Philadelphia City Council has approved a $1.3 billion plan to construct a new arena for the Philadelphia Sixers in the Market East neighborhood. The decision came after months of negotiations, community meetings, and protests from both supporters and opponents of the project.
The future of Philadelphia’s Market East community in Center City is now clear as City Council has voted to approve a $1.3 billion plan to bring a brand new arena for the Philadelphia Sixers to the neighborhood. During its scheduled meeting on Thursday, Dec. 19, City Council voted, with a majority of members in support on the legislative package that would make way for a plan that could have a transformative effect on the area.
The approval occurred after months of negotiations with developers and meetings with members of the community in every corner of the city as well as protests and outbursts from those on both sides of the debate. A raucous start At the start of Thursday’s hearing, there was no shortage of protest as a group of individuals opposed to the arena plan stood arm-in-arm, chanting and blowing whistles while on the floor of City Council’s chambers in City Hall. Wearing shirts that read “City Council sold out Philly” and “shut it down,” protestors sat in a group on the floor of city council as the meeting was intended to start at 10 a.m. Around 10:15 a.m., several protestors were taken out of the room by law enforcement officials. By about 10:25 a.m., the protestors on the floor of chambers had been removed, yet the crowd in attendance throughout the room continued to chant. For some time, as City Council President Kenyatta Johnson attempted to start the meeting, chants of “shame” filled the chambers. The meeting was eventually brought to order by about 10:35 a.m., though some commotion persisted. In opening the meeting, Johnson addressed the crowd, calling for those in attendance to respect the process as council has had eight hearings solely dedicated to the arena plan. “All we are asking is just respect our process and let us continue our business,” said Johnson at the top of the morning’s meeting
CITY COUNCIL DEVELOPMENT PROTESTS Sixers Arena Philadelphia City Council Market East Development Protest
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