Build. Engage. Play: Introducing the “76ers Fieldhouse”

Today Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment announced a partnership with The Buccini/Pollin Group to establish the 76ers Fieldhouse, a state-of-the-art, 140,000-square-foot, multi-purpose sports complex and youth training center in Wilmington, De. Set to open in the fourth quarter of 2018, the 76ers Fieldhouse will serve as a new home to our NBA G League affiliate team, providing an optimal home game experience for 2,500 fans. 

This marks a new era in 76ers basketball history, as we continue to expand and amplify our brand in new communities where we see great potential. With three full-sized, professional basketball courts, two indoor turf soccer fields, a world-class sports performance and training area, and retail space, this dynamic new facility will become a beacon for youth sports in Delaware.

We are confident this will become a first-class destination for youth basketball, soccer, volleyball and other sport competitions and athletic training sessions. This new venue provides our organization another important touchpoint in the community. From this new location, we will have the ability to support thousands of underserved youth annually by leveraging our powerful platform of sports with our intrinsic drive to play an active role in the communities where our fans live, work and play.

Build. Engage. Play. This is our mode of operation. We sought a home for our G League team where the strength of the Philadelphia 76ers brand could make a sizable and lasting impact on the community and regional economic development. We pursued a partner with expertise in state-of-the-art sports venue construction and management. Today we plant another flag in the ground – as we have done in Camden and Newark NJ – with the goal of making a serious investment in development and an earnest commitment to the community, wrapped around an authentic passion for sports.

We look forward to a formal groundbreaking ceremony for the 76ers Fieldhouse in the first quarter of 2018 – and hope the greater Wilmington community will welcome our team to its new home. 

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$26 Million Wilmington Sports Complex to be 'Huge Economic Generator'

Wilmington News Journal, Nov. 29, 2017

By Christina Jedra

Developers and elected officials hope a new $26 million athletic complex in south Wilmington could provide an economic boost to the city.

The Buccini/Pollin Group will build a 140,000-square-foot, 2,500-seat multi-purpose sports complex and youth training center near U.S. Route 13 and Garasches Lane on the east side of the Christina River, the company announced on Wednesday.

The facility, to be called the 76ers Fieldhouse, will be the new home for the 87ers basketball team, a 76ers minor league affiliate, and will provide athletic training opportunities to the area's underserved youth.

"It could be a huge economic generator for the city," said BPG Co-President Rob Buccini.

The fieldhouse will sit on a nearly nine-acre parcel of land east of South Walnut Street. The area is surrounded by auto businesses and is nearby what is supposed to eventually become a wetland park.

"I remember what an important shot in the arm Frawley Stadium and the Blue Rocks were to the other side of the river," said Gov. John Carney. "This could be the same kind of catalyst."

A groundbreaking for the project is scheduled for early 2018 and is slated to open by the end of the year.

The complex will include three full-sized, professional basketball courts, two indoor turf soccer fields, a sports performance and athletic training area, and retail and office space, the developers said. The space will be amenable to other sports too, like volleyball and lacrosse. Parking will be available adjacent to the facility, the developers said. 

BPG said several groups will work out of the space including the Delaware Football Club, the Future Soccer Stars Foundation, Titus Sports Academy and the Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, which will offer pediatric orthopedic services and sports physical therapy.

"We’re bringing back some hometown pride that’s been missing," Buccini said. "This will give athletes from all walks of life an opportunity to play in a world-class facility."

The development is a milestone for the Riverfront Development Corporation, a quasi-government agency that has largely focused its energy on rejuvenating the west side of the Christina River. Since its formation in 1995, the group has transformed part of the riverfront from a toxic dump of warehouses into a neighborhood with apartments, restaurants and recreational opportunities like mini-golf and ice skating.

The organization is increasingly interested in the land surrounding South Market Street on the other side of the water.

Development efforts will be aided by a new Christina River bridge, which will have two 11-foot-wide vehicle lanes and 14 feet of bicycle and pedestrians pathways. The bridge is slated to be completed by 2019 and will lead directly to the new fieldhouse.

The bridge will foster synergy between the two sides, Buccini said.

"Before the game, you can go to Iron Hill and have a burger, walk along the new bridge, and at the bottom of the bridge will be this new facility," he said.

Mayor Mike Purzycki said the sports complex opens up possibilities for south Wilmington.

"It sets a standard for the kind of aspirations we have for that side of the river," said Purzycki, who led the RDC since its inception.

The complex will fill a niche as an expansive, multi-purpose indoor facility, said 76ers President Christopher Heck.

"There's nothing of this sort in the area, certainly not Delaware," he said.

The RDC bought the fieldhouse property at 401 Garasches Lane in 2015, records show. It plans to sell it to BPG early next year, said Executive Director Megan McGlinchey. 

The cost of the land is "confidential until we close," Buccini said.

BPG expects there to be public investment from both the city and state, but the details have not been finalized, the company said.

"We haven't made any commitments yet," Purzycki said. "It’s not going to be anything huge."

Carney said the parties haven't "ironed out the specifics," but certain state assistance would need to be approved by the General Assembly.

The construction is expected to create about 150 jobs, BPG said. Running the facility will require 30 full-time and 15 part-time employees.

BPG promised elected officials that the facility will be available to disadvantaged members of the local community.

"The Sixers will do free camps in the summer, and we’ll have programming at reduced rates for those who can’t afford it," Buccini said.

These programs will focus on physical fitness, nutrition and wellness and basketball skills training and development, BPG said.

In 2015, former Mayor Dennis P. Williams proposed building a $25 million 4,000-seat sports arena attached to the Chase Center on the east side of the Christina River. That plan, which never advanced, would have relied much more on public dollars, Purzycki said.

BPG said it has acquired, developed and owns over $4 billion in real estate including 40 hotels, six million square feet of office and retail space, 10 major residential communities, and multiple entertainment venues, including Talen Energy Stadium, home of the Philadelphia Union Major League Soccer team.

The company is planning to build two hotels near the Chase Center and has several projects under construction downtown.