The proposal to build a $1.3 billion arena on Market Street in Center City Philadelphia has been shelved, which is likely to surprise many.
Around noon on Sunday, NBC10 was informed by a city official and a union representative that the team had reached a new agreement with Comcast Spectacor and had retracted a plan to build an arena at the intersection of Market and Filbert streets at 10th and 11th streets.
Instead, the team intends to destroy Wells Fargo Center and eventually construct a new arena in South Philadelphia, Ryan Boyer, president of the Philadelphia Building & Construction Trades Council, told NBC10’s Lauren Mayk.
According to Boyer, we do in fact receive more jobs. This is fantastic news for the building trades.
Jim Harrity, the at-large member of the Philadelphia City Council, expressed disappointment with the unexpected action. He admitted that he felt duped.
“I feel totally duped,” Harrity remarked. This is something I will never forget. I believe they deceived not just me but also the people of Philadelphia, and I will never forget it.
Harrity expressed his displeasure that the city’s schools will not receive the anticipated tax revenue from the new arena.
Late last year, the Philadelphia City Council gave its approval to the idea.
Since it was first suggested, the idea had been controversial, with many locals in the areas nearest to the project site opposing it.
To decide the project’s future, municipal officials, including Mayor Cherelle Parker, visited with community people throughout the city in the last months of last year before the municipal Council voted on it.
A major concern with the project was the amount of money that would be included in the community benefits agreement before City Council finally authorized the plan on December 19, 2024. Residents closest to the project demanded more money, up to $300 million, than the developers’ first $50 million offer.
With a $60 million community benefits agreement, the idea was eventually authorized by the City Council.
The arena’s construction was scheduled to start this year, with an opening date of 2031.
Officials have not yet disclosed the details of the agreement that resulted in the decision to remain in South Philadelphia.
However, a person with knowledge of the matter claims that the Sixers and Flyers will collaborate with Comcast Spectacor on a new arena in South Philadelphia.
According to the source, the Sixers and Comcast Spectacor will also collaborate on a revitalization project for the Center City Philadelphia area of Market East.
The decision is anticipated to be announced at a news conference on Monday morning, January 13, 2025.
Requests for comment were not immediately answered by representatives of the Sixers, Comcast, and the City of Philadelphia when contacted on Sunday.