Sixers score $44M loan for Camden complex

Firstrust Bank, which earlier this month formed a corporate partnership with the Philadelphia 76ers, said Monday it is providing the franchise with a $44 million construction loan for the team’s 125,000 square foot training complex and corporate office in Camden.

Richard J. Green, the chairman and CEO of Conshohocken-based Firstrust said he is a lifelong Sixers fans and he believes the “state-of-the-art facility will fill another key puzzle piece to help enable my hometown team to compete on a consistent basis at the highest levels.”

Sixers CEO Scott O’Neil said the franchise’s marketing partnership and banking relationship with Firstrust Bank “will allow our team to take this next important step towards creating a world-class facility, while playing an important part in Mayor (Dana) Redd’s efforts to revitalize the City of Camden."

The complex at Martin Luther King Boulevard and Delaware Avenue will house — in addition to the team’s corporate offices and training complex — two basketball courts; performance, recovery, and hydrotherapy rooms; and more than 10,000 square-feet of mixed-use commercial and conference space.

In June 2014, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority approved up to $82 million in tax credits for the Sixers as an enticement to build the complex in Camden and bring more than 200 jobs to the city.

Ground-breaking for the complex occurred in January 2015. The team expects the project to be completed by the end of 2016. The property was previously a parking lot owned by the Parking Authority of the City of Camden.

Source: Philadelphia Business Journal