Hunden Partners Analyzes Philadelphia’s Arena Market

Hunden Partners Analyzes Philadelphia’s Arena Market: Can a National Basketball Association (NBA) and National Hockey League (NHL) Arena Separately Exist without Long-term Public Support?

At Hunden, we support downtown development and projects that create synergistic walkable uses that generate a lively atmosphere for residents and visitors to live, work, and be entertained. However, our study in Philadelphia concerned how much the market can grow with two major arenas in the market, and if that growth is enough to support long-term private financing of renovations and rebuilds over the long haul. What is the net new impact to the city of Philadelphia? What are the likely long-term impacts? Our study tells a cautionary tale from other markets of similar strength that have developed separate NHL and NBA arenas. The downstream impacts can challenge both operations and the viability of the venues if conditions are not just right.

“We pride ourselves on just simply telling the truth based on the analytics that we figure out,” said Hunden Partners President and CEO Rob(in) Hunden, whose firm is one of the leaders in this niche of the sports world. “One client isn’t worth 20 years of credibility damage.”