Comcast Spectacor

Comcast-Spectacor, which is jointly owned by Comcast Corp. and businessman Ed Snider, completed its purchase of ticketing-software business Paciolan, the companies said yesterday. The deal was part of an agreement with the Justice Department announced in late January that allowed Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc. to merge with concert promoter Live Nation. As part of the agreement, Live Nation had to sell Paciolan. Terms of the deal with Comcast-Spectacor were not disclosed. "From Day One we will be a big competitor" in the ticket business, Comcast-Spectacor chief executive Peter Luukko said yesterday.

Comcast-Spectacor has decided to stretch its boundaries. The Philadelphia-based sports and entertainment firm, which owns the Sixers, Flyers, First Union Center and First Union Spectrum, announced yesterday it has acquired three minor league baseball teams affliated with the Baltimore Orioles from Maryland Baseball, LLC. The Frederick Keys and the Delmarva Shorebirds are Class A affliates of the Orioles. The Bowie Baysox are Baltimore's Double A franchise. All three teams are based in Maryland: the Keys in Frederick, Md.; the Shorebirds in Salisbury; and Baysox in Bowie.

The NBA's Sacramento Kings, unhappy with their situation in California, may be headed to Virginia Beach, according to a report in the business journal, Inside Business. Officials from Comcast-Spectacor have proposed moving the team to Virginia Beach and for Comcast to help build and lease a new pro sports arena, according to the report . The Kings have tried but been unsuccessful in building a new arena in Sacramento. How the move would affect scheduling and conference alignment in the NBA is not known.

Comcast-Spectacor reached an agreement Wednesday to sell the 76ers to a group of investors led by New York billionaire Joshua Harris. The deal, first reported as being in the works just over a month ago, is pending approval by the NBA's board of governors. No difficulties are expected regarding the NBA's approval of the sale. Although terms of the agreement were not disclosed, the deal is for 100 percent of the Sixers for approximately $280 million, possibly slightly more.

The Flyers never have had a problem drawing fans to games. But, just in case, it can't hurt to make sure that interest in ice hockey in the Philadelphia area continues to grow. With that in mind, Comcast-Spectacor, owners of the Flyers, Phantoms, Sixers and First Union Center and Spectrum, officially will open the first of its new Flyers Skate Zone arenas today in Atlantic City. "This is an opportunity to develop fans of the game and ice skating in general," said Pat Ferrill, vice president for rink development and management for Comcast-Spectacor.

Nearly 20 years after casinos arrived in Atlantic City, it appears as though the resort town is about to get something nongamblers can enjoy: a hockey rink. Comcast-Spectacor, in a joint venture with Scarborough Properties, has undertaken a feasibility study to build an ice-skating facility for public use adjacent to the Sandcastle Baseball Stadium in Atlantic City. The firms will have 60 days to complete their study and form an agreement to develop and operate the facility. Scarborough is a commercial real-estate developer based in Gibbsboro.

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?

When Larry Brown became the 76ers coach last May 5, the man with 14 years of NBA experience, with numerous teams, didn't accept the job because of his infatuation with the roster or the club's history. "I took this job because of Pat Croce and Ed Snider," Brown said. "To me, the two go together. Add them up, and they are the Philadelphia 76ers. I can't even imagine life in this organization without them. " Reached last night at his home in Malibu, Calif., Brown had no choice but to wonder.

Advocates of Center City as the site for a new baseball stadium once included Mayor Rendell and Phillies president Bill Giles, but the concept has been dying for some time. The deal that makes Comcast Corp. the majority owner of the 76ers, Flyers, and new CoreStates Center on South Broad Street will act as a magnet to draw any new stadium to South Philadelphia, and is likely to be the last, fatal blow for a Center City stadium. Giles is working with Comcast-Spectacor and developer Ronald Rubin, who brokered last week's megadeal to bring the teams and arenas under one ownership, on plans for a sports-themed entertainment and retail complex that would include a baseball stadium.

The Philadelphia Flyers' parent company agreed yesterday to buy the Twin Rinks ice skating complex from the township and turn it into the first outpost in a network of area rinks called Flyers Skate Zones. Comcast-Spectacor - which owns the Flyers, the minor-league hockey Phantoms, the 76ers and the South Philadelphia arenas the teams play in, as well as a regional sports cable channel - will pay $4.6 million for the property, township officials said. Other Flyers Skate Zones are scheduled to open in Atlantic City in October and in Voorhees - attached to the new Flyers and Phantoms practice facility - next summer, said Pat Ferrill, Comcast-Spectacor's vice president of rink management and development.

