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The city of Philadelphia is a sports city. That is an unchallenged statement and a defended one too. From the insane Eagles fans, whose ages range from crazy to crazy (but old), to the chiller, depressed Phillies fans, recovering from one loss to another. The Flyers, Phillies, and Sixers fans don’t exist in the same realm as the Eagles fans. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal”, may have been written at Independence Hall in 1776, but all sports are definitely not created equal. At least, not in our city.
The Sixers Basketball team was founded in 1946 under the name of the Syracuse Nationals (better known as the Nats) and played in the first NBA game in 1949. The team did well, eventually relocating to Philadelphia in 1963. They first played at the Convention Hall and The Philadelphia Arena before moving to the Spectrum (now called the Wells Fargo Center) in 1967. The Spectrum was a game-changer for the Sixers, allowing more than 20,000 fans seats and a permanent home for the team. The arena was also shared with the Flyers, a Philadelphian hockey team starting that year, which was owned by Comcast Spectator, the company that still manages it today. In 1994, Comcast Spectator also bought the Sixers.
Everything was fine, great even. In 2011, Comcast sold the Sixers to a very wealthy pair of business brothers, Harris and David Blitzer, who bought the team for $280 million. It is estimated that its value has quadrupled since! It worked very simply. The Sixers paid rent (a lot of it), and Comcast Spectator supplied their obstructed-view seats and Chickie and Petes crab fries. After 2011, the Blizter brothers started getting uncomfortable at the Wells Fargo Center and the hefty rent. After more than 50 years of the arena being home sweet home, the owners discussed a dramatic move.
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Whispers gained traction until the Sixers made a formal statement in July of 2022. They announced plans for a new arena that would belong solely to the Sixers, opening in 2031 after the Sixer's contract with Comcast Spectator expires. The privately funded facility, named 76 Place, was planned to sit atop SEPTA's Jefferson Station at 10th and Market streets, taking over about a third of the Fashion District mall. The plans shocked Philadelphians and Chinatown residents, a futuristic and impressive building pricetagged at $1.3 billion. With the proposed arena came a capacity of 18,500, as well as opportunities for restaurants, jobs, and entertainment. With the proposed arena also came discussion of gentrification, traffic, and other relevant problems for Chinatown residents.
Notably, this is not the first time a profitable company has considered building in Center City/Chinatown. Chinatown has a history of sparring with wealthy developers and defending their space. In Center City, bigger is better. Stadiums, food, bowling, movie theaters, and retail all in a few blocks radius can easily float money out of everyone’s pockets, tourists and residents alike. If the benefits outweighed the downfalls, Philadelphia would be all for the stadium. But when one neighborhood is hurting, we all are, which explains the additional support expressed recently and nearly two decades ago, when the Phillies proposed a similar, billion-dollar arena in Chinatown, or when Foxwood Casino planned a new casino in the same area.
Chinatown itself is a very tight-knit community, with small businesses on every corner, wonderful food, cultural events, and attractions. The community has come together many times to fight proposals such as the Sixers project, that would disconnect the neighborhood and bring new people in. “76 Place” was no different than any other building planned in Chinatown, a for-profit outrageously large space run by the same men in suits. Again, Philadelphia came together in support, putting up posters with red text in Mandarin and English. “No Arena in Chinatown”, they read. If you’ve walked anywhere in Center City you’ve likely seen the recognizable logo, hung in business windows, taped onto poles, and printed on t-shirts. Protests were organized and brought together, and the common chant was shared amongst students, business owners, and activists. The consensus among most Philadelphians was that the Sixers arena would never belong in Chinatown, regardless of how many jobs came with it.
Inevitably, the opinions of those in power in Philadelphia were the ones that mattered. On December 13th, 2024, in one of the final council meetings of 2024, city council members voted on 11 bills proposed that would allow the Sixers an arena in Center City. These bills detailed issues such as changing sidewalks, removing street infrastructure, and approving additional structures, such as bike racks, a pedestrian bridge, and digital displays. Eleven out of eleven bills were approved– 12 approved and 5 opposed for all except one bill, which was 14 approved and 3 opposed. The city council room was packed, housing both the members and Philadelphia protesters, who booed the members approving each bill. It was a sad day for all Philadelphians advocating against the arena. After this vote, nothing was standing in the Sixer's way.
Things seemed set in stone, with construction slated to begin in 2026 for the 2031 basketball season, when a month later, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (the Sixers manager) announced a deal with Comcast Spectator for a whole new arena. This one would be located along with the others in South Philly, resting peacefully at NRG station, bobbing in a sea of parking lots. The controversial plans for 76 Place were completely scrapped. These plans came as a shock to Philadelphians and city council members, its development was kept under the radar until January 13th, 2025. The 12 consistent voting city council members who approved each bill have gotten their fair share of hatred. Cherelle Parker especially received negative feedback, which influenced the votes of Philadelphians in the next mayoral election. The arena plans are just as impressive as the last ones but with different deals. Comcast Spectator agreed to split the $60 million charge to revitalize Market East evenly, bringing the Flyers along with them, and buying a part of the Sixers.
Harris informed the press “We didn’t really change our mind. We were really committed to Market East … but our North Star was to do the right thing by Philly,” Harris said. “We felt we could build a better arena and also revitalize Market East … so we pivoted.” after the release of the designs for the new arena. Its opening date is the same, possibly earlier than the projected Center City arena. After this conference, happiness rang throughout Chinatown. Again, Chinatown was protected from ruthless and profit-motivated developers. But will Chinatown and Center City always be safe from the grasp of major buildings and progressive infrastructure? How can we defend our marginalized neighborhoods from gentrification by large companies?
Sources
https://www.nba.com/sixers/history/76ers-team-history
https://whyy.org/articles/philadelphia-sixers-new-proposed-center-city-arena-reaction/
https://www.niche.com/places-to-live/n/chinatown-philadelphia-pa/residents/
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/philadelphiacitypennsylvania/INC110223
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