Pulse: Sam Katz’s Power Lunch: Sports Hour

Over lunch at La Veranda, president and COO of Comcast-Spectacor Peter Luukko lets Sam Katz in on the game plan for his teams — and their fans

VERY TACTFUL. BUT except for you, no one there is an operator/manager. How might things be different if you were the guy? That isn’t going to happen, and I don’t seek it. For me, the fun is working with these people. When things aren’t going well with our teams, I think we do a good job explaining our plan, and executing. You have to be honest. Especially in this town. You can’t fool the fans here.
 
Can Philly host the Olympics?
I think it can. We need a track-and-field stadium and basic urban infrastructure investment, but everyone else has the same issue. It’s a costly and long process: The state and the city would have to decide that the cost and returns are in line. But yes to pressing for being a host city.
 
Is publicly funded sports and entertainment a good investment? Absolutely. When culture, arts, sports and entertainment all thrive, people feel good about Philadelphia, and that’s energy we can all feed off.