Groups opposing proposed 76ers arena deliver signatures to City Hall
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Groups opposed to the proposed Sixers arena in Center City gathered Thursday at City Hall, delivering thousands of signatures to Philadelphia City Council members from people who would be impacted by the stadium.
Despite the Sixers' current playoff run, not everyone is loving the organization.
Organizers told CBS News Philadelphia that they're looking to send a clear message to their elected officials: no arena in Center City.
Several groups showed up with boxes of signed petitions and postcards in opposition to the plans for 76 Place at Market East. The group claims the $1.3 billion arena would drastically alter Chinatown and the city's Fashion District.
Each box had a sign saying "15,000 petition signatures say no arena." The signs also had the hashtags #NoArena and #SaveChinatown.
"If we have to reimagine how Philly can be better, it's not by putting the money-grabbing arena in the smack of Center City," Philadelphia resident Sinta Penyami said. "How about we help us make Chinatown more accessible? More walkable?"
Late last month, the Sixers announced initiatives they say are designed to create "economic opportunity for the local Black community through the newly proposed arena."
Mayor Jim Kenney also launched a city study into the impacts of the arena.
It's likely the Sixers arena fight will fall on the city's next mayor. CBS News Philadelphia is reaching out to all of the mayoral candidates to see where they stand on the project.
Multiple Chinatown community groups have come out against the proposed arena in an area bounded by 10th and 11th Streets and Market and Filbert Streets next to the Fashion District Philadelphia Mall.
"We're bringing together all the voices of the people who have been signing these petitions, who have been writing these postcards. Philadelphians say no to this arena in the heart of our city," Jenny Zhang, a community organizer with API PA, said.
The arena is outside of Chinatown but business owners say the construction will impact them.
"It will impact the small businesses in Chinatown, all around Market Street, and just price these people out," Zhang said.
76 Devcorp, the group leading the arena project previously released a statement, which in part says, "We remain committed to developing this project in a way that protects the city we love and benefits all of Philadelphia."
Another rally is planned for Saturday.
