‘You all matter to me’: Parker hears from both sides of Sixers arena debate during packed meeting

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For more than two hours Wednesday, Mayor Cherelle Parker presided over a community meeting packed with opponents and supporters of the 76ers’ proposal to build a new arena in Center City.

She listened to residents and business owners who fear the development will destroy nearby Chinatown, and union leaders and Black clergy who view the project as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Philadelphia.

And at the end of it, the mayor vowed to consider all of those viewpoints before deciding whether to back the controversial 76 Place development.

“When it is time for me as mayor of this city to stand up and affirm where I am on this issue, you will know where I am,” said Parker inside the Pennsylvania Convention Center, adding that she will announce her position “very soon.”

The Sixers need Parker’s support for the $1.5 billion development to move forward. If she backs the project, City Councilmember Mark Squilla, whose district includes the proposed site, will introduce enabling legislation on behalf of the administration.

The team has said it needs City Council to authorize the arena by the end of the year in order to open the arena for the 2031-2032 season, when its lease expires at the Wells Fargo Center in South Philadelphia.

While Parker has yet to take a public stance on the arena, political observers expect her to throw her weight behind it given her strong ties to the city’s construction trades, which support the development. At the start of Wednesday night’s meeting, she said her decision will reflect what she believes is best for the city overall.

“Whatever decision we ultimately make, I need you to hear me. Chinatown, Washington Square West, Market East — you all matter to me. And all of Philadelphia matters to me,” said Parker.

Supporters hope that means the mayor will greenlight a project they say will create family-sustaining jobs and help revitalize a struggling section of Center City.

The Sixers want to build the arena at 10th and Market Streets, where the Fashion District mall now stands. Despite millions in investment, the blocks east of City Hall have struggled to thrive for decades, a reality union officials say their members should get the opportunity to change.

“Guess what? Investment attracts more investment. That $1.5 billion can quickly become $10 billion and we can make sure that Chinatown has the culture it deserves,” said Ryan Boyer, business manager of the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council, an influential consortium of more than 50 labor unions.

The Sixers say the arena will create 12,200 jobs, including 9,100 construction jobs, and that it will “inject $2.3 billion of economic impact into Center City,” according to the project’s website.

Opponents of the arena view the arena as an existential threat to Chinatown — a destructive force that would spell the end for a neighborhood that took generations to build. They told Parker the arena will increase traffic congestion and hurt small businesses in the process as customers take their dollars elsewhere to avoid the headache.

Several speakers made a point of professing their love for basketball and the Sixers. But they urged Parker not to support such a disruptive development.

“We welcome new development but the arena is not the solution that advances or protects Chinatown’s future nor does it contribute to a safer, cleaner and greener Philadelphia,” said Margaret Chin, who sits on the board of the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation.

Wednesday’s meeting came roughly two weeks after the city released a group of impact studies designed to help officials tasked with weighing the value of building a downtown arena.

Consultants found the arena’s impact on Market East to be “inconclusive” while finding that Chiantown’s “core identity could be significantly diminished or lost” if the arena were built.

Before the meeting, members of the Save Chinatown Coalition gathered outside the convention center to rail against the arena.

“We’re fighting for our lives. We’re fighting for our community,” said Chinatown native Harry Leong in front of a crowd clad in matching white T-shirts proclaiming their opposition.

“This is our home. We’re not leaving,” shouted Wei Chen, civic engagement director with Asian Americans United.

As opponents called on Parker to defeat the Sixers’ proposal, union carpenters and electricians gathered across the street in support of the arena. They blared the team’s theme song from a box truck, the upbeat tune mixing with passionate pleas to stop the massive proposal from moving forward.