Suitors would line up to buy Sixers

0 Comments | Philadelphia Inquirer, The, August, 2006 | by Joe Juliano

If Comcast-Spectacor truly wants to sell the 76ers, it probably won't have much trouble finding serious buyers.

"There are quite a few people in the Philadelphia and New Jersey areas that love basketball and would like to be part of the NBA," said Marc Ganis, president of SportsCorp Ltd., a sports-marketing firm based in Chicago. "There's so much money in that part of the country."

But how much money would a buyer be willing to shell out for the 76ers? Could Comcast-Spectacor break the record of $401 million for an NBA franchise transaction set by the Phoenix Suns and even approach the half-billion dollar figure?

It depends.

Some franchise sales, such as the January 2005 acquisition of the Cleveland Cavaliers by Quicken Loans chairman and founder Dan...