Penn community organizers oppose Mayor Cherelle Parker’s backing of 76ers arena near Chinatown

Members of the Penn and Philadelphia communities are continuing to oppose the construction of the proposed Philadelphia 76ers arena near Chinatown, following Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker’s public endorsement of the project last week. 

In a video released on Sept. 18 on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, Parker — a 2016 Fels Institute of Government graduate — announced that she had reached an agreement with the 76ers to keep the team in Philadelphia and begin advancing legislation that would allow construction on the stadium to begin. Her announcement received significant pushback, and members of the Philadelphia community continued to voice their concerns about the project.

The arena project has received backlash since it was initially announced in 2022, with community members expressing concerns that the stadium — which is planned to be built at 10th and Filbert streets — would displace Chinatown residents and negatively affect businesses in the area.  

In the video, Parker touted the construction of the $1.55 billion stadium as the “best financial deal ever entered into by a Philadelphia mayor for a local sports arena.” She added that this will include $1.3 billion of private investment, hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenues, and hundreds of new jobs. 

Parker also promised to hold town hall meetings to communicate the content of the deal and answer the community’s questions. The video was released during a last-minute meeting with Chinatown community organizers, which took place on Wednesday at 2 p.m. 

“I wholeheartedly believe this is the right deal for the People of Philadelphia. To the People of Chinatown, please know that I hear you. We have the best Chinatown in the United States, and I am committed to working together to support it,” Parker wrote in a caption accompanying the video. 

Many prominent Chinatown community organizers have spoken out against Parker’s endorsement and weighed in on the effects that the stadium would have on the surrounding neighborhoods. 

Mary Yee, a member of Asian Americans United and an alumna of Penn's Stuart Weitzman School of Design and the Graduate School of Education, voiced her disapproval of Parker’s decision to The Daily Pennsylvanian and challenged her claims about the economic benefits of the stadium. She cited the recent impact studies commissioned by the city, which found that the arena project may cause gentrification and “loss of cultural identity,” as reasons for concern. 

“I don't think that [Parker] was open to really looking at the impact studies that were done,” Yee said. “The numbers that the city's consultant came in with were substantially lower than what the 76ers were promising the city. If the arena is built, it will definitely elevate property values and rentals.”

Yee added that the negative effects of the arena's construction would “exacerbate” gentrification and negatively affect Chinatown community members and small businesses.  

“[The arena] would also push [out] residents that really need to be in Chinatown because of the services that are available there like social services and religious institutions,” she said. 

Asian Americans United co-founder Debbie Wei further emphasized broad opposition to the stadium's construction and Parker’s position.

“We continue to be united in our opposition, and we are not alone," Wei wrote in a statement to the DP. "We commissioned an independent poll in regard to the arena. The results were 69% of Philadelphians oppose the arena and only 12% support it." 

Architecture professor Rashida Ng — who received a master’s in architecture from Penn in 2001 — expressed her solidarity with the people of Chinatown, calling for community members to be “united in solidarity with all Philadelphians, but particularly those who have faced conflict by those who prioritize wealth and power over everyday people and our humanity.”

Local politicians also continue to oppose Parker’s position. 2013 Engineering graduate and Pennsylvania state Rep. Rick Krajewski (D-Philadelphia), and former Philadelphia City Councilmember Helen Gym — a 1993 College graduate and 1996 Graduate School of Education graduate — protested against the stadium’s construction.

“I am proud to oppose the 76ers arena proposal in Center City. No matter how the billionaire owners of the 76ers try to lobby, threaten and bully, working families have a right to stay in their homes,” Krajewski wrote in a statement on X. 

Parker's endorsement comes less than two weeks after hundreds of activists, including Penn students and community members, gathered at a rally at City Hall on Sept. 7 to protest the proposed arena. Students for the Preservation of Chinatown, a coalition founded by College senior Taryn Flaherty and 2024 Bryn Mawr College graduate Kaia Chau, was organized in October 2022 and has long opposed the proposed arena.