The Philadelphia 76ers have reportedly spent more than $4.4 million on lobbying and marketing since 2022 to increase support for their planned new downtown arena. This comes amid growing resistance from Chinatown’s community leaders, who express fears that the new stadium could damage the neighborhood.
A recent analysis indicates that the arena could cost Philadelphia and the state more than $1 billion in lost tax revenue, an amount comparable to what the 76ers anticipate the stadium would bring in.
CBL Real Estate, the team’s lobbying group, spent over $2.1 million in the latter half of 2023, according to an Axios analysis of the entity’s expense disclosure forms. The expenses included a new round of signs promoting the stadium and representing the project as beneficial for the city.
The investment in communication has considerably risen since CBL started representing the team. While the firm initially only reported $27,000 in expenses between April and June of 2022, that figure escalated to more than $1.1 million by the end of 2023, primarily for initiatives targeting Philadelphians.
Recently, another batch of signs financed by the team’s development arm, 76ers DevCo, highlighted the possible benefits of the project and urged people to endorse the idea of bringing a new Sixers arena to the neighborhood.
Concerns have arisen about the lobbying firm’s practices. Last year, the city’s ethics board fined CBL $4,000 for failing to disclose its efforts to sway officials about the arena. However, the 76ers strongly contend that the project has wide support among the city’s residents and commuters, claiming they have collected over 30,000 signatures supporting the project.
Sixers spokesperson Mark Nicastre declined to discuss the communication expenses but stated that the team’s grassroots efforts aim to rectify misconceptions and misinformation about the team’s plans.
Source: 76ers spending millions on marketing strategy for new arena.
