New Philadelphia Arena Was Key to City’s Successful WNBA Bid

The awarding of a WNBA expansion franchise to Philadelphia confirms a key portion of the vision within the arena deal struck earlier this year between Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment and Comcast Spectacor.

When HBSE, the parent company of the NBA’s 76ers and NHL’s Devils, and Comcast Spectacor ended years of strife with a surprise deal to build a new venue in the South Philadelphia sports complex, women’s basketball was core to the agreement. The parties agreed to bid jointly for a WNBA expansion team as part of the broader pact, and less than six months later, that pursuit is reality. 

Philadelphia will be the third in a three-team sequence of expansion franchises unveiled this week, with play slated to begin in 2030. The new arena is slated to open in 2031, with a possibility to accelerate that date a year earlier to coincide with the WNBA team’s debut. When the venue does open, though, the forthcoming franchise will be there from the outset, right along HBSE’s 76ers and the NHL Flyers owned by Comcast Spectacor. 

That team will also have the benefit of playing in a state-of-the-art facility, joining others in the WNBA, such as the Mystics, that will similarly take advantage of large-scale arena renovations on the way. 

“For me, and the community, bringing the WNBA to Philly wasn’t just a nice-to-have. It was an obligation,” said HBSE managing partner and cofounder Josh Harris. 

Along similar lines, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker repeatedly touted the need for a WNBA team in Philadelphia over the past year as she lobbied for a new arena in the city. 

Complex Matters

HBSE will be the majority owner and operator of the new WNBA team, with Comcast Spectacor coming in as a minority partner, and the group collectively agreeing to a $250 million expansion fee—the same as a new team starting in 2028 in Cleveland and in 2029 in Detroit. If the new Philadelphia arena is not ready when play starts, the team will begin in the existing Wells Fargo Center, about to be renamed to Xfinity Mobile Arena. 

Regardless, the WNBA team will be a fundamental component of a remade South Philadelphia sports complex that will also include a mixed-use development partially modeled after The Battery in Atlanta.

“The whole ownership group has a long-term commitment to making this work in the city of Philadelphia,” said WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, who grew up in Collingswood, N.J., in suburban Philadelphia. “It’s just the right time now for the W [there]. Five years ago, it wouldn’t have been the right time, four years ago, three years ago.” 

The presence of Comcast Spectacor in the Philadelphia expansion team has some additional corporate overlap, as sister Comcast-owned entity NBCUniversal has WNBA media rights beginning next year. Reflecting that multi-layered involvement, Comcast chair and CEO Brian Roberts attended the WNBA expansion announcement this week.