“HBSE and Comcast will also immediately focus on Market East, bringing together government officials and local stakeholders to develop a variety of options to revitalize a vital neighborhood in Center City where the 76ers had originally proposed locating the arena,” the release read.

Comcast has taken a minority stake in the Philadelphia 76ers, along with plans for a new arena and a potential WNBA team bid.

The deal comes just weeks after a grueling legislative battle in which the Sixers convinced City Council to give it the green light to move to Center City.

The Philadelphia 76ers will partner with Comcast Spectacor to build a new arena in South Philadelphia and abandon a deal to move downtown

After years of planning and ongoing debate, the planners behind a proposal to bring a Sixers arena to Center City have backtracked. Instead, the team will get a new arena in South Philly, an official claimed.

Less than two weeks into the new year, the Sixers delivered "a curveball that none of us saw coming," Mayor Cherelle Parker said at a press conference Monday. Why it matters: The team's new deal with Comcast Spectacor to build a South Philadelphia arena and entertainment complex shakes up plans to redevelop Market East,

The Philadelphia 76ers will partner with Comcast Spectacor to build a new arena in South Philadelphia and abandon a deal to move downtown. The news comes as a relief to critics of the plan to put a $1.