Sixers arena opponents dominate public comment session as City Council weighs proposal

Opponents of the proposed 76ers arena in Center City packed City Council’s chambers Thursday evening to register their disapproval during an hourslong public comment just a few weeks before lawmakers may green-light the project.

The speakers ranged from a high school student who said he was “deeply shaped” by Chinatown to a refugee who fled Vietnam and now fears his home neighborhood will be irrevocably broken.

“Chinatown never can be replaced,” said Derek Sam, the refugee who is now a Chinatown resident and business owner. “The billionaires can make some money somewhere else.”

The public comment session Thursday night was part of a string of hearings Council is holding to consider a legislative package necessary for the Sixers to build the team’s proposed $1.3 billion arena around 10th and Market Streets. The team contends that lawmakers need to approve the project by the end of this year for the facility to open by the 2031-32 NBA season, when the Sixers’ current lease at the Wells Fargo Center in South Philadelphia ends.

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Council members have heard testimony from Sixers executives, members of Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration, and leaders of some of the city’s building trades unions, all of whom are in favor of the project and tout its potential for job creation and economic development. Chinatown officials who oppose the project have also testified to lawmakers.

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Thursday evening was the first of two after-hours sessions Council is holding for members of the public to sign up to testify on the project. The vast majority of speakers, many wearing matching red “No Arena” T-shirts, said they oppose the project, citing a variety of concerns including its potential impacts on Chinatown and traffic gridlock in Center City.

“This proposed arena is an existential threat to Chinatown and the city more broadly,” said Jenny Chen, who described the neighborhood as “the one place in the entire Philadelphia region where my first-generation immigrant parents felt comfortable spending time.”

A few speakers did express support for the project, including a local leader of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and a resident of the suburbs who said the arena would be a major attraction.

“There’s millions of us out there,” said Ken Avallon, who said he lives in the suburbs and works in the city. “We love spending our money in town, and something like this is a real draw to people outside the city.”

Advocates for the historic Chinatown neighborhood adjacent to the proposed site of the arena were also joined by opponents from around the city. Multiple speakers expressed concern about the project’s impact on SEPTA, which is in the midst of a financial crisis. The transit authority’s leaders have said the arena could add millions of dollars in operational costs.

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Kelly Sheard, a West Philadelphia resident, said she opposes the project in part because she’s concerned about the impact on SEPTA and about what she considers a “rushed” process.

“I am deeply concerned that opposition to this rushed business as usual plan is framed as a concern of a fringe group of Chinatown NIMBYs who are against progress for the city,” Sheard said. “My Black, West Philadelphia self stands before you as clearheaded and engaged as ever, and I stand in solidarity against any half-baked plan for any of us that continues to take from us more than it could ever give.”

And Asantewaa Nkrumah-Ture, an activist with the Philadelphia Tenants Union and a supporter of a coalition of organizations that object to the arena, said she opposes the deal Parker’s administration struck with the Sixers, which includes a $50 million community-benefits agreement.

Nkrumah-Ture called it “measly” and predicted the arena “will not be built.”

“We will defend Chinatown with our hearts, and like David against Goliath, we will strike a final blow and run these billionaires out of this city,” she said, referring to the team’s owners. “And when this campaign is over, we will have a victory party.”