
Looks like a Chinatown fake-out for a slam dunk in South Philly!
For two years, many Philadelphians fiercely opposed plans for a 76ers arena in Chinatown, organizing rallies, attending public hearings, and presenting damning evidence about its potential harm. Despite this, City Council approved the plan in December 2024, agreeing to lease the land for just $10 a year over 30 years.
Wait, what? Ten bucks…? Hold up!
In a stunning turn of events, Comcast/Spectacor and the 76ers announced they’d made a new deal, and now the team was staying in South Philadelphia, after all. They broke this scoop on a Sunday afternoon, apparently blindsiding city officials. It was painful, watching Mayor Parker fumble through her disorganized press conference the next morning. We could hardly wait for Philadelphia Hall Monitor’s breakdown!
If you’re not familiar with our city’s award winning City Hall watchdog, they’re a tight band of maverick local journalists who – after decades in traditional media – created their own platform to speak truth to power. In addition to publishing great articles on their website, they have a podcast on PhillyCAM every Wednesday at 6pm.
The week the arena news broke, the Hall Monitor team assembled for a frank and thorough analysis with zero corporate spin. We’ll hit the highlights here, please watch the full episode for January 15, 2025 on Hall Monitor’s YouTube channel (@hallmonitor1615). Text here has been edited for length/clarity.
FEATURING: Hall Monitor’s Vanessa Maria Graber, Larry McGlynn, Denise Clay Murray, and Lance Haver
LANCE HAVER: So the city was leasing the land to an authority, PAID (the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development). And PAID was leasing the land back to the Sixers. In exchange, the Sixers were going to pay $10 a year for that lease for the next 30 years.
Hidden in all those words is the line item that says “the lease is assignable.” So the terms of that lease can be assigned to whoever wants to take it over. And it is true that PAID and the city have some right to deny the transfer. But if you read the actual text, the words say they can’t refuse “unreasonably.”
So when the new developer comes in, they’re going to get the 30-year tax break, both on Real Estate tax and on the Use and Occupancy tax. They’re going to get free land, and they’re only going to have to pay $10 a year on their lease for the next three decades.
LARRY MCGLYNN: What happens with the legislation? It’s already law. Just a quick refresher on Philadelphia process: if a bill is passed in City Council and it’s signed by the mayor, it becomes law. If it’s not signed by the mayor, it becomes law after 10 days. It’s one of the quirks of the City charter. When Council creates legislation, it just becomes law unless the mayor vetoes it.
So the plan approved December 19th is law now. And of course we’re wondering what’s revocable? What can be changed or nullified by passing new legislation? Maybe some things can’t. And the lease agreement was one of the things that we’re a bit worried about here, that maybe it can’t be undone. This is concerning, especially when it doesn’t seem like the city knows what to do about all this legislation.

LANCE HAVER: The mayor had been so adamant about how we needed this downtown arena: it was going to renew the whole area, nothing but an arena would do here. And now, of course, she is saying, “Well, this is better than what we had in mind, it’s two developments instead of just one!”
If this was such a better solution, why didn’t she advocate for it rather than support a worse solution? Why is she so quick to change on a dime for these billionaires?
At the end of the day: she got a deal, she made it happen, and then the very people she was trusting went and knifed her in the back. And instead of being honest with us, the people who elected her and pay her salary, she pretends there’s nothing to see here.
Who is she kidding? There’s no shame in admitting failure. Council Member Jim Harrity said he felt like he was a pawn. Council Member Curtis Jones said he felt like he was at his wedding and his bride left with the limo driver. I think people respect a politician who can admit that they got played. But the mayor is not willing to do that. And that, to me, is problematic.
When you have elected officials who try to tell you the sky isn’t blue, it breaks faith with people. It’s kind of the end of participatory democracy. Just mislead and distract voters, while serving the elite donors.

If the Council continues to go along with everything that the mayor promises, if the Council leadership who pushed this doomed plan forward pays no price — why should they stop? Where is the incentive to act in good faith, if there’s never a price to pay, and every reason to take money from billionaires and let them do whatever they want?
DENISE CLAY-MURRAY: Everybody in the Save Chinatown coalition needs to sit down tonight and write Adam Silver, the NBA Commissioner, a very nice thank-you note. Because if it weren’t for his corporate interests, we would all be getting a brand-new stadium in Chinatown, starting in 2026.
VANESSA MARIA GRABER: I would also argue the power of Comcast, right? Headquartered in Philadelphia, Comcast also has a brand to protect and promote. Comcast did not want to compete with another sports center in downtown. They wanted to keep the Sixers, they made that very clear.
This turnaround isn’t about doing the right thing or even just wanting to look good. This is about the amount of money that can be made, period. And this new deal is going to make stakeholders a tremendous amount of money. And that is why they decided to put their differences aside and come to this agreement.
Let’s not forget, Comcast owns a minority stake in the Sixers organization, and they’re also a media partner – they’ll be airing their games on Peacock and NBC and so on. It is in their mutual interest to work together on their own joint deal that maximizes everyone’s profits.

