Josh Harris and David Blitzer Will Pay 76ers and Prudential Center Staffers During Coronavirus Shutdown (updated)

Correct move here, and if we’re being honest, they were gonna get ripped if they didn’t do this.

Credit where it’s due:

NJ owners Josh Harris and David Blitzer say they have committed to paying hourly/event staff for postponed @NJDevils games and Prudential Center events. “Employees are family…It’s important to band together and lift each other up during these times.”

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) March 13, 2020

Thursday, the Sixers released a statement saying that Harris and Blitzer were committed to assisting Wells Fargo Center arena associates during the NBA shutdown.

Today we got some more clarity on that via a 76ers official, who told Crossing Broad that Harris and Blitzer have committed to paying their hourly and game night 76ers staff for postponed games, reiterating that their employees are the “heartbeat of the organization.

This would include game night performers, entertainers, and part-time Sixers staffers. Keep in mind that the Sixers are a Wells Fargo tenant and do not own the building, so Comcast-Spectacor has a unique and separate arrangement with employees who work Flyers games, Wings games, and other non-Sixers events.

Make sense?

HBSE owns the Prudential Center but not the Wells Fargo Center, so the two situations are handled differently. I’ll “effort” getting a Comcast statement to add to the story.

UPDATE – Here’s the message from Comcast-Spectacor:

“Comcast Spectacor will be paying all game-day employees through the end of March for the games that were postponed by the NHL, NBA, and NLL.”

Good stuff. I’ll see if Aramark has a statement yet. I’m honestly not sure if their employees fall under the Comcast umbrella at the arena, or what. We’ll try to get that straightened out.

Either way, good on Harris and Blitzer and Comcast for following the lead of Mark Cuban and others in doing the right thing.