Give-and-go: Philadelphia City Council gives initial approval to amended Sixers arena deal

Editor’s note: This article has been updated with a detailed breakdown of funding priorities and responses to Council decisions

If there were such a thing as a legislative buzzer beater, Philadelphia City Council’s move Thursday to give initial approval to Sixers arena legislation might qualify. After postponing the vote twice on Wednesday, Council approved an amended version of the arena legislative package that opens the door for final approval to occur before the end of the year – a deadline the team gave the city to give the go-ahead to the $1.3 billion arena in Market East. 

For more than an hour before Council gaveled in Thursday, as one side of Council Chambers featured union workers chanting “Build it,” opponents to the arena on the other side of the gallery rang cowbells and tambourines as they sang anti-arena songs and chants. 

But shortly after gaveling in, Council approved a series of bills out of the Committee of the Whole, by a vote of 12-4, to give the greenlight to the arena and a $60 million Community Benefits Agreement. 

The vote, met by cheer and jeers from both sides of the chamber, sets the stage is set for the arena to receive final approval by Dec. 19 – a deadline the team told the city it must meet in order for development to begin on schedule for the 2031 season.

The Community Benefits Agreement – local investments made by the team to help offset potential negative impacts of development – was the major sticking point throughout the arena debate, with the CBA’s final figure delaying Council’s vote twice on Wednesday.

The $60 million CBA includes increased funding – from $14.2 million to $17.5 million – for a new special services district that will provide public safety, cleaning, and other services around the arena; increased aid for businesses – from $1.6 million to $5 million – for those who will face disruptions during construction; and double the funding, $3 million in total, for a new “neighborhoods security sub-station” that will include staff from the police, SEPTA, the Center City District and Jefferson University Hospital. 

The CBA also includes $1 million for city parks and rec center renovations, $1 million for an apprenticeship and workforce development program, $2 million for a Chinatown Legacy Business grant program and $250,000 in seed money for a Chinatown Community Land Trust.

As Council weighed its options this week, and the Sixers refused to commit to a larger CBA figure, the opportunity –although unlikely – was presented to Council to approve their own CBA in hopes that the Sixers would come on board after legislative approval.

Ultimately, Council and the team reached a deal on the $60 million deal, well below what community members and council members wanted but above the original $50 million proposal. 

Councilmembers Nicolas O’Rourke, Rue Landau, Jeff Young and Jamie Gauthier voted against the legislation, with Councilmember Kendra Brooks not in attendance. The 12-4 vote, met with a “You’re all sellouts” and “Cowards” chants from arena opponents, is more than enough to give the final go-ahead to the development next week. After the vote was read, union members and arena proponents in attendance gave council a standing ovation. 

“I don’t understand how as a city we can say we care about Chinatown, we care about vulnerable communities, if we’re willing to push forward a project that our own impact study says will displace people, whether we’re talking about residents or small businesses,” Gauthier said. “I don’t understand how we would have voted for a community benefits agreement that includes virtually no protections for Chinatown.” 

Landau and Gauthier pointed toward the lack of affordable housing funding included in the deal, adding that Mayor Cherelle Parker’s decision to offer a $20 million housing commitment on the side of the deal was misplaced. 

“(The mayor’s) letter didn’t state that the money would be made available to the Chinatown Community Development Corporation…It didn’t feel like a commitment,” Gauthier said. 

Landau added that the less-than-ideal agreement is largely due to the Sixers “not coming to the table,” stating that council members were preparing a $100 million CBA that was shot down. 

“The Sixers weren’t coming to the table with enough resources and enough funding to help us with our protections,” Landau said. “This is not for a lack of trying on behalf of our Council President.”

Opponents, including leaders of the No Arena Coalition, spoke outside of City Hall after the vote, calling it a “searing indictment of the poor leadership” displayed by City Council.

“It was shocking to see Council leadership declare a bottom dollar figure of $100 million and completely capitulate to pressure less than 12 hours later,” the coalition said in a statement. “We have wasted months of time and countless hours of hearings for barely any change in a deal that was written by the developers more than two years ago. It's an embarrassing indication of the lack of strategic and tactical skills from a largely rookie Council who got played.”

How we got here

Despite vociferous backlash from community groups and advocates in the Chinatown area, Mayor Cherelle Parker announced in September that her administration had reached an agreement with the team to move ahead with the arena development, setting the stage for City Council to pass the zoning legislation and other bills needed to get the project across the finish line. 

Parker described it as a historic investment that comes without a financial commitment from the city. “It keeps our hometown 76ers playing in Philadelphia at least until 2061…What else makes it historic? The Sixers are financing (the) project with no city funds – that is an approach that is unprecedented among our local sports facilities,” Parker said in September.

Negotiations had been held up mainly over the team’s proposed $50 million CBA, an investment well below what some lawmakers and community advocates believe is needed to equitably ensure that Chinatown and the surrounding neighborhoods aren’t negatively impacted by the project. 

A majority of City Council’s 17 members must approve the legislative package, and several have already expressed support for the idea of including a larger financial sum in the CBA. 

Landau has said repeatedly that the “rushed process” is among the biggest concerns for her. 

“We’re being asked to vote on something we do not have all of the details (about),” Landau said, noting that questions remain about an appropriate amount of community support in the CBA and for SEPTA. “Structurally, we don’t have a final design…There’s a lot of ‘trust us’ coming out (from the team).”

As calls for greater transparency and equity have intensified, Councilmember Mark Squilla, who represents the area where the arena would be built, has said the chamber is working on a deal. While most councilmembers generally support the project, many have said the team should contribute more money to the CBA, resulting in Sixers representatives stating publicly the team will consider paying more as part of the project agreement. Squilla has said the Sixers would need to contribute at least $10 million more than the original $50 million, but advocates for Chinatown argue the initial proposal is a “slap in the face” and that any CBA should be at least $300 million. 

And late Wednesday night, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Squilla had planned to introduce an amendment to bring the CBA to $75.8 million. B

“The pitifully low figure in the current CBA makes it clear that City Hall is willing to be bullied and bought,” Emily Lua-Lua, of Make the Road Pennsylvania, said in a statement. “We need councilmembers to stand up and fight for a real investment in all of Philadelphia, not just scraps, and $300 million is the minimum.”

What’s next

The eight pieces of legislation needed to approve the arena were voted on by the Committee of the Whole Wednesday, setting the stage for the bills to be read aloud at two separate council meetings prior to a final vote, expected to take place on Dec. 19. 

With the legislative package approved out of committee, Council will have to pass it by the end of the year, likely on Dec. 19 – an extra session day Johnson is expected to announce. 

The next step in Council’s procedure after committee approval would be for the legislation to get a first reading on the Council floor, which must happen at least one week prior to a final vote. The first reading would have to happen at Council’s meeting this Thursday, allowing for the final vote on Dec. 19.

Landau admitted there are “not enough votes” to stop development at this point. 

“The problem is, the package will pass, so the real challenge right now is to get much more money from Sixers to the community and to SEPTA to offset all the effects that will happen from this,” she told City Cast Philly. “This is on a path that’s pretty apparent at this point.”