Off RealGm.Com<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Three buyers with local ties among eight Sixers suitorsThe team, whose owners have not said is for sale, could fetch a record price.By David AldridgeInquirer Staff WriterAs many as eight potential buyers - including at least three with local ties - have come forward seeking to buy the Philadelphia 76ers, according to numerous sources.One NBA source said this week that the league was increasingly confident the team would be sold for up to $450 million before the end of the year. Such a price would be an NBA record, topping the $401 million paid by Robert Sarver in 2004 to buy the Phoenix Suns, the WNBA's Mercury, and the Arena Football League Arizona Rattlers.A spokesman for Comcast-Spectacor referred inquiries about the sale to the statement issued by Comcast chairman Ed Snider in early August that acknowledged only that the team had hired a sports investment firm, Galatioto Sports Partners, to handle inquiries about a potential sale and that no decision had been made to sell.A source said one of the local groups includes the managing directors of ETF Venture Funds, a King of Prussia venture capital fund that specializes in technology and health-care companies. According to the source, the two directors, Ian Berg and Wayne Kimmel, have partnered with Andrew Barroway, the managing partner of Schiffrin & Barroway, a Radnor law firm specializing in class-action lawsuits.In an e-mail on behalf of Berg sent yesterday, Kimmel declined to comment.Another local group looking to buy the team is Mitchell Morgan, head of Morgan Properties, also based in King of Prussia. Morgan's company invests in and develops apartment units in states throughout the Northeast and Midwest and controls more than 14,000 units, including rental property in Philadelphia.Morgan did not return phone calls seeking comment.The Kushner Cos., a New Jersey-based real estate enterprise, no longer is involved in the bidding after initial talks with Comcast, according to sources.The Seattle SuperSonics, along with the WNBA's Storm, were sold last month to a group based in Oklahoma City for $350 million. That group is seeking an agreement with the city to construct a building to replace KeyArena, where the team now plays.The Sixers would continue playing at the Wachovia Center, which is owned by Comcast, and continue to be televised on Comcast SportsNet.The conventional wisdom among many sports business executives is that a potential sale of the Sixers makes little sense without a prospective owner also buying the Wachovia Center, which would significantly enhance future revenue streams.Yet, with the Wachovia Center not for sale, there appears to be a number of people willing to buy only the team.</div>More on RealGm.com....Could it be the sixers wont be play in phili as soon as January '07?? and Eight probable buyers are apparently offering deals. As a canadian fan, i would like to see Vancouver take this as a chance to buy this team, and bring basketball back to Canada. Others however, im sure are thinking such as Florida, which is the first team to come to mind, will look into this.
No way they move the Sixers out of Philadelphia. Are you crazy? They have great fans, IMO, just not a good team. Iverson would want out if they moved, all the die-hard fans from Philly would be crushed, and I just don't see it happening. The Sixers aren't going anywhere. If any team moves in the near future, it's going to be the Sonics.
WOW. I never expected this. I doubt this big move is going to happen anyways, Philly has actual die-hard sports fans. This would be a huge blow to the city of Philadelphia.
IMO, it doesnt matter about the fans, because no1 is buying the Wachovia Center, just the team, Players dont move or anything, i think just management.
Yeah, if this happens, the team will be bought, but it will not be moved to another city. Hopefully a guy like Mark Cuban buys it....that would be sweet. We need to get a guy that will let the basketball masterminds do the trading.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Big Smitty @ Sep 1 2006, 10:57 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>The Sixers aren't moving cities..they'd still be in Philly..just under different management.</div>
If management changes, i think it will be split like no/ok....at least i think, i dont think if a sports company buys it theyll keep it only philidelphia sixers
dude, get it through your head that the sixers are not changing cities. period! philly has some of the best fans in america. It would be really, really stupid for them to move.
if they sell it, theyre sellin everything but the Wachovia Center, so i think its up to the new management to decided that.
The Sixers are one of those few franchises that would ever move anywhere because of the history like the Lakers, Celtics, Knicks, Yankees, RedSox, etc.
I was thinking about that too, its the oldest franchise in league history. But anything can happen in todays NBA.
Yeah, it makes sense to move a classic team from a city with high interest and high population to a city with lower population and lower interest. WAIT NO.
Finally... new ownership means a new general manager... a new general manager means a new coach... a new coach means new players... and new players means a new direction in Sixers basketball. AI will most likely be dealt for expiring contracts and draft picks so the new ownership and front office can get a decent start with the salary cap and bring in players that they like, etc.And if anybody thinks the Sixers will be moved out of Philadelphia, you are ABSOLUTELY CRAZY. As Justice mentioned, it makes no sense financially speaking for the league to take a classic team out of one of the bigger markets in the NBA and move it to a small market location. Philadelphia is a basketball town... that is a fact. Moving the Sixers out of Philadelphia would just hurt the league way too much. And if for some mind-boggling reason they are moved out of Philly, you can bet your ass that Stern will be trying to get another team in there ASAP.
