PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia’s mayor has revealed the terms of the deal negotiated with the city’s professional basketball team for a new $1.3 billion arena in the city center.
The Agreement reached earlier this month calls for the Philadelphia 76ers to finance the entire project, with no city funding involved. However, there is a provision that allows the NBA team to make annual payments in lieu of taxes averaging $6 million per year. The agreement also calls for a $50 million investment in businesses, neighboring communities and the city’s schools to help mitigate the project’s impact, Mayor Cherelle Parker said during a news conference Wednesday night.
“I’m really proud to have made this decision and negotiated an agreement that will absolutely ensure that our Sixers remain here in Philadelphia, where they belong,” Parker said.
City officials also released drafts of the nine bills and two resolutions needed to authorize the project, including measures that would allow the city to acquire the arena property and change zoning rules. Parker said her administration would hold a series of town halls in the coming months where residents could discuss their concerns about the proposal.
Team owners say their planned “76 Place” project would improve a struggling retail corridor near City Hall and benefit the city’s public transportation system. They have also vowed not to renew the lease on their current space, a circa-1996 arena in the city’s South Philadelphia sports complex, when their lease expires in 2031.
The proposal has drawn significant opposition from activists in the city’s Chinatown area, who fear it will disrupt or displace residents and businesses. They say the city is ignoring concerns that the project will increase car traffic in their pedestrian-friendly neighborhood and force vulnerable residents — the elderly, low-income families and new immigrants — to relocate. Parker reiterated her pledge Wednesday to preserve the area, which is just over a block from the proposed arena site.
If the City Council ultimately approves, demolition work on the site would begin in 2026, with construction starting two years later. Officials hope to open the arena in time for the 76ers’ 2031-32 season.