The last time the Flyers won the Stanley Cup, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was a box-office sensation, sentences were handed out for the Watergate cover-up, and gas was about 57 cents a gallon. Yeah, it's been a while. Thirty-eight years, to be exact. No one is more frustrated than Ed Snider, the Flyers' founder and chairman of Comcast-Spectacor, the team's parent company. The frustration grew this season. First there was the senseless lockout. Then the Flyers' head-scratching, inconsistent play caused them to miss the playoffs for just the second time in the last 18 years.

Right on schedule. That's how Joshua Harris, 76ers managing owner, views the franchise he purchased in 2011 on the eve of the 2012-13 season. "When I purchased the team, I said that my goal was to bring a championship team to the city of Philadelphia," Harris said via phone Monday night. "We made some changes and some upgrades in the offseason, and I think we are on track to do that. Obviously this isn't going to happen overnight. But I like the direction we're headed. " Harris extended coach Doug Collins' contract through next season.

The owners of the NBA's Sacramento Kings may have declined to confirm or deny a published report that the team will announce next week that is it planning to relocate to Virginia Beach, Va. But a Kings representative, speaking on background because he was not authorized to comment, told the Sacramento Bee on Thursday that team officials will not be in Virginia Beach when the announcement is reportedly scheduled to be made. Citing anonymous sources, the Hampton Roads Business Journal reported Thursday that the Kings owners are expected to be in Virginia Beach on Tuesday and Wednesday, when Comcast-Spectacor, the Kings, and city officals announce an arena proposal.

Are the Sacramento Kings headed east? Inside Business of Norfolk, Va., citing sources who asked not to be identified, reported Thursday that Virginia Beach, Va., officials and the Maloof family, owner of the Kings, are expected to announce on Wednesday that the Kings will move to Virginia Beach. The report did not say when the relocation was to take place. How such a move would affect the NBA is unclear. The Kings play in the Pacific Division, and it's unlikely they would remain there if they moved to Virginia.

Comcast Corp. may be part of a deal to relocate the NBA franchise Sacramento Kings to Virginia Beach, Va., according to a published report. Inside Business, a business publication in Norfolk, Va., reported early Thursday that next week, Comcast-Spectacor will discuss plans with Virginia Beach officials for a new basketball arena and that Comcast could help finance the project with naming rights. A bid for the Sacramento Kings would be the latest attempt by the Norfolk-Virginia Beach metropolitan area, the nation's 43d-largest TV market, to claim a professional sports team.

The NBA's Sacramento Kings, unhappy with their situation in California, may be headed to Virginia Beach, according to a report in the business journal, Inside Business. Officials from Comcast-Spectacor have proposed moving the team to Virginia Beach and for Comcast to help build and lease a new pro sports arena, according to the report . The Kings have tried but been unsuccessful in building a new arena in Sacramento. How the move would affect scheduling and conference alignment in the NBA is not known.

OFFICIALS FROM Comcast-Spectacor will meet with the Virginia Beach City Council on Tuesday to propose building an arena to house an NBA team. The Hampton Roads Business Journal has identified the team as the Sacramento Kings. Ike Richman, a spokesman for Comcast-Spectacor, told the Daily News in a statement: "Comcast-Spectacor, through several of our subsidiaries, and Live Nation, both of which have a substantial presence in Southeastern Virginia for many years, are always looking for new opportunities to expand our business in the area.

A JENKINTOWN-based law firm filed a consumer fraud class-action suit against Comcast Spectacor, parent company of the Flyers, on behalf of all 2011-12 full season ticketholders on Monday. The complaint alleges that Comcast Spectacor and the Flyers misled season ticketholders by excluding the 2012 Winter Classic game tickets - a regular-season game held at the Phillies' Citizens Bank Park - after the contractual ticketholder agreement stated that fans prepaid for 44 home games, three preseason contests and all 41 regular-season home games.

The Xfinity Live! entertainment complex, rising on the site of the old Spectrum, is on target to open a week early - in time for the Bruce Springsteen concerts in late March. The Boss is scheduled to perform with the E Street Band on March 28 and 29 at the Wells Fargo Center - next door to what Comcast-Spectacor hopes will become a popular destination to dine, view sports and attend performances. Xfinity Live! expects to soon name a "national recording act" to be part of the official grand opening celebration on March 30. April 5 was previous launch date for the joint venture of Philly-based Comcast-Spectacor and the Cordish Companies, based in Baltimore.

Two West Coast sports executives are suing Comcast-Spectacor L.P. to collect a $2 million finder's fee that they contend is owed them for helping with the sale of the win-challenged and financially ailing 76ers. Robert Whitsitt, the former president of the Portland Trail Blazers, and Thomas Shine filed the federal breach-of-contract lawsuit in Philadelphia on Tuesday, contending they introduced Comcast-Spectacor chairman Ed Snider and general counsel Philip Weinberg to sports agent Jason Levien, who became part of the group that eventually purchased the Sixers.