Exclusive Interview with Philadelphia 76ers CEO Adam Aron

As a senior partner at Apollo Global Management, new Philadelphia 76ers CEO Adam Aron has a well-deserved reputation for turning around "distressed" properties.

There are those who would say that the 76ers would fall under that heading. After all, the franchise has only won one playoff series since its magical run to the NBA Finals in 2001.

However, with a talented, young nucleus and a highly-regarded coach, the 76ers are anything but distressed—at least in a basketball sense. And in the nation's fifth-largest market, there is plenty of growth potential for the team on the business side of the house as well.

Last week, I had the chance to speak with Aron about his new role with the 76ers (audio of the interview can be found here). While his new venture is a marked departure from some of the organizations that he has run in the past, the chance to lead the day-to-day operations of his hometown team was too simply good to pass up.

"If it had been the San Antonio Spurs calling, I don't even know if I would have returned the phone call," said Aron.

Born and raised in the Philadelphia area, the 57-year-old Aron spent many days in Convention Hall rooting for a 76ers team that featured such legends as Wilt Chamberlain, Hal Greer and Billy Cunningham. He's fully aware of the mystique that once surrounded the franchise, and he knows that it's up to him—and the rest of the ownership group—to bring that back.

"We think that part of the mission of the ownership is to rekindle the bond, rekindle the connection between Philadelphia sports fans and the Philadelphia 76ers," said Aron.

A major step in that rekindling process involves getting people back into the arena.

Soon after they were approved by the NBA's Board of Governors, the 76ers' new ownership group announced an aggressive ticket-pricing plan for next season. In all, the price of nearly 9,000 seats will be reduced drastically—some by 50 percent or more.

By all accounts, it was a necessary move. In terms of percentage of seats filled, the 76ers ranked dead last in the NBA last season.

"There's no reason why all four sports teams in Philadelphia shouldn't be able to fill their stadiums and arenas," said Aron.

Along with more family-friendly ticket prices comes a revitalized marketing campaign. The team's new slogan? "Passionate. Intense. Proud." It's a clear (and smart) nod to the 76ers' heritage—ignoring 62 seasons of history would be a serious oversight on the part of the new ownership.

To that end, they plan to create highlight packages of former Sixers legends so that the new generation of fans can be exposed to players such as Moses Malone, Charles Barkley and Bobby Jones. The team has even reached out to Hall of Famer Julius "Dr. J" Erving in the hopes that he'll join the team in some official capacity.

Along those same lines, the new ownership group recently acquired 18 pieces of basketball memorabilia from Erving's career. The 76ers plan to display the items at the Wells Fargo Center and at the team's practice facility next season.

Not all of the team's initiatives have come from in-house, however. In October, they created newsixersowner.com—a website where fans could offer suggestions on how to improve both the team as well as the game day experience in the arena. In less than two months, the 76ers received more than 6,500 submissions, and Aron has personally reviewed more than 2,000 of them.

Whether it means changes to the in-game presentation, or offering different options at the concession stands, the team is more than willing to listen to its most important constituents—the fans.

"We're committed to getting better," Aron said.

The team's marketing department already has dozens of changes in store for when basketball resumes. Currently, they're discussing plans to allow young 76ers fans to have their pictures taken on the floor of the Wells Fargo Center following home games. For the older set, there's talk of a "crazy fan section" where enthusiastic supporters can paint their bodies and show the world just how passionate, intense and proud they truly are.

Once the lockout is over, Aron said that fans should expect an entirely new experience when visiting the 76ers' official website. And in the coming weeks and months, the team promises more extensive interaction with its followers on Twitter and other social networking platforms.

"Whether everyone is carrying around their laptop, their iPad or their smartphone, people are in touch—instantly—like never before in human history," said Aron. "One of the three central themes of what we said that this ownership group was going to stand for is that we were going to create a real dialogue and engage with our fans. And new media is certainly a vital element in that mix."

The Harvard-educated Aron sounds sincere when talking about interacting with fellow 76ers fans. In fact, the next time you go to a game, you just might see the new CEO sitting next to you.

"I don't intend to miss a home game," said Aron. "I'll be at every one, and I'll be yelling and screaming my head off."

There's something to be said for the fact that many in the new ownership group have ties to the Philadelphia area, from Aron to majority owner Joshua Harris (Wharton graduate) to Will Smith (graduate of Overbrook High).

At the very least, they're aware of what the 76ers mean to the city of Philadelphia. They also know that there's a lot of work to be done in order to restore the energy that's been missing from the team for the better part of a decade.

Aron doesn't see it as a challenge, however. For him, it's the opportunity of a lifetime.

"This is my home, this is where I was born and raised...I can't even begin to tell you how exciting it is to come back to Philadelphia and assume the leadership of one of my favorite sports teams," said Aron.

"It's a kid's fantasy come true."