Faith leaders tell City Council not to rush 76ers arena process

Faith leaders skeptical of the 76ers proposal to construct a new arena on Market Street urged City Council on Tuesday not to fast-track legislation that would authorize the contentious $1.3 billion project.

Plenty of questions remain, they said, two weeks after Mayor Cherelle Parker hosted a three-hour presentation featuring details of her administration’s agreement with the team.

“The most important question that needs to be answered is, who exactly does this project actually benefit?” said the Rev. Leslie Callahan, pastor of St. Paul’s Baptist Church. “It is already clear that most of its long-term benefits go to the billionaires who own the Philadelphia 76ers. There are short-term benefits to the hard-working but lucky few who are in the building trades.”

“As of this moment, the case that it’s good for the city has not been made,” added Callahan, whose church is located less than a mile away from the site of the planned arena.

Callahan and others who spoke at a news conference Tuesday morning organized by POWER Interfaith raised concerns about the community benefits of the agreement between the city and 76ers; specific traffic mitigation strategies; support for public transit; and other issues.

“The current draft, and that is all it is – a draft – has enough unanswered questions and ambiguity to require City Council to take the time now to get answers and to fill in the details,” said the Rev. Robin Hynicka, pastor of Arch Street United Methodist Church.

Pastors, some of whom donned clerical collars, said they are standing in solidarity with residents in Chinatown and other neighborhoods that could be impacted by the project. The multi-denominational group implored lawmakers to engage with the community in a transparent way.

“What we are calling for today is simple: Slow your roll,” said the Rev. Gregory Edwards, POWER’s interim executive director. “There is no need to rush the decision. The stakes are too high and the consequences too great.”

One Council member – Nicolas O’Rourke, also a pastor – spoke at the event. He pointed out that no one from the community helped to negotiate the collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

“What I’m worried about is that we don’t have an honest, credible, deliberative process around this arena, and that our actions drive people away from City Hall,” added O’Rourke, who belongs to the progressive Working Families Party.

Three of the Council’s 17 members, including O’Rourke, have vowed to oppose the arena.

Parker’s administration last month transmitted a legislative package to lawmakers that would permit the arena project to move forward. The bills and resolutions will not be introduced until Oct. 24 at the earliest, honoring a promise from Councilmember Mark Squilla, who represents the area, to allow the legislation to be public for at least a month prior to formal consideration.

A tense series of hearings and votes, likely in November and December, could follow. City officials have said the 76ers timeline requires legislation to be passed by the end of the year in order for the arena to open as planned in 2031.

76 Place, as the project is known, would seat 18,500 fans in a new venue built on the northside of Market Street between 10th and 11th streets in Center City.

Parker, during her presentation, touted the developers’ $50 million CBA, an equal opportunity plan to ensure minority and women representation and the potential of the project to spur further investment in the Market East corridor.

Not all religious leaders are against it.

“When I think about what’s in this proposal and how faith-based leaders will benefit,” the Rev. Jonathan Mason Sr., of Northeast Baptist Church, said at the mayor’s Sept. 25 meeting, “it is a proposal that’s going to bring benefits and added value to our young people right now, and they need it right now.”

The Black Clergy of Philadelphia and Vicinity was an early supporter, endorsing 76 Place last year.

“We were told when five clergy people spoke in favor of it over a year-and-a half ago that that was supposed to be the end of it,” the Rev. Mark Tyler said. “So I think that more than five clergy people (are) here today.”

The faith leaders gathered Tuesday on the steps of Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church, where Tyler is pastor. He recounted how the historic congregation’s home was threatened in the 1960s when city planners attempted to build the “Crosstown Expressway,” a highway project killed by community opposition.

“We’re going to fight it like they fought it in the 1960s and prevailed,” Tyler added.