'A Bad Deal': Sixers Arena Proposal Gets Cold Shoulder From Philadelphia City Council

The scene at Philadelphia City Hall Tuesday symbolized the rift that has opened up around the new Philadelphia 76ers arena proposed for Center City.

Protesters gathered outside in the morning while anti-arena activists and supportive union members packed into council chambers, sitting side by side for the first of 14 scheduled public hearings on legislation that would greenlight the project.

The scene in the chamber played out much the same way. As city officials defended the $1.3B 76 Place proposal, a broad array of city council members expressed deep apprehensions about the arena plan that has been endorsed by Mayor Cherelle Parker.

“I don’t agree that this is the best deal,” Council Member Katherine Gilmore Richardson said.

“No arena has even come close to a return on investment,” Council Member Jeffery Young Jr. added. “[It’s] a bad deal for the city.”

A group of advocates, led by Parker’s Chief of Staff Tiffany Thurman, boosted the project as a way to increase occupancy in a struggling commercial district. There is currently a 25% vacancy rate on Market Street between City Hall and the Independence Mall, said Jessie Lawrence, the director of Philadelphia’s Department of Planning and Development.

The issue can’t be addressed without more anchors like the arena, which could serve as a “catalyst for development,” Lawrence said.

“East Market Street is essentially a Main Street that once was,” he said.

But council members raised concerns about gentrification in Chinatown, and the amount of money the Sixers will dole out as part of a $50M community development agreement was discussed at length.

Questions about the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority’s role in the project also surfaced repeatedly.

At least 40% of fans would need to take public transit to games to ensure traffic in Center City isn’t snarled, according to studies released earlier this year. Lawmakers asked how SEPTA could handle that since the agency is currently looking at a $240M budget shortfall. That shortfall has led SEPTA to propose rate hikes and service cuts to close the gap.

Michael Carroll, the deputy managing director of Philadelphia’s Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems, explained how the agency will respond once the stadium is completed. The Sixers hope that will happen by 2031.

It should be relatively straightforward for the agency to accommodate fans on the Market-Frankford and Broad Street lines, but providing more trains for suburban attendees will be a bigger challenge, he said. Those regional rail lines don’t usually provide the rapid-fire service needed to handle such large crowds.

“SEPTA has to plan for train service that’s available when the arena events let out,” Carroll said.

Any construction the arena brings to SEPTA’s Jefferson Station would be covered by the Sixers, according to City Solicitor Renee Garcia. But the agency would be responsible for funding any additional rail service required, which could be a significant expense.

The state legislature voted against a proposal that would help SEPTA remedy its budget concerns last month. Several council members were concerned that funding could be even harder to come by once President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January.

Another key question SEPTA faces is whether suburban fans will be comfortable taking public transit to a game. Although crime is down across the system so far this year, high-profile assaults have continued to rattle riders.

SEPTA’s police department is currently in the process of increasing its ranks, Carroll said. He also highlighted the network of LED lights that exists in the neighborhood around the proposed arena and discussed plans to install more security cameras in the area.

Carroll said he was bullish on SEPTA's future, predicting the agency’s ridership will return to 2019 levels by 2028.

Parker was scheduled to answer questions from reporters at a Central Philadelphia Development Corporation event on Tuesday afternoon, but it was canceled in the middle of the city council meeting.

A final vote on the arena plan is expected to happen sometime in December after a full slate of public meetings.