Sixers new home reports ‘window dressing’

Article posted by Coliseum, September 5^th, 2024

Image: 76 Place

The City of Philadelphia (US) has released the four separate reports from the third-party consultants hired to conduct analyses of the proposed new arena (76 Place) in Center City for the National Basketball Association (NBA) team Philadelphia 76ers.

The 76 Place at Market East is a proposed indoor arena in Center City, Philadelphia (US). It would be the future home of the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and is planned to open in 2031.

‘FOX29’ stated that there was a flurry of activity at the City Hall (the seat of the Municipal Government of the City of Philadelphia in the US State of Pennsylvania) in Philadelphia recently surrounding the proposed 76ers arena in the market East community as the Mayor of Philadelphia Cherelle Parker had a meeting with the Save Chinatown Coalition.

However, a Member of the Save Chinatown Coalition termed the studies as “window dressing”.

The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, is an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia Metropolitan area (US). The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at the Wells Fargo Center located in the South Philadelphia Sports Complex.

The 21,000-capacity Wells Fargo Center is a multipurpose indoor arena located in Philadelphia (US). It serves as the home of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL), the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League (NLL).

The Save Chinatown Coalition is a group of community groups and grassroots organizations that are concerned about the impact of a proposed 76ers arena on the Chinatown neighborhood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (US).

‘FOX29’ further stated that following the meeting with the Save Chinatown Coalition the Mayor’s Office released hundreds of pages of the much anticipated consultant’s report on the proposal which was commissioned and paid for by the Sixers.

Maintained Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, “We are sharing these detailed reports so that the public can better understand the implications of such a multifaceted proposed project for Philadelphia. On behalf of the City, we thank the independent consultants who completed this work. Transparency is a core value to me as the Mayor which is why I wanted to ensure these reports were available to all the interested stakeholders. These studies are important inputs as I consider this proposal.”

The four reports include the following:

A community impact assessment;
An economic impact analysis;
Design consulting; and
A traffic, transportation and parking analysis.

In the community impact report, there is a focus on Chinatown, an area the report notes as car dependent, calling it “a regional hub for the Asian residents and the businesses”.

It states that the area already has problems with traffic parking and loading.

However, it also points to the effects of increased congestion and the worsening of the existing negative dynamics driven by the increased property values.

When it comes to housing and business, the report states that the project won’t lead to direct housing displacement but it did find evidence that there could be increased indirect displacement of the small businesses and the low and the fixed income people.

It says one out of the five small businesses in Chinatown could experience positive net economic benefit from the arena with businesses in the entertainment, food and hotel sectors.

Though it also states that half of the small businesses in Chinatown are not positioned to benefit from the arena and may experience negative impacts. The likely businesses that are in financial and professional services, healthcare, supermarket, grocery, and the wholesale sectors.

Some at the meeting with Mayor Parker had opposing reactions.

Observed Vivian Chang, Executive Director of Asian Americans United (AAU – a community organization that works to build the Asian American communities in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and Member of the Save Chinatown Coalition, “Every sports team does the same thing, pay for a study. The study tells what they want to hear but doesn’t tell us, the City, the Government, what’s going to happen.”

While the Sixers paid for the reports, the team says it had no impact on the findings.

More members and executives within the Save Chinatown Coalition addressed the reports.

Added Chang, “That the Sixers bankrolled these studies and failed to disclose that fact from the jump says everything you need to know about their credibility. The economic analysis was completed by a consultant with a track record of faulty data and false projections in Philadelphia. The failure to calculate the financial cost of the arena to Chinatown, the other neighborhoods and the existing businesses tells you how unserious and flawed this paperwork is. As we continue carefully reviewing these documents in the coming days, it is clear these are not the studies the community asked for or the City needs.”

Remarked Reverend Greg Edwards, POWER Interfaith (nonprofit organization in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) Executive Director and Member of the Save Chinatown Coalition, “Let’s be clear: The billionaire developers will benefit the most from the 76 Place and these studies are window dressing to obscure that fact. Don’t fall for it. The truth is that the 76 Place won’t pay any property taxes. The truth is that the wages fall for the Black workers when the arenas are built. That doesn’t help our people. For a year, we’ve seen the developers pit the Black folks and the Asian folks against one another, keeping us busy while behind the scenes it’s the rich corporations who will make out like bandits, leaving the rest of us with nothing but crumbs.”

A spokesperson for 76 DevCo (a private investor group developing the 76Place arena project) sent out a statement which read, “We are reviewing what has been released and we will have more to say when we are able to complete a full analysis, but it is clear already that they support what we’ve said since we first announced the 76 Place: The arena is an appropriate use for the Center City and will generate significant new jobs and tax revenue because Philadelphia can support the two arenas. Our parking and traffic assumptions are achievable and these findings are more evidence that the 76Place can be developed in a way that protects our neighbors and maximizes the benefit to Philadelphia.”

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