My take: Carney's 'hoop dreams'

Over the weekend, the outgoing governor, who, by the way, is running for Wilmington mayor, proposed that the  Philadelphia 76ers build a new arena on Wilmington's Riverfront.

A small arena, the Chase Fieldhouse, is already the home of the Sixers G League team, the Delaware Blue Coats.

Sixers ownership wants to make an arena the centerpiece of a redevelopment project in Center City Philadelphia that touches the Chinatown neighborhood.

The plan ran into resistance from neighbors, with media giant  Comcast not thrilled about losing a tenant at the Wells Fargo Center, soon to be renamed, since the bank no longer wants rights to what WMMR host Pierre Robert calls The Big Joint. Comcast owns the other team in the building, the Philadelphia Flyers.

Carney's idea received, at best, a lukewarm response based on Facebook comments. Sadly, the commentary included rants from some folks with racist tendencies who falsely claim the Riverfront is a crime-ridden area. A more valid concern is traffic.

Carney's idea gained the attention of the Philadelphia Inquirer, which had a full write-up. It was noted that New Jersey's interests have been pitching the idea of building the arena across the river. The Sixers already have their headquarters and training center in Camden.

The story did note that the Sixers have made it clear that they intend to stay in Philadelphia. Their ownership group, which includes the majority shareholder of the Washington Commanders, has deep pockets and may be able to push through a Center City project.

At the same time, the Sixers may be the least loved team in sports-crazy Philadelphia, thanks to their inability to get deeper into the NBA playoffs.

They have faithful fans, but most of us have trouble wrapping our heads around a Philly team relocating to Delaware. Thanks to a better season this year and their Gritty mascot, Comcast's Flyers are faring a little better these days on the public image front.

My take is that Carney loses nothing by suggesting that the Sixers occupy a large piece of land in the newest portion of the redeveloped Riverfront. Had the naysayers prevailed, the entire Riverfront would still be an industrial wasteland.

The proposal does remind me of the individual who pushes for Swedish assemble-it-yourself furniture giant IKEA to build a store somewhere on the Riverfront and even created a Facebook page that pinpoints a location. 

Even though its US headquarters is in suburban Philadelphia, IKEA never warmed up to the idea of locating to sales tax-free Delaware. The retailer is building smaller stores these days, which "might" open the door to a Delaware location in the distant future. - Doug Rainey, chief content officer.