DENISE CLAY-MURRAY: I’m just going to come right out and say it: the only thing that can stop one group of billionaires is a bigger group of billionaires.
VANESSA MARIA GRABER: A really large coalition of organizations made up Save Chinatown. And people have been celebrating, but on the other hand, there’s still a great sense of frustration that this decision was not made by City Council members or the mayor.
Instead, four billionaires changed their mind and found a new way to make even more money. We talk a lot about the word oligarchy, and here’s an example of how billionaires are making policy and wielding more power, it seems, than our elected officials. And now what’s the plan for Market East? No word yet on the details, timeline, community process, nothing.
How many important issues were back-burnered last fall because City Council was focused on this legislation that turned out to be a big waste of time and money? And we all want to know what’s up with the $60 million Community Benefits Agreement with Chinatown.
LARRY MCGLYNN: I don’t think we’re going to see any legislation on the arena during Council’s upcoming spring session. The budget’s going to dominate everything until June. But maybe the fall? Maybe.
When they revisit the community benefits agreement, I wonder if Council will be able to demand more from the new project. I’m not so sure about that.

Part of the reason for this community benefits agreement was, I believe, because this arena was proposed for an area that strongly opposed it. I don’t think people can count on City Council and the mayor’s office being able to play hardball with these guys this time around, with commercial and residential development that’s much more welcome.
That’s just my opinion, but I don’t think people should expect City Council will be shaking down Comcast and the Sixers over this.
DENISE CLAY-MURRAY: I think they’ll get more than $60 million. I hope. Because now this goes from Mark Squilla’s district to Kenyatta Johnson’s district, and if he ends up negotiating the equivalent of paying $259 a month for a Geo Metro, that’s completely his fault. He can’t say Mark Squilla did this to me again. He’s gonna have to put his money where his mouth is.
Finally, I want to bring this up, because it’s been bugging me through this entire process. My hope is that the same amount of care, organization, and activism that went into keeping the arena out of Chinatown gets put in when a developer wants to run willy-nilly over North Philadelphia or Southwest or any of the other places where the community should have a say. I’m hoping that the same people who made that demand on Chinatown’s behalf make it for people who are not downtown.
VANESSA MARIA GRABER: Well, it’s worth noting that the Stadium Stompers, which was a coalition of organizations, successfully prevented Temple University from building a large stadium. And before the arena was being proposed in Chinatown, a coalition fought off a casino that wanted to build there as well. So I am optimistic that these groups will continue to work together for the benefit of Philly neighborhoods. I would like to see that type of organizing when the budget comes, too.
That’s probably the next big thing that Council is going to be taking up. And with the new Trump administration, I think many of us are anticipating huge budget cuts coming from the federal government, which will most certainly impact key programs and services, from schools to utilities to healthcare… So many things depend on those federal funds. And we may be feeling those budget cuts during this next round of budgeting at City Council.
LARRY MCGLYNN: Budget address is usually the first week in March. Hall Monitor has some great experts tapped to really drill down into all the details. I think this year, there’s a lot of interesting stuff going on, as these are consequential times.
This conversation appears courtesy of the award-winning Philadelphia Hall Monitor, WPPM 106.5FM in Philadelphia on Comcast channel 66 and streaming live at Phillycam.org, and on hallmonitor.org. Follow on X and Facebook @PHMWPPM.
🏀 Top Five Takeaways from Sixers v City Hall 🏗️
1. Opening Tip-Off: The new South Philly arena is slated to open in 2031 (developers hope to speed up the timeline).
2. Shared Court: The arena will be a joint home for the 76ers and the Flyers, in a new partnership with Comcast Spectacor.
3. Community Investment: Market East commercial/residential development is still part of the deal, as are the enormous tax breaks.
4. Macy’s Makeover: With over 1 million square feet of iconic space, the historic Macy’s building could transform into a complementary hub for retail, offices, and/or hundreds of new residents.
5. WNBA Dreams: This deal could score Philly a WNBA team, with comedian Wanda Sykes leading the charge to bring women’s basketball to the city.
❓What do you think? Click the links here for more information + context from across the political spectrum. Comments? Please leave them below, along with any questions and impressions you care to share.
@thelocalpaperphl Sixers Chinatown Arena — Nevermind! New deal with the owners of Wells Fargo Center to stay in South Philly, after all.
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