Mayor Parker to discuss proposed Sixers arena during public meeting today
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker will hold a public meeting tonight at the Pennsylvania Convention Center to provide more details on the Sixers' proposed Center City arena. According to the mayor's office, the public meeting will happen at 5:30 p.m.
"You're going to hear every detail, from the top to the bottom," Parker said Tuesday at a ribbon-cutting event for the reconstructed Montgomery Avenue Bridge. "We'll cross every T and dot every I as you see what the agreement entails that will ensure that our Sixers are staying home."
Parker echoed Tuesday what she said last week in a social media video endorsing the controversial project.
"This will serve, I believe, as a revival of Market Street from City Hall down to the river, an economic revival," Parker said. "I start telling my age when I start talking about things like Wanamaker's and JCPenney and Woolworths and Strawbridge and Clothier. We have an opportunity to bring that economic corridor back to life, and that is what we will do with this agreement."
The $1.55 billion proposed arena, 76 Place, would stand in the city's Market East section, on Market and Filbert streets and 10th and 11th streets, and replace part of Fashion District Philadelphia. It would also bring a mixed-use high-rise building with about residential 395 units next to the arena.
After Parker's endorsement last week, the proposal now needs backing from City Council to get final approval. Parker said she would hold additional town halls for the proposed arena as it moves through City Council. She said the agreement would bring "more than $1.3 billion of private investment in our city."
The arena would sit in Councilmember Mark Squilla's district. He said a decision on 76 Place would likely happen in the fall and that if legislation on the arena is introduced, there will be hearings to gather public comment and consider amendments before any final decision is voted on. Squilla also said he will share the legislation with key stakeholders 30 days before it is introduced to get feedback.
"We know these challenges when these big projects are brought before us and it's up to us to make sure those safeguards are in place," Squilla said last week.
Neighborhoods surrounding the proposed site of the arena, including Chinatown, have been strongly opposed since the project was announced by the Sixers in 2022.
The Save Chinatown Coalition has said the development would harm the neighborhood. Last week, they said their "fight is far from over" and they'll take their concerns to City Council.
In a statement Tuesday, the Save Chinatown Coalition said, "Chinatown remains united in firm opposition to the arena and the reckless timeline city leaders are on. But we are not the only ones in the dark. To date, there are no adequate studies that show the true cost, impact, or consequences of eight years of downtown arena construction. The mayor has ignored five requests to come to the community. She cannot unilaterally negotiate deals or CBAs that not only destroy our community but sell out our city."
In late August, the city released four highly anticipated independent studies on the impacts of the proposed arena. The long-awaited reports focused on the community impact, traffic impact, economic impact and the design of 76 Place.
The reports found that the Sixers' proposed arena could indirectly displace businesses and residents in Chinatown, which would sit north of 76 Place.
Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Building Construction Trades Council, IBEW Local Union 98 and the NAACP Philadelphia, have supported the arena, saying it would revitalize Market East and create jobs.
New Jersey even made a lofty pitch with tax credits for the Sixers to build a new arena across the river in Camden. Despite Parker's endorsement, the Garden State still believes it has a chance to build the arena in South Jersey if a deal falls through.
See the mayor's presentation on the city's website here and embedded below.
City of Philadelphia Sixers arena agreement presentation by CBS Philadelphia on Scribd