It was the last debate, the final round of what has been a grueling 15-rounder to determine Philadelphia's next mayor, and Sam Katz and John Street decided to kill each other.

With kindness.

In a truly remarkable end to an otherwise unremarkable televised debate last night, the two mayoral hopefuls praised each other for running positive campaigns and almost embraced each other before the cameras.

"This campaign has been clean and informative," Katz said when asked to deliver a closing statement at the end of the hour-long session at Drexel University that was sponsored by the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, the League of Women Voters, the Inquirer and Drexel and broadcast live on WPVI-TV (Channel 6).

"My opponent is a good and decent man who has given a lot to this city," Katz continued, urging people to vote regardless of whom they supported.

Then, Street leaned over and said in an audible whisper: "No more debates."

"That's a good line," said Katz, chuckling. "I've really enjoyed this."

To underscore the uniqueness of the moment, Democrat Street and Republican Katz stood together for nearly five minutes and held what amounted to a joint press conference - even as their campaigns are spending $1 million each this week on TV ads sniping at each other.

It has been the largely gentle tone of the campaign - more than the substance of the debate between two slightly serious policy wonks with few major disagreements - that has been getting positive headlines for Philadelphia in the New York Times and other national media.

That said, each candidate will spend roughly $5 million this fall seeking to win Tuesday's election, and each had his reasons for being nice and not engaging his opponent.

For Katz, experts said, using his closing statement to compliment Street was probably a better use of his two minutes than the traditional but unmemorable recap of his positions would have been.

His kind words sent a message to voters wary of any racial divisions - especially wavering blacks and liberal whites - that he will be an inclusive mayor.

Street, too, has tended to win more support when he acts more calmly. With four debates in little more than two days, the former City Council president got testy a few times - a bad signal to some voters still worried about the temperament of a man who early in his career called himself a rabble rouser.

One area that generated a little interest was the debate on new stadiums for the Phillies and the Eagles - an issue that seems increasingly likely to carry over into the next administration.

Katz, a financial consultant who has specialized in stadium financing, questioned whether the current proposal for the city, state, and the teams to each pay one-third is a done deal, saying the teams should each pay at least 50 percent. He also said the site near 30th Street Station - which seems to have fallen by the wayside in favor of Broad and Spring Garden streets or South Philadelphia - and other locations should still be considered.

Street said he wants the stadium downtown. "A world-class city needs world-class facilities," he said.