As we enter 2025, Metro is spotlighting a handful of Philadelphia news stories to keep an eye on in the new year.
Unforeseen issues and events are sure to emerge, but here are some topics certain to make headlines over the next 12 months.
Evolution of 76 Place
The 76ers proposal to build a $1.3 billion, 18,500-seat arena on East Market Street in Center City cleared a major hurdle in December, when City Council passed legislation that included the approvals necessary for the project to advance.
Much of the debate, at least in recent months, has centered around City Hall, which has hosted hours of hearings and multiple votes.
The fight over the arena is expected to evolve in 2025. Opponents have vowed to continue their efforts to block the project and have now spent more than a year organizing a coalition, while proponents, including Mayor Cherelle Parker and construction industry labor unions, are likely energized by the win in Council.
Don’t expect bulldozers or wrecking balls just yet. Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, owner of the 76ers, says demolition of a section of the Fashion District mall to make way for the venue is scheduled to begin in 2026.
Here comes Trump
During his four-year term, Joe Biden, a Pennsylvania native and resident of nearby Delaware, often stopped in Philadelphia, where he was warmly greeted by local officials. Mayor Cherelle Parker has touted the $1 billion in federal grants that flowed into the city during her first year in office.
The relationship between Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., is much less clear heading into the new year, as a city dominated by Democrats is still coming to grips with Donald Trump’s resounding victory.
Among the major questions is how city leaders will respond to Trump’s promised mass deportations. Philadelphia is currently a “sanctuary city,” meaning that local law enforcement is not supposed to share information with federal immigration authorities. The Trump administration could seek to target or punish “sanctuary” jurisdictions.
Immigrant advocates have already begun calling on Parker to more strongly reassert the city’s status as a haven for undocumented people.
Gun violence trends
Philadelphia was set to end 2024 with the fewest number of homicides in a decade, and shootings are down by nearly a third.
Overall violent crime, through Dec. 22, has dropped 8%, while property offenses have decreased nearly 10%, according to statistics produced by the police department.
Violence has been trending downward nationwide, following a spike in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic. Philadelphia’s reduction, by some measures, has outpaced that of other large cities.
Will that decline continue into 2025? And will the data contribute to a greater perception of safety among residents?
City leaders have acknowledged that the statistics do not always align with how people feel, with Parker last month remarking that “the numbers don’t mean a damn thing” after two dozen people were shot over the course of a weekend.
‘Fiscal cliff’ again looms for SEPTA
SEPTA postponed a 21.5% fare hike and 20% service reduction in November, when Gov. Josh Shapiro decided to redirect $153 million in federal infrastructure money to help the authority cover its fiscal cliff.
Those measures – which SEPTA leaders believe would result in a “death spiral” of decreased ridership, further price increases and less service – could be back on the table in 2025 if lawmakers do not craft a more permanent transit funding solution.
Absent any changes, SEPTA faces a $240 million annual deficit, a result of expiring federal COVID-19 relief dollars and ridership numbers that have yet to fully return to pre-pandemic levels.
Transit officials have said Shapiro’s “flex” funding will cover SEPTA’s operations through June 30, the end of the fiscal year.
Democrats, including Shapiro and leaders in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, have generally supported increasing funding for transit, while the GOP-controlled Senate has been more skeptical.
Kensington promises
Parker took office in January vowing to shut down Kensington’s notorious open-air drug market.
That, by all accounts, has yet to happen. Some say her approach, including a high-profile Kensington Avenue encampment clearing in May, has pushed the neighborhood’s large population of homeless drug users onto more residential blocks.
In her “state of the city” speech in December, Parker said her administration plans to open the first phase of Riverview Wellness Village, a treatment facility that sits on the city’s Northeast Philadelphia jail campus, in early 2025.
Parker and Council agreed to devote $100 million to Riverview Village, which, when fully constructed, will incorporate 640 beds, the mayor has said. It remains to be seen how exactly the facility will be utilized, and what impact it could have on Kensington.
DA on the ballot
Unlike in 2024, the eyes of the nation and the world will not be on Pennsylvania, or Philadelphia, when voters go to the polls. Local political observers, however, will be closely watching at least one city race.
District Attorney Larry Krasner is up for reelection, and he is expected to pursue a third term. The progressive prosecutor has, from time to time, drawn criticism, and, four years ago, he successfully fended off challenges from ‘tough on crime’ candidates in the primary and general elections.
In August, the Inquirer reported that half a dozen people are considering a run in 2025, including Municipal Court Judge Patrick Dugan (who has since resigned) and former City Councilmember Derek Green.
Voters will also be selecting Philadelphia’s next City Controller and a host of state and local judicial positions.
Is Philly prepared?
In 2026, Philadelphia will be hosting six FIFA men’s World Cup matches, the MLB All-Star Game, a larger-than-usual July 4 celebration and dozens of other activities related to the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, also known as the Semiquincentennial.
All of those festivities will require a lot of preparation and money, organizers noted during a City Council hearing in November. They asked for a greater “sense of urgency.”
So far, efforts have been supported mainly by about $15 million in philanthropic contributions, with little in the way of state or city funding. Philadelphia Soccer 2026 executive Meg Kane, who is coordinating the World Cup hosting duties, projected that more than $100 million is needed from City Hall and Harrisburg for all 250th events.
Michael Newmuis, Parker’s 2026 director, told lawmakers that the mayor is planning to allot money to the Semiquincentennial in her upcoming budget proposal, which should be released in the coming months.
