After receiving feedback from the Philadelphia community on the original 76ers arena proposal, 76 place chairman David Adelman says they made some tweaks. The plan now consists of less road closures before and after games, a large outdoor plaza, as well as more retail space in a promenade in hopes to bring in more small business. NBC10’s Lauren Mayk has more on the newest proposal.
The chairman for 76 Place at Market East, the proposed new arena for the Philadelphia 76ers, spoke with members of the public and the media on Tuesday in a effort to paint the proposal as a win for both the basketball team and the city as a whole.
But, those who have long opposed the plan seemingly unswayed by Adelman's presentation.
On Tuesday, in a discussion with NBC10's Lauren Mayk, Adelman said the new arena would serve as a recruitment tool for the basketball team and could be a "catalyst" for additional development in and around the city's Market East neighborhood.
"The goal here is that 76 Place becomes a catalyst for other development on Market East," he said.
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During the day, Adelman stresses the potential of the $1.3 billion project that would include mixed-income housing, noting that planners were working to ease concerns about traffic while noting that the project wouldn't overlap into Chinatown.
"We will not displace one business or one resident," he said. "We are taking a box and building another box."
Also, this week, developers also presented how they think Sixers fans will travel to the arena for games.
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They expect 40% to drive, 40% to use mass transit, 10% to use a taxi or ride share service and another 10% to travel on foot or through alternate modes of travel.
Late last month, planners presented a tweaked proposal that changed times for road closures along 10th and 11th streets -- instead of there being closures pre- and post-game, the proposal would only include lane closures after games -- along with added retail, food and beverage operations intended to increase foot traffic in that area year-round.
The changes, he said, grew out of feedback following ongoing meetings with the community.
"I’ve had 130 plus meetings many with different groups in Chinatown, so, we’ve heard lots of different things," said Adelman. "We’ve also heard from people in Chinatown who are for the project, who think it will bring in economic energy that’s needed post-COVID."
Yet, even with these changes, representatives of the Save Chinatown Coalition said they remain opposed to the plan, as their biggest concern -- the proposed location for the arena -- remained unchanged.
"Any design that keeps 76 Place in Center City has clearly not taken into account the public feedback on this project, and that’s exactly what we saw today. Instead of addressing the critical issue of 76 Place’s illogical and unfeasible location, the billionaire developers are just tinkering around the edges. The overwhelmingly negative public comments on 76 Place today echoed what Philadelphians have said from day one: A basketball arena is not compatible with Center City," said Vivian Chang, executive director of Asian Americans United, a member group of the Save Chinatown Coalition in a statement.
Future changes to the plan could be in the works, as planners behind 76 Place are awaiting results of a feasibility stuffy that is currently making it's way through City Hall.
Asked when they might know results of that study, Adelman was unsure.
"I hope it's soon," he said. "I'm ready."
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