Philly mayor announces agreement for 76ers arena in Center City
Mayor Cherelle Parker has announced that an agreement has been reached to bring an arena for the Philadelphia 76ers to Center City .
On social media on Wednesday afternoon, Parker announced that an arena would indeed be built for the Philadelphia 76ers in Center City.
"As your Mayor, I'm speaking from my City Hall office with a very important announcement. I am proud to share that I have made my decision, and an agreement has been reached to ensure that our Sixers are staying home," Parker wrote on social media.
Protesters gathered at City Hall shortly after the mayor's announcement, saying they are ready to fight for their neighborhood. They believe a new arena will destroy Chinatown, and the fabric of that community.
The Save Chinatown Coalition has been fighting for months for the neighborhood.
"If you don't have the decency to come to our community, and look us in the eye, and talk to us, that is disrespectful, that's extremely disrespectful," Debbie Wei, with the Save Chinatown Coalition, said.
Some sixers fans are dreading all the commotion a move like this could bring to the city.
"Traffic is going to be terrible, so not looking forward to that. It's going to be interesting to see how many communities that's going to disrupt too," one Philly resident said.
Others are standing strong with the mayor.
"Best possible place for the Sixers to be at. Stay hometown. A lot of jobs. A lot of jobs are going to open up for us. We've been struggling with jobs and all that so," another man said.
"Mayor Parker still hasn't met with Chinatown after all this time, yet feels she can have a stance on whether our community should live or die. This was never about one person, and this fight is far from over. We are going to fight this, and we are going to the mat. It's on," said Debbie Wei, who was described as a longtime Chinatown community member and member of the Save Chinatown Coalition.
Hours after the announcement, City Councilmember Mark Squilla released a statement that reads, "Now that the Mayor has made a decision on 76 Place, CM Squilla remains steadfast in his commitment to circulate the package of bills to all stakeholders for at least 30 days. During this time, we expect to consider all concerns and amend the legislation as needed. Council will follow their legislative process and insure there are safeguards in place for the community stakeholders if legislation is introduced."
IBEW Local 98 business manager Mark Lynch also released a statement to NBC10 showing his support for Mayor Parker's announcement.
"IBEW Local 98 applauds Mayor Parker for having the political courage and vision to publicly state her support for the construction of 76 Place on East Market Street. Beyond the nearly 10,000 union construction jobs it will create over a decade, 76 Place will invite additional outside investment that will finally revitalize this dormant yet vital section of Center City," Lynch's statement said.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the New Jersey Economic Development told NBC10 that Wednesday's announcement by Mayor Parker will not deter the state from persuing the 76ers.
"We have put forward a thoughtful and aggressive proposal that makes clear that Governor Murphy and leaders across the state would welcome the 76ers to Camden with open arms, and nothing announced today changes our view that the Sixers should seriously consider New Jersey for their next home. We play until the final buzzer sounds, and we look forward to continuing to make the case for Camden and the Garden State," NJEDA CEO Tim Sullivan said.
State officials from New Jersey and Delaware are also looking to have the Sixers call their state home.
A spokesperson from the New Jersey Economic Deevelopment Authority said even after today's announcement they still welcome the Sixers to Camden with open arms, "we play until the final buzzer sounds."
