Since retiring—and since Super Bowl LII in 2018 more broadly—former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce has served as a de facto conscience of Philadelphia fans.

Thus, when he discussed the Philadelphia 76ers' controversial new arena proposal Thursday morning on WIP-FM in Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love was forced to take notice.

"I would prefer (the 76ers) stay in South Philly, unquestionably," Kelce said. "I'll say this, when it does get built in Center City and all of these people are displaced—at the end of the day people are probably going to love it. In 10 years, all of this is gonna be different, and we're probably going to be really happy that there's this beautiful complex that was developed down there in a thriving part of the city. Right now, I really hate it."

The 76ers formalized a deal Wednesday with the city of Philadelphia to build a new arena in the the city's Center City neighborhood, near its Chinatown. Because of this and other factors, the proposal has drawn significant opposition in Philadelphia.

Kelce later clarified that he would prefer the team build a new arena in South Philadelphia, the current site of Wells Fargo Center—comparing the 76ers' perceived strong-arming of the city to ex-Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell's behavior toward Cleveland.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Jason Kelce Assails 76ers for Controversial New Arena Plan in Philadelphia Radio Hit.

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