To save Chinatown, Philly struggle beats back the billionaires.

Philadelphia

The Save Chinatown Coalition, representing over 245 organizations, and the overwhelming 70% of Philadelphians polled in 2024 who opposed plans by the 76ers basketball team to build an arena in Center City, has cause to celebrate. The Philadelphia Inquirer leaked the news Jan. 12 that an agreement was reached for the team to remain in the stadium district in South Philadelphia.

According to posts on X, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Comcast Spectacor President Brian Roberts talked the Sixers into staying in the current location. After a two-year struggle to stop it their planned 76 Place in Chinatown is off the table.

The arena would have threatened the very existence of historic Chinatown. Asian Americans United, one of Save Chinatown Coalition’s most vocal organizations, celebrated the agreement with Comcast, which owns the 76ers lease for the current arena. AAU declared the team’s decision to stay in South Philly a victory for the “multiracial, multilingual, intergenerational movement. The people of Philadelphia deserve a city that serves all communities. Our work continues and remains cautious to protect precious neighborhoods from exploitative development, but for now let’s celebrate together.” (WHYY, Jan. 12)

The No Arena Coalition statement said: “To every Philadelphian who called, marched, testified and warned City Hall that this was a raw deal: This win belongs to you, and the lesson for politicians is to trust the people. … Over the past two years, Philly built a movement not only to save Chinatown but to defend our entire city from predatory billionaires who saw us for a profit playground, and tens of thousands of Philadelphians showed up. 

“We were clear from day one that it was dangerous to play in the viper pit with billionaires, but City Hall toyed with the snakes, and they got bit. Twelve of 17 Councilmembers turned their backs on decades of research on the false promise of stadium developments, common sense, their voters and the 70% of Philadelphians who opposed this arena.  

“This sham of a process laid bare what Philadelphians have long known: Decisions about the future of neighborhoods are not being made by the people of those communities nor with their best interest in mind, but by a select few who represent their own benefits and bank accounts and a City Hall that’s bought and paid for.”

Councilmember Nicolas O’Rourke, with the Working Families Party, who voted against the arena, stated: “Anybody following this issue closely could clearly see this was a power struggle between billionaires and corporations. Their plans can change on a whim, and these latest developments are a clear example of why the Mayor [Cherelle Parker] and City Council should never waste precious time and resources prioritizing billionaire projects over the work Philadelphians elect us to do.” (WHYY, Jan. 12)

The news broke less than a month after several contentious and controversial public hearings and a 12-5 vote by the City Council on Dec. 19 to accept the 76ers’ proposal to construct the $1.3 billion 76 Place in the heart of several communities strongly opposed to the project. Along with the Chinatown organizations, residents of neighborhoods south of the proposed arena — the Gayborhood and Washington Square West — joined the resistance to the project. 

At rallies during the two-year struggle, staff from Jefferson Hospital, located just blocks from the proposed project, voiced concerns the arena would create traffic gridlock that would interfere with ambulances trying to reach the hospital.

The Council vote included approval of a $60 million Community Benefits Agreement the Sixers agreed to pay over 30 years in lieu of paying property taxes to the city. Not only did the CBA contain no measurable benefits for the communities impacted, but it also let the team owners off the hook for taxes desperately needed for city schools, recreation centers and other public services. Among those who spoke against the arena were several librarians and school teachers calling for projects that would benefit the youth of Philadelphia and not just the billionaire developers.

When the Council approved the project, activist organizations immediately pledged to pursue legal actions to stop it. This, along with overwhelming public opposition to the project, had to be a factor in the pressure on the Sixers to accept the Comcast proposal.

Comcast, which owns the Wells Fargo Center where the Sixers currently play, was aggressively encouraging the team to stay in the stadium district. They proposed a $2.5 billion complete redevelopment of the South Philadelphia area, including a $400 million overhaul of the Center.

People vs. the billionaires

A popular slogan used by organizers opposing the arena was the “people vs. the billionaires,” targeting 76ers co-owner David Adelman and private-equity investors Josh Harris and David Blitzer, managing partners of the Philadelphia 76ers, who had successfully pressured the majority of the City Council to back them against the wishes of the people. Adelman had even openly clashed with Comcast Spectacor during the team’s efforts to win city approval for the new arena.

Unfortunately, other major proponents of the Center City arena were leaders of the construction trades unions who undermined working-class solidarity by having their members speak in favor of the billionaires’ project. At numerous City Council meetings, these unions disgracefully fought alongside the rich and powerful against the wishes of a community of color.

Unions rely on working-class solidarity for their very existence in the struggle against the capitalists who exploit workers. Building trades leaders claimed to be fighting for jobs for their members, but they ignored what it might mean for the working class as a whole when they sided with the exploiters against the community.

As it turns out, the building trades unions will have jobs for their members in whatever ends up being built in the stadium district. If these workers’ union leaders had spoken in solidarity with Chinatown and others opposing the Center City arena, it is likely the Council vote would never have passed.

When all our communities and workers’ organizations act together in solidarity, we can win affordable housing, mass transit, better schools and so much more. This could provide many more jobs than stadiums and other multibillion-dollar boondoggles.

The reverberations of this win are resonating across Philadelphia and everywhere else workers are fighting big capitalist developers. When we fight, we win!