Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker, in a taped announcement sent over social media Wednesday afternoon, joyfully announced that the city had reached an agreement to keep the 76ers in Philadelphia — and in a new arena to be built in Chinatown.
Parker said it was a “historic” agreement — one she was “proud” to share.
There’s just one problem: Even Parker admits the “agreement” is far from official.
The agreement, details of which Paker said would come later, may not be fully vetted. It will need to be approved by the Philadelphia city council. And it certainly will face opposition from residents of Chinatown, who made it clear that are still steadfastly opposed to any new arena in their neighborhood.
Put another way, the effort by the state of New Jersey to bring the NBA’s Sixers to Camden — an offer that includes a new arena, a mixed-used property and hundreds of millions of dollars in incentives — appears to still be in play.
That’s the way Tim Sullivan, the CEO of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, sees it.
“We have put forward a thoughtful and aggressive proposal that makes clear that Gov. (Phil) Murphy and leaders across the state would welcome the 76ers to Camden with open arms,” he said. “Nothing announced today changes our view that the Sixers should seriously consider New Jersey for their next home.”
The state’s announcement differs from Parker’s announcement, one in which she said the city had reached a deal that represents $1.3 billion of private investment, lots of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in new tax revenues for the city and its schools.
“It means an economic opportunity plan, quite frankly, the likes of which have never been seen in our city,” she said. “And it represents the start of an unprecedented revival of Market Street, Philadelphia’s very first commercial quarter, which we know can reign supreme once again, from City Hall to the Delaware River.”
The Sixers have said repeatedly that they need an agreement on a new arena this fall in order for it to be built in time for the 2030-31 season.
Do they have one?
The one-sentence statement the Sixers released after Parker’s announcement does not seem to indicate this is a done deal.
“We are grateful to Mayor Parker and her team for their time and diligence in evaluating our proposal, and look forward to advancing to the next steps with city council,” the team said.
Any future city council meeting — and any town hall meeting to discuss the agreement — surely will be flooded with members of the Save Chinatown Coalition, a group that is fighting the team’s efforts to build a new arena in their neighborhood.
Mohan Seshadri, the executive director of the Asian Pacific Islander Political Alliance and one of the spokespeople for the Save Chinatown Coalition, said the group is not in agreement with the mayor.
Seshadri said a meeting with the mayor and some members of his group Wednesday was little more than the mayor informing them of her decision — rather than a discussion.
“This has been a sham process from the beginning,” he said.
“Our folks were told, ‘The mayor is on board, you should get on board, too,’” he said. “I want to be clear: Our Chinatown community members have not been consulted on any such agreement — and certainly have not agreed to any of this.”
Seshadri also is clear on this: His group wants the Sixers to stay in Philly — it just doesn’t want them to build an arena in Chinatown. A poll commissioned by the group found that 69% of all Philadelphians agree with the stance, he said.
Of course, the only thing that matters is how the city council feels. Unless it goes along with the mayor’s wishes, the state of New Jersey’s offer in Camden will remain as the only one on the table.
Sullivan said the state still is looking to deal.
“We play until the final buzzer sounds,” he said. “And we look forward to continuing to make the case for Camden and the Garden State.”
