The state of New Jersey is trying to lure the Philadelphia 76ers to move to Camden, but would Mays Landing be a better option?

New Jersey is offering the Sixers a lucrative package that includes up to $900 million in economic incentives and potentially $500 million in bonds and many other incentives to make the mover over the river.

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The team has said they need to decide by the end of 2024 to have a new arena in place by the time their current lease at the Wells Fargo Center ends in 2031.

They have been looking to move to the Chinatown area of Philadelphia with plenty of pushback, opening up offers from Delaware and now New Jersey.

The team already has a practice facility in Camden, so building a new area there obviously would make sense. They are proposing to build a new arena on the Camden waterfront on the site of the former Riverfront State Prison, which was on a 16-acre site.

But if New Jersey is going to make an offer, why not offer the Atlantic City Race Course area in Mays Landing? The race course has been shuttered for years but sits on over 250 acres of land, so there's plenty of area that could be developed for an arena, parking, shopping, and hotels.

The Sixers could own and develop the entire area and turn Mays Landing into Sixers Town.

As you can see from the image below, there is plenty of room for an arena and parking in the area, plus there's plenty of potential for more shopping and hotels on-site.

Heck at this point, if the Sixers offered to buy the Hamilton Mall area, I'm sure the owners would be willing to get out of that spot and allow the Sixers to build something special on that site or use it for more parking.

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Would traffic be an issue? Absolutely, but traffic is an issue at the current Wells Fargo location, so fans are used to it.

Plenty of pro sports teams are removing 45 minutes to an hour outside of the cities they play, so instead of moving the Sixers to Camden, why not consider Mays Landing?

The 49ers play 45 minutes away from San Fransisco in Santa Clara.  The Florida Panthers play an hour and a half away from Miami in Sunrise. The Chicago Bears are looking at a new home in Arlington Park, about 30 minutes away from Chicago. The Dallas Cowboys are in Fort Worth is about an hour from Dallas.

This is becoming a new norm as teams look for bigger stadiums and more extravagant areas to maximize revenue.

Listen, I know it's far-fetched, mainly because of the traffic issues, but it is an area that would work for an arena and parking for sure, for years people from down the shore have been making the drive to South Philadelphia for Sixers games, maybe its time for them to drive down here to watch them play.

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