Philadelphia City Council is back from its summer break, but the body’s leader isn’t rushing back into the arena discourse that roiled its proceedings last year.
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The Philadelphia 76ers want the new arena they will share with the Philadelphia Flyers constructed by 2031, but Council President Kenyatta Johnson said there are no immediate plans to take up its approvals.
He told reporters Thursday he had “no expectation” that the council would be “doing anything” related to the Xfinity Mobile Arena replacement in the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, WHYY reported.
“I don’t have any information in terms of when it’s moving forward,” Johnson said. “I’ll leave it there.”
The Sixers spent years working to get approvals for a highly controversial arena proposal that would replace part of the Fashion District at 12th and Filbert streets in Market East.
Many high-ranking Philly politicians, including Johnson, backed the project despite intense pushback from residents of nearby Chinatown and other community activists.
The tensions came to a head during the council’s final vote on the matter Dec. 19, when dozens of activists formed a human chain in front of Johnson’s desk to delay the proceedings. Some of them were escorted away by police.
Council members ultimately voted in favor of the legislation underpinning the project, but the Sixers walked back the proposal less than a month later and elected to stay in South Philly. Plans for a new arena there are being carried out in partnership with Comcast Spectacor.
The Sixers haven’t completely abandoned Center City. In July, the team and Comcast spent $56M on several low-rise commercial properties on the south side of Market between Ninth and 11th streets.
“The 76ers, Flyers, and Comcast have been working very hard to put together plans for Market Street East and for a new arena,” a Sixers spokesperson told Bisnow in a statement Friday. “We look forward to sharing more information as plans and timelines are solidified.”
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