The top economic officials in New Jersey, including Gov. Phil Murphy and EDA CEO Tim Sullivan, always knew the proposed arena complex on the Camden Waterfront that was being offered in an effort to bring the Philadelphia 76ers across the river was a ‘Plan B’ for the team.
That didn’t mean the state didn’t have a Plan B of its own.
On Sunday, after it was announced that the Sixers had reached a deal to stay in Philadelphia, Sullivan told ROI-NJ that the state will quickly turn its attention to bringing another developer to the state-owned prime parcel of land just north of Ben Franklin Bridge.
“The governor has given us very clear direction that if the Sixers didn’t work out, we need to move on quickly and work closely with the mayor and leadership in Camden and get something exciting going down there,” he said.
“I think we’ll probably have the site that was the centerpiece of this arena project on the market expeditiously in the first part of this year – to see what else we might be able to do there.”
There’s no guarantee the state will reach an agreement before Murphy leaves office next January, but since the state (the EDA specifically) owns the land, it can move quickly.
“We’ll do some sort of formal process, probably an RFP process, to see who’s out there, who’s interested, what kind of price they are willing to pay and what they want to build,” Sullivan said.
What else could go there remains to be imagined, he said.
“I think it might resonate with someone doing mixed use with a pretty high mix of residential,” he said.
It’s all about location, Sullivan said.
“Everywhere around the world, people like living near water with city views – so I can imagine there will be some significant interest from developers,” he said. “And I know the Aspire program will be really helpful to anyone who wants to build there.”
The Aspire incentive program from the EDA was a key to the proposal to lure the Sixers.
Because the potential arena project included an arena and a mixed-use component, it would have been eligible for two Aspire tax credits of up to $400 million.
The next project may not get the same deal – but it certainly figures to have the same support from Camden officials, Sullivan said.
“One of the things that most cities need, Camden included, is more feet on the street, more people living downtown,” he said.
“The community in that part of Camden long ago did a planning process that envision a mostly residential mixed-use-led development there.”
If that comes with an arts and entertainment component, all the better, Sullivan said.
“I think the community in Camden, from the mayor on down, strongly supported the Sixers idea,” he said. “So, if there was some kind of arts and entertainment-oriented proposal, I’m sure they would be interested.”
Even a different professional sports team?
Sullivan said that dream is unlikely.
“This proposal was pretty fact specific in the sense we had a regional team that seemed to be looking for a place to play,” he said. “It’s not likely that a franchise in hockey or basketball is going to wander into the Philly market to be the second franchise.”
That being said …
“If there was another franchise that was looking for a home, either from the Philly area and wanted to play in Camden, or in the New York area and wanted to play in North Jersey near the Giants and Jets, it’s certainly something we would take seriously,” he said.
There are many potential Plan Bs, Sullivan said.
“Outside the realm of sports, I think this sort of exercise shows that when Gov. Murphy sees an opportunity that’s real and actionable and a chance to put Jersey’s best foot forward, we’re going to fight like hell for it,” he said.
