Comcast Spectacor’s new chair wants the Sixers to stay in South Philly — and is open to selling them part of the Wells Fargo Center
Comcast Spectacor's Daniel Hilferty is also thinking beyond the Sixers and wants to reimagine the South Philly sports complex.
As the Sixers press their plans to build a $1.3 billion arena in the heart of Center City, igniting a contentious public debate and provoking loud condemnation from Chinatown, people wonder: How does this saga end?
Daniel Hilferty knows how he wants it to end.
The new chairman of Comcast Spectacor, which owns the Flyers and the Wells Fargo Center, where the Sixers are an unhappy tenant, wants it to conclude with the owners of both teams united, announcing they’re joining the Eagles, Phillies, and city officials in a massive transformation of the South Philadelphia sports complex, the plans for a downtown arena discarded.
“That’s my hope,” Hilferty said. “When we dream as individuals, really cool things can happen. But when we dream as a group, amazing, game-changing things can happen.”
Could the Sixers truly return to the Wells Fargo Center, after months of criticizing the facility and presenting their own plans as a big, important step for Philadelphia?
“Yes,” Hilferty said, “I think it’s realistic.”
In his first public comments on the Sixers’ landscape-altering proposal, Hilferty made clear in an interview with The Inquirer that he wants the team to stay at the Wells Fargo Center. He said he’s ready to work with the Sixers on shared business and entertainment opportunities — including potentially selling part of the Wells Fargo Center to the basketball team.
“We’re open to creative discussions about how we go forward together,” he said. “Our goal is to bring everybody back in the fold and figure out what we can do together.”
The Sixers have been adamant about moving ahead with their own venue. A spokesperson for 76 Devcorp, the team’s arena-development partnership, declined to comment on Friday.
Hilferty took over as chairman and CEO of Comcast Spectacor in March, after joining the company as CEO the previous month. His arrival at the local sports-and-entertainment arm of Comcast, the giant telecommunications firm, surprised some people.
Hilferty is a top business executive, the retired head of Independence Blue Cross, a civic leader who possesses deep connections in business and politics — but no experience running professional sports teams or arenas. That’s fed speculation that a main role would be to figure out the arena situation, then advise Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts on a way forward.
Hilferty said that analysis contained elements of truth but stressed his commitment to rebuilding and improving the downtrodden Flyers, which he leads as team governor.
He also said:
The Flyers will not be sold. Period. Conjecture has surrounded a sale to Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, which owns and operates the Sixers, a move that would see both teams move to a downtown arena.
Having two major-league, similarly sized venues in the city would hurt both, as they compete for bookings. He noted that by the Sixers’ estimate, the new arena would be empty more than 200 days a year. “Is that good for anybody?”
Hilferty repeatedly expressed admiration for the Sixers and their leadership, for the team’s business and sporting success, and for its achievements in building a popular, respected brand.
He considers billionaire developer David Adelman a friend, he said, despite the criticism leveled at Comcast Spectacor and the Wells Fargo Center by the Sixers’ part-owner. In fact, Hilferty said, he phoned Adelman shortly before the announcement that he was joining Comcast Spectacor, and since then, the two have said hello at Sixers games.
“It’s our hope that the Sixers, their current ownership, will come to the decision that they want to continue together as partners,” Hilferty said. “I believe there will be a time where we can come together for very constructive conversations.”
Redefining the stadium district
Those discussions could include the plans for a huge mixed-use, condominium, apartment, and entertainment area that would, in stages, transform the sports complex that’s long been home to the Eagles, Phillies, Flyers, and Sixers.
The project would include a 5,000-to-6,000-seat performance arena adjacent to Xfinity Live!, the big sports bar on Pattison Avenue. Ultimately the project could cost hundreds of millions of dollars, forever changing an area now defined by stadiums and parking lots.
Those plans can go forward without the Sixers, Hilferty said, but he would rather work jointly — that “the Sixers at some point decide that their fortunes are better placed in a partnership with us.”
The Wells Fargo Center, which opened in 1996, is nearing the conclusion of a nearly $400 million, seven-year renovation that’s touched almost every aspect of the building. Its owners call it the New Wells Fargo Center.
Four miles north in Center City, the Sixers intend to build and privately pay for what they say will be a triumphant new venue at 10th and Market Streets.
They describe the project as a giant win for Philadelphia — a vibrant downtown arena that would help drive foot traffic, business, and spending on a struggling stretch of East Market Street. They say they can operate the arena without harming nearby Chinatown, where many community members and organizations stand vigorously opposed.
The stakes are huge for all involved, for the teams and for a historic neighborhood of color, and for a city desperate to reverse the declines of the pandemic and spark the return of people to its offices and transit systems.
The arena would sit atop Jefferson Station, a main connector of the region’s rail and subway lines.
The team plans to leave the Wells Fargo Center when its lease expires in 2031. Having their own arena would let the Sixers set their schedule, dictate the use of the space, and capture virtually all the spending that would go on in and around the venue.
The Sixers have moved their self-set deadline for obtaining city government approvals from June to the fall.
Hilferty’s leadership in Philadelphia
For years, Hilferty’s leadership, influence, and contacts have placed him at the center of major Philadelphia undertakings, most recently as the head of the winning bid to host World Cup games during the 2026 tournament.
He raised money for Pope Francis’ visit in 2015 and for the city’s hosting of the Democratic National Convention in 2016. In 2020, he retired as chief executive of Independence Health Group, the region’s largest health insurer, and less than a year ago announced the creation of a health-care consulting firm, Dune View Strategies.
For the next eight years, Hilferty said, Comcast Spectacor will do everything it can to help the Sixers win NBA championships.
“The building on East Market Street, we do have a different point of view,” he said. “If we all leaned in together, and the Sixers and the Flyers and Comcast Spectacor are the catalyst for that broader, big-picture approach, we believe we can do more for the region. We can create the greatest sports center in America.”