Philadelphia’s City Council is drawing closer to the finish line of a marathon of public hearings on the proposed $1.3 billion Sixers arena. With two weeks down, there are two weeks and just three more hearings to go — the committee of the whole will gather to hear testimony this Tuesday and again on the Monday and Tuesday after Thanksgiving. A vote later in December will seal the deal, one way or the other.
Last week, Council members took in hours of testimony and public comment (mostly from residents and activists who oppose the arena) over the course of three days. Some developments outside the Council chambers shaped the conversation, too. Here’s what you need to know.
SEPTA continues to be a question mark
SEPTA was already a hot topic in prior hearings, but its officials testified in person for the first time last week, telling lawmakers the transit authority had no way to finance the extra service needed to accommodate the arena.
The Sixers’ plan for the Center City arena relies on 40% of ticket holders taking public transit to the games (which would be a sea change in behavior — currently, about 85% of fans drive to watch the team play at their current location in South Philly’s stadium district) in order to avoid gridlocked traffic surrounding the arena and Jefferson Hospital’s nearby trauma center.
SEPTA, which has been locked in ongoing negotiations with the Sixers about the issue, already announced it was entering a “death spiral” fiscal crisis earlier in the month and communicated to some Councilmembers that financing additional service would be impossible. Officials from Mayor Parker’s administration and corporate representatives for the Sixers both insisted in public hearings that they would not be the ones to foot the bill.
Last Tuesday, SEPTA officials took to the mic to reiterate their stance and run through the details of what that additional service for the arena would entail. SEPTA Chief of Staff Liz Smith told lawmakers that to provide service to meet the 40% threshold, SEPTA would need to spend an extra $21 million annually on 20 additional regional rail trains every game/event night and other service boosts.
On Friday, Gov. Josh Shapiro threw SEPTA a temporary lifeline by announcing he would transfer $153 million in federal funds to cover this year’s operating budget deficit — but that doesn’t solve the issue at hand, and SEPTA projects a whopping $240 million annual budget shortfall in coming years. It does, however, focus conversations more on the possibility of long-term funding solutions: Shapiro insisted that he “would not let SEPTA fail,” and Democratic state representatives have vowed to negotiate a funding source in next year’s fiscal budget.
Councilmember Mark Squilla, whose district includes the arena and who introduced the enabling legislation for it, pointed to this as a reason to move forward with the arena. The Councilmember told the Philadelphia Inquirer that he does not think the question of additional SEPTA service will be a “sticking point” in the Council’s decision-making.
School board pushes process forward
Philadelphia’s school board voted on Thursday night to approve a resolution that clears the way for City Council to pass arena-related legislation. City officials who gave a presentation to the board framed the vote as purely procedural and not a referendum on the arena itself. But many members of the public who spoke out at the meeting — teachers, parents, students and members of community groups — urged members to vote no, arguing the approval would give a “green light” to the arena plan.
The resolution would remove the arena site from an existing tax increment financing district. This would enable the Sixers not to pay property taxes on the structure (a point often highlighted by arena opponents) and instead contribute a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) which would ultimately amount to less. Seven out of the Board’s nine mayor-appointed members voted to endorse, while two voted against the resolution. One dissenter, ChauWing Lam, asked the board to postpone the vote and said she was “uncomfortable not having the full picture” on the matter.
A later conclusion
Voting on the arena’s legislative package was initially slated for Dec. 12, but on Thursday, Council President Kenyatta Johnson scheduled an additional meeting for the council on Dec. 19. The change is due to a legislative technicality — the bill addressing tax increment financing requires a longer period of public consideration.
That extra week could prove to benefit arena proponents, giving them more time to address concerns and convince Councilmembers to vote in favor of the project. The last public hearing for the arena is scheduled on Dec. 3, giving the Council over two weeks to consider the bills without the spotlight of often-intense public comment sessions.
The arena-enabling legislative package will need nine votes to pass the 17-member Council.
