Quote:
Originally Posted by Groundhog
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.
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I wasn't trying up imply that an arena in Camden would be so much worse than one in the stadium district. I was saying they're basically the same, an arena in an area you're otherwise not looking to hang out in, where you drive or take transit to the game/event and then leave. But after considering that reality, again it's hard to imagine a location in Camden better suited for that than the sports complex is. Sports complex sits at the intersection of two major highways and the wells Fargo center is a block from a subway stop. I understand there's highways and patco in Camden, but it won't be as easy to get to for most in the metro as the sports complex is. It's not that they couldn't book events in Camden, I'm just saying it would be tough competition.
Even if you feel theres no difference between the two sites, they're not looking for an arena that is on basically even footing with wells Fargo center. They're looking for an arena that is unlike anything else in the metro. They want to beat the wells Fargo center.
You're right that Camden would be easier to drive to generally than a center city arena, but then you're comparing apples to oranges. When the location is irrelevant, all that matters is the commute. They're not looking for an irrelevant location.
In any event, I wasn't blindly speculating. I do have some inside information and I know that Camden is not among the handful of sites they're currently seriously considering.
Believe that or not, and it's not like my source is Josh Harris so who really knows. But I did post here that they were definitely in talks to propose a center city arena before their failed Penns landing bid, back when most were poopooing the idea of them even leaving the sports complex. They want their own arena and they want it to be in center city.