PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — City Council has again postponed a committee hearing on the 76ers’ $1.3 billion arena proposal, which was supposed to take place on Thursday. Negotiations are underway, as some council members and organizations argue the Sixers should fork over even more money to the community.
Council had scheduled a meeting, as the committee of the whole, before its regular Thursday meeting, thinking it could advance the bill in time to put it to a final vote next week, but City Council President Kenyatta Johnson announced it would be moved to the morning of Dec. 11 when it became clear a final agreement with the Sixers was not going to be settled in time.
“We still continue to have a dialogue and conversations with the Sixers organization, so it’s a work in progress, and right now we’re having discussions about what our issues and concerns are in order for us to move forward.”
The new timeline is a committee of the whole meeting next Wednesday so the bills can get a first reading on Thursday. Then, Council would add another meeting to its calendar on the 19th so it could meet the Sixers request to make a decision before the end of the year.
Council sources say they’d like to get another $10 million in the Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) and change some of the terms — for instance, give small businesses grants, instead of loans, to get through the construction period.
The 76ers owners hinted they would be willing to go above the $50 million pledged — to go toward communities, including Chinatown, that would be directly affected by the arena.
“We agree with Councilmembers Brooks and O’Rourke that a substantially higher investment from the team would compensate for the property taxes that the city and school district are foregoing as a result of the plan to lease the arena site to the 76ers,” the organization said in a statement on Wednesday.
But the Sixers are said to be unhappy about having to renegotiate. They thought Council would simply vote on what they’d agreed to with the mayor, but some Council members want to add their own marks to the agreement. Several have argued the 76ers should shell out $300 million — a figure cited by the Asian American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia.
Though the focus seems to be on getting more money for the CBA, Johnson says there are other concerns too.
“We’re talking about displacement, we’re talking about making sure people that are Black and Brown, and women, have a seat at the table when it comes to small businesses development. We’re talking about a traffic study. So there’s a variety of things we’re still working on.”
Mayor Cherelle Parker has said $700 million in tax revenue from the arena project would go toward the city and school district.
Parker was in Kensington on Wednesday for the third in a series of neighborhood meetings to discuss the arena proposal with residents. She reiterated her belief that the arena would revitalize Market Street and benefit the entire city. She also acknowledged the need to be sensitive to the needs of Chinatown and other communities near the project site.
“I really do believe that the people who are closest to [it], who will be directly impacted by the activity — we have to pay very, very close attention to making sure we address their concerns in every way possible,” she said.