Comcast Chairman and CEO Dan Hilferty did a press conference with Jonesy on Wednesday. Anthony will hit on the Flyers topics, but Hilferty was asked for the latest on the Sixers arena proposal and Comcast+Phillies sports complex revamp:

Hilferty: “I gotta preface it by saying, for at least the next several seasons, to 2031, the 76ers will play at the Wells Fargo Center, but it’s my hope and dream that we end of the day stay together there, we start the development, and then at the right time, build an arena together in the sports district in South Philly. This has been a vision, this isn’t new with (the arrival of new leadership). This has been a vision since the days of Ed Snider. This never got off the ground. (They) took down the Spectrum and it never got off the ground. We’re gonna have a series of announcements. We’ve talked about Phase 1, and then the aspirational piece. The Phillies and Comcast-Spectacor are committed to a partnership. We’re in dialogue with the Eagles. Obviously they’re a great partner in South Philly and we’d love to have them involved. But that discussion continues. Over the course of this summer, we’ll start laying out announcements around Phase 1, which is basically our footprint between the Wells Fargo Center and Pattison Avenue, from 11th Street to Broad Street. Stay tuned. This summer that’ll start to come out. And in terms of the Sixers, look, think of Philadelphia, we were just ranked 33rd by some Oxford study, 33rd best city in the world. We talk about all of our problems and issues, but truth of the matter is that it’s a great place. But we’re not talking about professional teams leaving Philadelphia. We’re talking about professional teams having a different perspective on their home to be. This is all good. This debate is good for Philly. We have a position on it. HBSE, they have a position on it. We’ll come to a resolution, but it’s not going to stop our focus on making sure we get the arrangement with the Phillies solidified and we begin Phase 1, announcing Phase 1 this summer and then getting started as early as the fall.”

Hilferty believes what’s best for the city is all four majors playing in South Philadelphia. He’s been consistent with that thought when making public comments on the topic. But it’s not an either/or proposition and never has been. If the Sixers want to leave, they’re allowed to leave. They’re not required to be a Comcast tenant in a Comcast-owned building. And on the flip side, Comcast is perfectly justified in saying something like, ‘alright, then we’re gonna do this without you,’ then they join the Phillies and Eagles to build a banger of a sports district that the Sixers won’t benefit from and won’t partake in.

That might be the best outcome for everyone, especially the fan. You get a brand new sports complex and brand new downtown arena at the same time, the latter being 100% privately financed and the former that surely weill skew heavily to the private side with Comcast, the Phillies, and the Eagles all being involved. If city council has even half of a brain, they’ll approve both projects ASAP, because you’re talking several billion dollars in post-COVID private investment and union jobs for years.

The biggest question I have is this one: Por que no los dos?