Senator Coons joined Wilmington Mayor Dennis P. Williams, Delaware 87ers President Aaron Moszer, and Philadelphia 76ers CEO Scott O’Neil to celebrate “87ers Day” on August 7 (8/7) and address approximately 100 fans gathered in Wilmington’s Rodney Square for a pep rally honoring the Sevens’ inaugural basketball season. The event featured members of the Sevens street team and Wilmington Blue Rocks’ mascot Rocky Bluewinkle, as well as other entertainment. The team, part of the NBA’s Developmental League, will begin playing at the University of Delaware’s Bob Carpenter Center this November.
Addressing fans, Senator Coons evoked University of Delaware women’s basketball great and current WNBA all-star Elena Delle Donne as a spark that “changed our expectations about basketball, the Bob, and what Newark, Delaware can do for fans in Delaware and the region.”
Chris was on hand at the Bob in April for the announcement from Sixers CEO Adam Aron that the organization had selected Newark to host its minor league team. Aron said the organization had looked at dozens of communities in seven states, and credited Chris with suggesting Newark and aggressively advocating on its behalf.
The team name “87ers” was selected in recognition of Delaware’s place in United States history, as it was the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution on December 7, 1787. The 87ers name also is immediately evocative of the parent “76ers,” a name similarly derived from Philadelphia’s place in U.S. history with the Declaration of Independence being signed there in 1776. The 87ers team nickname, the “Sevens,” is a nod to the way the parent club’s official name is often shortened to the “Sixers.”
“There’s no fan base in the country more ready for a pro team than the one here in Delaware,” Chris said.