'This is a bad deal': Opponents of proposed Sixers arena make their voices heard in day 3 of hearings
CENTER CITY - Will the Sixers win City Council’s support for its plan to build an 18,500-seat arena on the edge of Chinatown? Council hearings underway at City Hall may offer an answer.
Both sides in the arena debate were seen in City Council Tuesday. Opponents waved signs; supporters wore tee shirts, but there was just one message in the morning testimony - scrap the plan. Xu Lin owns a small restaurant in Chinatown. He said, "I don’t think we can survive the arena. The six years of construction alone will kill my business."
In the third day of testimony on the Sixers proposal to build a $1.3 billion arena in Market East on the edge of Chinatown, council members heard from community leaders, business owners and academics all opposed to the plan. Some were nearly begging Council to kill it.
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John Chin leads the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation. He said, "This arena will push Chinatown to the precipice. This is the reason PCDC opposes the arena proposal."
Domenic Vitiello, of the University of Pennsylvania, testified, "This is a bad deal in so many ways. There is a broad conclusion among independent economists that arenas do not add tax revenue and other economic benefits to cities."
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Council members learned as many as150 businesses in Chinatown could be impacted. The $50 million community fund paid for by the Sixers needs to be doubled. And SEPTA testified it can’t pay for expanded transit to 76Place.
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FOX 29 asked the sponsor of the arena legislation, Mark Squilla, if he had heard enough to drop his support. Squilla responded, "No. I’ve been hearing this for the last two and a half years. Our goal was to introduce something we could support."
Organized labor leaders testified in the afternoon session telling council they support construction and the jobs it would create.
Mayor Cherelle Parker supports the deal. But at least for most of this day, she had little company.
Tami Sortman of the Washington Square West Civic Association said, "We are opposed to the arena going forward. We call on Council to vote against it."