Report: 76ers Won't Develop new Arena at Penn's Landing

The Philadelphia 76ers will not have the opportunity to develop a new arena after all. A couple of weeks back, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Sixers' Managing Partners Josh Harris and David Blitzer were exploring the idea of potentially getting an arena built in Penn's Landing, which would be a new exclusive home for the Sixers.

But the Sixers weren't alone in the bid for the developmental area on the waterfront. On Wednesday, the board of the Delaware River Waterfront Corp. voted on which company would have the opportunity to upgrade Penn's Landing with a developmental project, and the board selected the Durst Group's plan over Harris and Blitzer's.

The Sixers' Managing Partners planned to build a new 19,000-seat arena to become the official home of the Philadelphia 76ers. In the plan, the Sixers were hopeful to have the project done by the 2031 season when their lease with the Wells Fargo Center is up.

"The Sixers are proposing to finance the project using a Neighborhood Improvement Zone, a state program that can allow development bonds to be issued based on future tax revenues from businesses within a certain area."

"The proposal comes as the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation continues a years-long effort to reshape Penn’s Landing, and as the city moves forward with a separate project that will “cap” Interstate 95 between Chestnut and Walnut Streets, building a park over the highway that has long cut off Philadelphia from the waterfront."

At this point, it seems the Sixers are going to remain put at 'The Center' for the time being. The 76ers debuted at the Wells Fargo Center back in 1996 and haven't left since. Being that the Sixers' current ownership group doesn't own the Wells Fargo Center, Harris and Blitzer looked at an opportunity to change that. While they could look into other opportunities at some point, later on, the Sixers will remain in South Philly for now.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_