NBA Approves Joshua Harris' Purchase Of Philadelphia 76ers

New Sixers Ownership Slashing Ticket Prices In Half

The 76ers will be easier to watch next season, no matter how much Philadelphia improves the product on the court. The new Sixers ownership announced that single game ticket prices will be cut in half for 9,000 seats at the Wells Fargo Center at an introductory press conference on Tuesday.

It's hard to think of better news for Sixers fans given that discussing the team and NBA lockout were off limits because of the ongoing labor negotiations. Chief executive officer Adam Aron had the details about the new ticket prices, via CSN Philly:

"I’m announcing today that going forward, we are slashing – and I mean slashing – ticket prices on individual game tickets on just under 9,000 seats at the Wells Fargo Center for each and every Sixers home game," Aron said. "Indeed on thousands of seats each night, our ticket prices will be cut by 50 percent or more. This is not a sale or a promotion. These are our new ticket prices."

To be clear, these cuts are for individual tickets, not season tickets. Aron said tickets in the lower bowl of the arena will go for as low as $29 – last season the cheapest lower bowl ticket was $54. That’s a 46 percent decrease. What’s more, a center court ticket in the eighth row of the mezzanine bowl will cost $20, down from $45 last season – a 56 percent cut.

The Sixers ranked 25th in the NBA in home attendance last season. But lower ticket prices could do as much to boost attendance as quality basketball for a promising young team that snuck into the playoffs last season under the direction of first-year head coach Doug Collins.

Think people are more interested in basketball than cheap stuff? I invite you to pay closer attention the next time you witness a T-Shirt toss at the arena.

(H/T ProBasketballTalk)

Will Smith Buys Stake In 76ers, Enters 'Hip Hop Artists Who Own Minor Slices Of NBA Teams Power Rankings' At No. 2

NBA Approves Joshua Harris' Purchase Of Philadelphia 76ers

The NBA announced early Tuesday that its owners had unanimously approved the sale of the Philadelphia 76ers to New York-based investor Joshua Harris. Word that Harris had bid to purchase the Sixers from Comcast-Spectator broke last spring, with a deal worth a reported $280 million being reached in July.

The sale approval comes in a quite odd time for the league, as the NBA lockout has been underway for 109 days. Another team, the Atlanta Hawks, is reportedly working through the sale process, albeit on a different timeline than the Sixers. Comcast's sale of the Sixers represents a 57 percent return on an initial investment made in 1996. The Sixers made one NBA Finals trip during that span, in Allen Iverson's heyday.

Harris has remained out of the public eye up until now, though a press conference is expected soon. Harris' group has said it will remain tenants of the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia (owned by Comcast-Spectator) and will remain a partner of Comcast Sports Philly, its local broadcaster.

Philadelphia 76ers' Sale To Joshua Harris To Close Within Days, Says Report

Derek Bodner of SB Nation Philly reports that the Comcast-Spectator's sale of the Philadelphia 76ers to investor Joshua Harris is expected to close early next week, with approval by the NBA board of governors in hand. Fagan reports that Harris is buying only the Sixers -- not the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers or the Wells Fargo Center, both also owned by Comcast -- for $280 million.

Harris has the odd circumstance of preparing to take over the Sixers in the middle of the NBA lockout. News of Harris' bid to buy the team broke last spring, and the deal was done in July, requiring official league review and approval by the other owners. The Atlanta Hawks' sale is next in line: a deal was announced last month, but there's been no indication NBA approval will come soon.

Kate Fagan of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Comcast bought the team for $130 million in 1996. Adjusting for inflation, Comcast earned a 57 percent return on that initial investment. However, the team has reportedly been one of the franchises losing money in recent years.

For more on the Sixers, visit Liberty Ballers and SB Nation Philly.

Philadelphia 76ers Sale To Joshua Harris Official, Still Awaits NBA Approval

After reportedly wrapping up earlier this week, the sale of the Philadelphia 76ers to a group of investors led by New York billionaire businessman Joshua Harris is now official. The NBA Board of Governors will soon decide whether to approve the sale.

According to the Inquirer's Kate Fagan, a 90 percent share of the the team was sold to Harris and company for $280 million, a bit less than they'd been valued by Forbes. Comcast-Spectacor and Ed Harris, the team's previous majority owners, will hang on to a 10 percent slice. 

In a statement, Harris had this to say:

As a basketball fan who attended college in Philadelphia, and with family roots here, I have always felt a strong connection to this City and the 76ers. We look forward to helping the 76ers organization build on this past season's accomplishments in the years ahead.

For more on the 76ers' sale and its ramifications, visit Liberty Ballers and SB Nation Philly.

Philadelphia 76ers Sale To Joshua Harris Is Complete, Pending NBA Approval, According To Report

The sale of the Philadelphia 76ers to New York City billionare Joshua Harris, the CEO of Apollo Global Management LLC, has been completed, according to CBS Sports' Ken Berger. Comcast Spectator, who previously owned the team, will sell it to Harris and a bunch of other investors that includes former agent and Sacramento Kings executive Jason Levien. The sale of the team now must be approved by the NBA Board of Governors.

