Next step in the arena game.
The owners of the National Basketball Association’s Philadelphia 76ers franchise have received the top endorsement that any group looking to develop land in Philadelphia can get. The mayor, Cherelle Parker, is backing the 76ers ownership’s plan to build an arena in the city’s Chinatown district. But Parker didn’t tell the residents of Philadelphia’s Chinatown district that she is backing the plan. You see the local residents are not too enamored with the prospect of having an arena and whatever else the 76ers ownership plan to do with a parcel of land in the neighborhood. Parker did say in a video that was released to a social media platform, which bypassed reporters, that the arena proposal is “the best financial deal ever entered into by a Philadelphia mayor for a local sports arena.” And she added that putting an arena in Center City is the “right deal for the people of Philadelphia.” Parker claimed that the agreement would bring “more than $1.3 billion of private investment in our city.” The devil is in the details and there are no details yet because Philadelphia taxpayers will be stuck with some sort of tab if the arena is built and that could include all sorts of tax breaks.
Parker said yes to building the arena and some housing as part of the project but she does not have the final say right now. The issue needs to be discussed by the Philadelphia city council and then voted upon. It will be a noisy process if the people in Chinatown have anything to say about the process. Parker said it was a priority to keep the Sixers in the city as the team considered all options. The Save Chinatown Coalition is gearing up for a battle and released a statement that “fight is far from over.” The arena game continues in Philadelphia.
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Proposed 76ers arena.
