August 30, 2024
Political correctness be damned. I can no longer hold my tongue. The opponents of 76 Place, the Philadelphia 76ers’ planned $1.55 billion basketball arena and mixed-use masterpiece on East Market, are the same myopic people whose lack of vision prevents Philadelphia from ascending to the word-class city status we all desire. Why are people so often reluctant to dare, to break with conformity, to want to succeed? 76 Place represents Philadelphia’s single biggest economic development project in many, many decades.
Mayor Cherelle Parker believes in transparency. To her great credit, the City just released a series of comprehensive, independent studies on the impact - economic and otherwise - of 76 Place. The studies revealed many significant reasons to build the arena, including thousands of jobs during and after construction, $400 million in annual economic output for the city, hundreds of millions in tax revenue over 30 years for our cash-strapped school district, zero construction costs to taxpayers and so much more. Unfortunately, certain media outlets in town that shall remain nameless have opted to accentuate the negative. Typical “Negadelphia” thinking.
Mark Lynch, Jr., Business Manager, IBEW Local 98Full disclosure: IBEW Local 98 supports 76 Place because our members
construct buildings for a living. 76 Place will create an
eye-opening 9,100 direct union construction jobs
that will last for a decade. But our support for 76 Place goes well
beyond our own self-interest.
Philadelphia needs 76 Place for its image and global positioning as a world-class city. Eighteen of the nation’s Top 20 markets have downtown arenas - but not Philly. The loyal 76ers fan base needs and deserves a game-changing new downtown arena complex, one that will attract the NBA’s best free agents to the franchise and draw hoop heads to our city.
Despite the naysayers, the many proponents of the project are fortunate to have smart, level-headed elected officials like Mayor Parker, City Council President Kenyatta Johnson and Councilmember Mark Squilla (in whose district 76 Place would reside) heavily involved in the ultimate decision-making process. Let’s show the world that Philadelphia truly is a world-class city. Let’s build 76 Place.
NOTE: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that the City funded the independent studies on the impact of 76 Place. The City required the developers to provide the funding PIDC used to pay the independent consultants.
