camden arena would be difficult as even with a brand new arena, most events would probably prefer South Philly over Camden. I'm bullish on Camden long term, but I don't think the chances of it becoming an evening entertainment destination anytime soon are very high. It would be largely functionally similar to the Wells Fargo center in that it would be a place that you travel to, see the event and then leave without doing much else at the actual location. The difference would be that for most in the metro, Camden is a more difficult commute by car and likely by transit as well and then there's also the negative perceptible of crime. On top of all this, there's already a large concert venue in Camden you'd be competing with as well.
The sixers owners are skilled at if nothing else blinking every last dime out of the system as they can, but at the end of the day this will still amount to a major investment and they'll be sure to maximize their return on that investment. They view a downtown styled arena as the best way to do that. They see that as an advantage over the wells Fargo center in getting all kinds of events and it would also allow them to profit from things such as bars and restaurants located within the arena complex that don't even require an event.
Every location they're seriously considering is in center city or center city adjacent. They have no interest in building an arena in Camden.
|
While I understand your logic, I completely disagree. I don't see the barriers to securing an event in Camden vs South Philly. It's two sides of the same river. As you state, there's already a successful and established venue in Camden - only that arena is on a different scale and fully outdoor compared to what a new basketball stadium would offer. This is similar as to how the Wells Fargo has to compete with the Linc and Citizens Bank across the street (as well as BB&T, if you consider it a direct competitor). They have PATCO and highways just as the stadiums do (and easier access to highways than most downtown stadiums would).
I 100% agree that the 6ers ownership is looking to maximize return and I think a lot of that will come down to playing the city/state against our neighbors to the east. In recent years, NJ has been a lot more willing to finance companies and attractions coming to Camden than we have been to PA (and I'm not arguing that we should be using public money to finance this stuff at all). That really is the biggest factor in profitability. If you have entertainment product that's somewhat inelastic, shifting the location slightly will not be as big of a factor as the public financing. I think NJ is willing to open their pockets to the 6ers far more than PA is and that could be the deciding factor.
I'm not saying Camden is a slam dunk. I'm not saying it's my preference (far from it). I'm just saying it's a serious contender.
Stadiums revitalizing neighborhoods is a myth and I'd have serious space and traffic concerns about a Center City location (you can say take the subway as much as you want, but only some people will actually do it - I'd be one of them). Personally, I think something like the Verizon Center in Center City would be disappointing. That building has no gameday atmosphere. Something by Penn's Landing would be interesting, but public transit would be an issue. I'd prefer both to Camden, but I still wouldn't rule them out.
My dream would be that they build a BIGGER complex in the stadium complex. My WILDEST DREAM would be to put it right at the entrance to the Navy Yard (overlooking FDR Park) in the renovated belly of the SS United States, which would not only develop the most unique stadium in the country, but also spur the Navy Yard extension to the Broad Street line. The chances of that happening are exactly 0%. The chances of Camden taking it are substantially higher.