The city of Philadelphia is preparing to move its marquee sports arena off Broad Street and into the heart of the city.

On Thursday, the Philadelphia 76ers announced the creation of a new development company, 76 Devcorp, that will work toward building a new arena — tentatively named 76 Place — for the team in Center City. The company will be led by Philadelphia-based businessman David Adelman.

“The Philadelphia 76ers’ extensive evaluation of potential sites for an arena over the past two years culminates today with plans to pursue the Fashion District Philadelphia site as the proposed new home of the team,” said Adelman.

Inside the Numbers

The project will be entirely privately funded and carry a cost of $1.3 billion.

• The team anticipates providing $1.9 billion in economic output during construction and $400 million annually once the arena opens.
• If construction goes according to plan, the new arena will be ready in time for the start of the 2031-32 NBA season.

The 76ers didn’t mention if they would share the arena with the Philadelphia Flyers — the two teams have cohabitated since 1967.

The new owners of Chelsea FC are raising around $957 million of debt to boost the team’s operations and stadium.

Roughly $359 million will be put toward a revolving credit facility, with $598 million used for a term loan. 

JPMorgan and Bank of America are involved in the financing. 

• Due to its structure, Chelsea will reportedly not bear any of the interest expense from the financing.
• All proceeds will go toward the business. Financial Times reported that the owners will not pledge any assets or revenues associated with the team’s regulated entities to acquire the financing.

A consortium led by Los Angeles Dodgers, Lakers, and Sparks owner Todd Boehly purchased the team for $5.2 billion in May. The deal includes restrictions on debt levels.

As part of the takeover agreement, $2.09 billion was earmarked specifically to invest in the club, including the stadium, talent academies, and Chelsea’s players. The term loan will reportedly form part of the commitment, and the credit facility would be used for working capital purposes.

In Charge at Chelsea

The news comes after Chelsea appointed former City Football Group executive Tom Glick as president of business earlier this week. Glick is in charge of revenue growth, commercial strategy, and fan engagement. 

The team has yet to fill the vacant chief executive role.

The Premier Lacrosse League raised a new round of capital as it looks to make the leap to the mainstream U.S. sports audience.

The Series D round was led by existing investor The Chernin Group and included some heavy hitters in the sports landscape:

• WWE
• Kevin Durant’s Thirty Five Ventures
• Brooklyn Nets owner Joseph Tsai
• Arctos Sports Partners
• Brett Jefferson, investor and part-owner of the National Lacrosse League’s Albany FireWolves 

The size of the round was not disclosed, but league owners Paul and Mike Rabil told Bloomberg that it doubled the valuation of the league from its June 2021 funding. Arctos led that round with participation from Tsai and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

ESPN Buys In

The league got a boost in March when it inked a four-year broadcast rights deal with ESPN, reportedly valued at eight figures. The deal puts all 47 PLL games on ESPN, ESPN+, or ABC.

Viewership rose 29% from 2019 to 2021 on NBCSN. The 2020 season was delayed and shortened due to the pandemic. Ticket revenue increased by 56% over that span.

A June game on ABC broke league records with 452,000 average viewers and 623,000 peak viewers.