The Philadelphia City Council will meet today to discuss legislation and possibly vote to pass a controversial one new Sixers arena to be built on Market Street between 10th and 11th streets. As the highly anticipated meeting approaches, a city council member says they still haven’t made a decision on the project.
“I’m still undecided about the arena,” Councilman Jamie Gauthier said Tuesday.
Today’s City Council meeting could be important. The Committee of the Whole would need to pass the legislation out of committee by Thursday for a full council vote on Dec. 19, a day on which Council President Kenyatta Johnson has been placed on the calendar as a possible additional session.
The Sixers also previously said they hoped to have an answer to the arena plan by the end of the year.
The proposal has stalled in committee as councilors raised concerns about several issues. One question was who would pay for it SEPTA to add more trains to accommodate the plan to get more people to the arena by public transport.
Many council members believe that the team needs to increase its capacity proposed $50 million Community Benefits Agreement (CBA). that would be paid out over 30 years.
Gauthier specifically took issue with the amount of money set aside to ward off the potential for rising home and business rents in neighboring communities like Chinatown.
“Three million dollars for that kind of resource is not enough,” Gauthier said. “$1.6 million for business disruption is not enough.”
City leaders say they privately discussed the CBA price tag with the Sixers to reach an agreement. But the question is: how high does that number go?
Gauthier said she supports a proposal from the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation with a price tag of $163 million, but it is unclear whether the Sixers will agree to that amount.
However, the plan does include the support from Mayor Cherelle Parkersomething she reiterated Tuesday when she spoke to CBS News Philadelphia.
“I trust the process and hope and pray that everything goes well,” Parker said.
Parker initially announced her support for the arena in September. She believes the project can revitalize Market East, once a busy commercial corridor full of empty storefronts.
“I am proud and wholeheartedly support a $1.3 billion private sector investment that would revive the city of Philadelphia’s first commercial corridor,” Parker said. “We can reimagine a Market Street like we’ve never seen before, supporting our very authentic and genuine and what I call the best Chinatown in the country.”
Parker publicly postponed the City Council meeting as negotiations on the proposal continue, saying she was unsure whether the City Council would vote on it Wednesday.
“I don’t know if it will be tomorrow,” Parker said Tuesday. “I don’t know if it will be any other time.”
CBS News Philadelphia asked the mayor Tuesday if she was nervous the Sixers could leave town. Organization representatives confirmed they are investigating Camden as an alternative location for the arena. Parker responded by talking about her time as chair of the Delaware River Port Authority.
“When I went into that building in Camden, every time I looked out my window I saw the Sixers practice facility there. And every time I looked at it, I didn’t like it,” Parker said. “[The] The 76ers are the Philadelphia 76ers for a reason. Us Sixers need to be home and they need to stay home.”
