November 26, 2024
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
The 76ers have offered to give season ticket holders free SEPTA passes for a year if the Market Street proposal is approved, a spokesperson said.
The 76ers have offered to fund SEPTA passes for season ticket holders to the team's proposed arena during its first year of operation if the Market Street plan is approved, a spokesperson confirmed.
The concession comes after weeks of debate in City Council over who would cover the costs of increased SEPTA service to the venue. The public transit system had been facing a $240 million deficit, and warned it could not take on additional operational costs without cutting routes and increasing fares. The 76ers, however, had insisted the team would only pay the costs of upgrading Jefferson Station, atop which the arena on Market Street would sit, in public hearings Nov. 13.
While this provides SEPTA minor relief, City Councilmember Mark Squilla said during a council hearing on Tuesday that he wants the team to pay for transit passes for all ticket holders for the first year and beyond.
The push for more financial aid for SEPTA comes after Gov. Josh Shapiro announced Friday that he would extend $153 million to the transit authority, moving money from seven highway projects to prevent service cuts until at least July. And the 76ers have agreed to provide SEPTA passes to ticket-holders for one year, if their arena on Market Street is approved.
The team had budgeted $3 million in its community benefits agreement for a subsidized transit fund to incentivize people attending games and other events to use SEPTA and PATCO but had not specifically disclosed how the funds would be allocated.
The $3 million would be spread out as $1 million payments over three years, beginning in the fiscal year 2032, according to the schedule.
SEPTA funding has been a major sticking point for City Council members since the arena hearings began this month, but it's not the only issue that could impede the arena's advancement. Several legislators have said the team's $50 million CBA is insufficient to support the people threatened by this project, including small business owners in Chinatown.
City Council has also pressed the team on the stipulations of its lease agreement, among other particulars.
The hearings will enter their fourth week Monday.
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