Mayor Cherelle Parker ensures 76ers will stay in Philadelphia, endorses 76 Place proposal on Market East
76place.com
A major step in the 76ers’ new arena process has just been made.
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker released a video Wednesday afternoon after a meeting with members of the Chinatown community that the 76ers will be staying in the city after agreeing on their arena plan on Market East, 76 Place.
She said the legislative package will be sent to the Philadelphia City Council where “it must be approved.”
“An agreement has been reached that will ensure that our Sixers are staying home,” Parker said. “My administration has reached an agreement with the Philadelphia 76ers for an arena in Center City… This agreement represents more than $1.3 billion dollars of private investment in our city. It will mean hundreds of millions of dollars in new tax revenues for our city of Philadelphia and our school district. It will also mean, and this is important, hundreds and hundreds of jobs for Philadelphians. It means an economic opportunity plan, quite frankly, the likes of which has never been seen in our city. And it represents the start of an unprecedent revival of Market Street.”
A Sixers spokesperson told Metro Philadelphia, “We are grateful to Mayor Parker and her team for their time and diligence in evaluating our proposal and look forward to advancing to the next steps with City Council.”
This whole thing started all the way back in 2022 when the Sixers first pitched this idea. I toured the site shortly after it was announced, which you can watch here.
There have been roadblocks along the way, including a lot of backlash from Chinatown and Camden, New Jersey trying their best to lure the Sixers across the river, which looked like it was going to be something, but is not like I thought.
“To the People of Chinatown, please know that I hear you,” Parker said. “We have the best Chinatown in the United States, and I am committed to working together to support it. I’ll have a lot more to say in a formal presentation coming soon.”
Chinatown is not done fighting. A statement from the Save Chinatown Coalition claimed that the “fight is far from over.”
The Sixers felt they were running out of time on the Market East site proposal in order to be ready for 2031 when they will be done with the Wells Fargo Center. But this is a big step in the right direction for them. Now, the city council just needs to give the Sixers the green light, and they are on their way to center city.
Here are some past renderings of the arena, if you have never seen them:
My thoughts: I love the sports complex. We are the only city and do not quote me on it but probably the only spot in the world, where all four of our teams play in the same spot. The parking lot is big and great for tailgating and it is not terrible getting in and out. Moving to center city is benefiting one thing only: the Philadelphia 76ers. Going to games is going to be a horrible experience for out-of-city fans, like myself. Trying to be like Madison Square Garden and the TD Garden is not going to work in Philadelphia.
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Benjamin Goldstein
Benjamin has been covering Philly Sports for Philly Sports Reports since 2017. He is a podcaster, writer, and founder of Philly Sports Reports. Benjamin is also an intern at the WBCB Sports Network on 1490AM. Through Philly Sports Reports, Benjamin has gotten the opportunity to meet Phillies owner John Middleton in his suite and be honored as the Philadelphia sports fan of the week for KYW News Radio. He hopes to be reporting on Philly sports as a full-time job in the future.
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