The Philadelphia Eagles’ new stadium will also be in the city. Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania confirmed the franchise’s next home will be built in Philadelphia, putting to rest any speculation about a potential relocation outside city limits. The question now shifts to where exactly in Philly the dome will go and whether the Eagles will keep the sports complex intact.

“Here’s what I can tell you for sure: it’s going to be in the city of Philly,” Shapiro said. “We’ll work with the Eagles once they determine what it is that they’re interested in doing.”

The case for keeping the sports complex together

The Eagles are almost certainly building a dome. That has been the direction for a while now, and the reasoning is simple: Philadelphia wants to host the Super Bowl. You need a roof for that. But the bigger conversation here is about the sports complex itself, and whether all of Philly’s teams stay in the same neighborhood.

I’m a huge fan of the sports complex as it stands. Having the Eagles, Phillies, Sixers, and Flyers all next to each other is a rare thing, and when you talk to people from other cities, a lot of them will tell you how cool that setup is. It really is not that way in most places across the country. So I hope that all the stadiums stay near each other.

There’s a real opportunity here to build something special around that area. Hotels, restaurants, more entertainment options. Turn the whole thing into a legitimate business operation and destination complex. That would be a massive win for the city and for fans who tailgate and spend entire days down there on game weekends.

What happens if the teams scatter?

Now here’s where it gets tricky. If the Eagles decide to move that stadium to a different part of the city, and then the Sixers end up in their new arena in a separate location, there’s a real chance all of these teams digress to different corners of Philadelphia. I don’t think I would like that at all. The beauty of the South Philly setup is the centralization. You lose that, and you lose a big part of what makes the game-day experience in this city unique.

The stadium project is probably still about five years out, so there’s plenty of time for all of this to play out. But the early indications from Shapiro’s comments suggest there’s a willingness to work with the Eagles on whatever vision they land on. That’s encouraging.

The Eagles are getting their dome and Philadelphia is keeping its team. The only thing left to figure out is the address, and for the sake of everything that makes this city’s sports scene special, I hope it stays right where it belongs.