The price of the sale remains unclear, according to Berger. Comcast will retain ownership over the Philadelphia Flyers and the Wells Fargo Center.

The 76ers were put up for sale in early June, and Harris immediately emerged as the potential buyer. He is worth over $1.5 billion. The Comcast Spectator group had owned the 76ers since 1996, having purchased the team from Harold Katz then.

For more on the 76ers' sale and its ramifications, visit Liberty Ballers and SB Nation Philly.

If Sixers Are Sold, Will Jason Levien Take Over As New GM?

A group led by New York investor Joshua Harris is reportedly in serious talks to purchase the Philadelphia 76ers, according to a report by ESPN's Henry Abbott. Jason Levien is perhaps the most interesting name included in the report; Levien formerly served as a player agent, representing Kevin Martin when he signed a $55 million extension with the Sacramento Kings and Luol Deng upon signing a $71 million deal with the Chicago Bulls.

As such, Levien gave up a lot of money upon ending his agent business and agreeing to become the assistant general manager for the Kings in 2008.

That arrangement lasted only 18 months; Levien resigned in 2010 after a reported chill between he and the man he was hired to back up, Geoff Petrie. Sources continue to disagree as to whether there was a legit plan for Levien to succeed Petrie someday. But tension over the 2009 NBA Draft, where Levien reportedly set up a workout for Ricky Rubio without involvement from Petrie and where many inside the Sacramento front office felt Levien was pushing Rubio over Tyreke Evans (the eventual pick), pushed the two apart.

Sources indicate that Levien actually advised against picking Rubio due to contract issues in Spain, and sources also say that the Maloofs (who own the Kings) OKed the Rubio workout. Regardless, Petrie pushed a front office reorganization that involved promoting longtime assistant GM Wayne Cooper over Levien, and elevating scout Mike Petrie -- the GM's son -- to assistant GM. Months later, when the business and marketing side of the Kings underwent a shift, Levien saw a senior VP added to his title, reportedly making Petrie smolder.

Levien was then, according to sources, cut out of the 2010 NBA Draft process almost entirely, and told quietly to stay in New York to help the Maloofs on business items. He resigned that offseason, and was mentioned for GM openings in Phoenix and Denver.

As part of the potential new ownership group in Philadelphia, would he be looking to take control of basketball operations? He was clearly interested in running a team upon joining the Kings, but it's not clear if the experience in Sacramento left him "over" the basketball ops experience. Either way, the ripple effects of new ownership may not salvage Rod Thorn's term in Philadelphia.

Sixers Confirms Report Of Potential Sale, Says Franchise Is In 'Discussions About Future'

A Philadelphia 76ers official confirmed Tuesday that the franchise's leadership is in talks regarding the future of the franchise after a report suggested a sale of the team to New York-based investor Joshua Harris was imminent. Kate Fagan of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that in a statement Sixers chief operating officer Peter Luuko confirmed that talks about the franchise's fate are underway.

"I can confirm that we are in discussions about the future of the team, but these discussions are confidential and we cannot talk about the details. At some point, we may have something more to say about these discussions, but we will not be making any comments at this point."

ESPN's Henry Abbott reportedly early Tuesday that Harris and a team including former Sacramento Kings assistant general manager are leading a group attempting to buy the Sixers from Comcast. The Sixers were never reported to be for sale, though chairman Ed Snider has sought to cut costs amid disappointing performance and attendance in recent years.

For more on the Sixers, visit Liberty Ballers and SB Nation Philly.

Philadelphia 76ers Reportedly Up For Sale, Deal Could Be Imminent

The Philadelphia 76ers were not publicly for sale this year, but on Tuesday, reports have surface that puts the team in the midst of negotiations to transfer ownership from the Comcast Spectator group that's owned the franchise since 1996.

Henry Abbott broke the news first at ESPN.com. According to Abbott, the prospective buyer is a group led by a man named Joshua Harris, a 46 year-old New York-based business man said to be worth around $1.5 billion. For now, the price of the sale is still unknown.

The 76ers have belonged to Comcast Spectator, the same group that owns the Flyers and the arena that houses both teams, the Wells Fargo Center, for the past 15 years. Ed Snider has been the face of that ownership group throughout that span, and nothing suggested any of that would be changing. Until today, that is.

Now, sources say a deal is "imminent" and the team could be transferred to Harris, while Comcast Spectator would retain control over the Wells Fargo Center and the Flyers. Joining the 46 year-old Harris would be, among others, Jason Levien, a former NBA agent and a one-time executive with the Sacramento Kings. For now though, everything remains hypothetical.

But since it's clear that the negotiations are in the latter stages at this point, it certainly seems like the 76ers could change hands any minute now. As for what that means to the team itself? For one thing, that Monta Ellis-Andre Iguodala trade might be put on hold 'till all this gets figured out.