Quote:
Originally Posted by PHL10
I don't think it's practical or even feasible to save the facade of a huge 12-story building.
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Sorry, I meant the lower levels. That's where the real beauty is. Above the columns, the upper floors are unremarkable, and the backside is hideous. Don't get me wrong it's a very nice building, but I think 8th and Market is really the only place in Center City that really has the transit access and hotels to make a Center City stadium feasible with minimal impact on existing structures (except this one building) since it's mostly an empty lot. From there you can access the MFL, PATCO, and regional rail - and the airport connection is a huge plus too. BSL and the trolleys are only a few blocks away too. I understand it would be a major logistical challenge (and it's possible there are site constraints I'm not privy to that make it impossible), but assuming it's possible to squeeze a stadium in and you could preserve the lower facade, then I think this location truly makes the most sense if the Sixers
must have a Center City arena. Hell, maybe you could save some of the upper floors along 9th or Chestnut and convert it into a hotel built into the stadium for teams/performers - but I'm no engineer. As far as I can tell though, the entire 8th and Market block is about the same size (maybe a
tad smaller) as the site at Penn's Landing. But unlike Penn's landing, you could actually dig down a bit here and put the court below street level, which would allow you to do it in less space.
Ultimately my preference is that the Sixers stay put. But if they have to move...
Edit: Here is WFC to scale, rotated to align with the street grid overlaid at 8th and Market. You'd have to redesign the peripheral areas, but the arena portion itself fits.