Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker will hold a town hall Wednesday night at the Pennsylvania Convention Center to discuss the proposed 76ers arena on East Market Street and gather more public feedback as her administration evaluates the project.
The community meeting from 6-8 p.m. will be Parker's first public appearance addressing the $1.55 billion proposal, which has drawn opposition from residents in surrounding neighborhoods like Chinatown and Washington Square West in the two years since the Sixers introduced their plans.
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The mayor's office did not immediately share details about the format of the event and who will be present to speak and answer questions from the public. The 76ers declined to comment about the town hall. The team is not expected to make a presentation at the meeting.
Groups against the arena held a rally outside City Hall on Saturday and gathered there last Thursday as City Council reconvened after a summer break. As many as 11 bills will need to be debated and passed for the 76ers to get the project approved. The team hopes to begin construction on the arena in 2026, replacing a portion of the Fashion District mall between 10th and 11th streets. A 395-unit residential tower also is proposed at the former Greyhound bus station on Filbert Street.
Parker's town hall comes amid a flurry of activity surrounding the arena proposal, including the city's release of four impact studies examining the expected benefits and drawbacks of the project.
One study found the arena could harm as many as half of Chinatown's small businesses. Another concluded that Center City likely would be able to handle traffic congestion from an arena, but only if concerted efforts are made to spread out parking and promote the use of public transit. A third estimated the arena would generate $390 million in net new tax revenue for the city, far below the team's initial $1.5 billion projection.
In a memo distributed at City Hall last Thursday, the team pushed back against the lower figure. The 76ers claim it represents a projected value of $1 billion in anticipated tax revenue for the city over 30 years if that amount were to be received in a single lump sum payment today.
No Arena Wash Square West, one of the groups against the project, criticized the Parker administration for publicizing the town hall only days before it is scheduled to happen.
"If we didn't know better, we'd wonder if announcing a community meeting just three days in advance was a tactic to say one had listened to the community without actually encouraging much turnout," the group wrote on Facebook, calling on community members to show up Wednesday night.
Last week, the 76ers said they will seriously consider a pitch from New Jersey for the team to build an arena at an alternative location on the Delaware River waterfront in Camden, just north of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge at the site of a former state prison. New Jersey officials said the team could qualify for up to $800 million in tax credits for an arena project that could include residential projects and other amenities.
The team previously had said it would not consider leaving Philadelphia, but now needs the project in Center City to be approved to be able to complete it by 2031 when the Sixers' lease at the Wells Fargo Center expires.
In an email last week, Parker spokesperson Joe Grace said the mayor "believes every Philadelphia sports team — the Sixers, Flyers, Phillies and Eagles — belong in Philly."
During her mayoral campaign, Parker spoke optimistically about the jobs the arena would create in Center City and said her decision on whether to support the project would be based on the best interests of the entire city rather than a few neighborhoods.
"I will make sure that the voice of the people in neighborhoods throughout the city are heard on that issue," she said in the days after she was elected last November. "There will be no one voice that will dominate the discussion."
Parker sat down with a group of Chinatown leaders for a private meeting to discuss the arena hours before the city released its impact studies, which had been delayed for months before their publication late last month.
"I think she listened to us very carefully," John Chin executive director of the nonprofit Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corp., said of the meeting. "She spent a good hour listening to us and asking us clarifying questions. She was taking notes from all the comments. I feel good that she's paying attention."
The 76ers last held a town hall meeting on the arena in November, when activists opposed to the project showed up with signs casting doubt on the team's claims that it will not seek any city subsidies. At another town hall in December 2022, members of the 76ers development team left the event early after their presentation was disrupted by attendees against the project.
The mayor's office said those who wish to attend Wednesday night's town hall should go to the Convention Center using the entrance at 13th and Arch streets.