Pro- and anti-arena groups square off inside, and outside, City Hall

Throngs of activists in red “No Arena” shirts and union workers holding huge signs reading “Jobs, Jobs, Jobs” converged on the sidewalk outside City Hall on Thursday morning, ahead of the introduction of bills proposing the constructing a new $1.55 billion Sixers arena between Philly’s Chinatown and Washington Square West neighborhoods. 

Chants of “No arena!” rang out between activists’ megaphone speeches. Their sound was sometimes punctuated by competing chants of “Build it!” from union members, who had a table of Dunkin Donuts set up for them close by. 

The arena plans, staunchly supported by Mayor Cherelle Parker, have prompted a growing coalition of activist groups voicing their opposition. 

Those in favor of the construction include the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council, an influential umbrella group representing over 50 labor unions, and the group Black Clergy of Philadelphia and Vicinity. Proponents argue the project would act as a citywide economic boost, creating hundreds of jobs and millions in revenue. They also point to the priority of keeping the Sixers home arena in Philly rather than letting them set up shop in Camden, N.J., or even Wilmington, Del., both of which at times have put their respective hats in the ring to house the team. 

Those opposed to the arena point to a city-commissioned community impact assessment which says that the arena “could potentially result in the loss of Chinatown’s core identity and regional significance” through indirect displacement brought on by rising property values and economic losses for local businesses that serve as the backbone of neighborhood cohesion. Some also argue the arena would snarl traffic in the downtown area, potentially increasing the emergency response time of various nearby hospitals and endangering patients. 

Some speeches from activists that morning were especially pointed towards the nearby union presence. 

“We’re not saying don’t build an arena, and stop jobs. That’s not what we’re saying. We can build it anywhere. That’s it,” Shawmar Pitts, co-director of Philly Thrive, said to the crowd. “Build it somewhere else. Don’t build it in Chinatown.” 

“I feel like you can make that argument anywhere. Wherever you build it, someone’s going to complain about it regardless,” union worker Mike Panieczko said when asked about Pitts’ call for a different arena location. “People’s main argument is it’s going to bring money into the city. You can’t deny that fact. It’s a Philly team; they want to keep it in Philly.” 

IBEW Local 98’s TJ Lepera, speaking to KYW News Radio, emphasized that his union would continue to benefit through contracted maintenance work for the arena, even after the construction process had finished. 

“The members of Local 98 and the building trades, we built this city,” Lepera told KYW. “We want to continue to build this city. We want to build an arena that’s gonna revitalize Market Street all the way to the river.”

Some union members in the crowd said that they were required to attend the protest, and one expressed indifference about the arena. 

“For election season and for stuff like this, they have us kind of go out either like a grassroots, knocking on doors thing, or hanging door flyers in South Philly. Stuff like that,” union member Aidan McHugh said. 

A small truck bearing an electric sign on its side stating the Carpenters Union’s support for the arena made laps around city hall, blasting the basketball team’s anthem. Whenever it passed by, a group of activists sang “save Chinatown, no arena in Chinatown” to the tune of the song. 

“That’s our No Arena Choir,” Chinatown resident and longtime activist Debbie Wei said. “We’ve had a No-Arena drag show. We’ve had a No-Arena poetry anthology published. You know, the whole city is coming together.” 

One protester wore neither a red shirt nor any union swag, but a Revolutionary War-era getup. Holding a sign that said “Patriots AGAINST Sixers Arena,” Stephen Pierce said he worked in a museum in Bryn Mawr and wanted to make a point about historical preservation. 

“Our heritage, as Philadelphians, is loving history — and they’re trying to destroy it with destroying Chinatown,” Pierce said. “You know, history in Philadelphia is not just Old City. It’s all the different types of neighborhoods.”

Part of the Sixers’ plan is a $50 million community benefits agreement where funds would be split between the surrounding neighborhoods and citywide initiatives. More than $6 million of those funds would be earmarked for Chinatown specifically, largely towards loans and grants for small businesses. 

Arena critics emphasize that the CBA was developed between Mayor Parker and the owners of the Sixers, while most CBAs across the country are negotiated with the community-based organizations that will be impacted. They’ve also argued that the allocated funds won’t go far enough. 

Wei, for her part, said there was no possible version of the CBA that would change her stance. 

“When you decimate a community like that, you tear the people out by their roots and then scatter them all over, like, all the relationships that keep you bonded as a community,” Wei said. “My kids used to be able to walk around on their own on the streets of Chinatown because I knew everybody was looking out for them. You can’t buy that.”

Pitts expressed the same sentiment. “There’s not enough money that you can give anybody to displace them,” he said. 

Activists and pro-arena union workers went on to fill City Hall with competing chants as the package of legislation was introduced. Proceedings went on pause as the room echoed with yelling. 

Wei was dragged out of the room by police officers; younger activists followed her down the hallway and filmed the scene. 

“That’s a senior with a bad knee,” one said of Wei, who was limping as officers steered her down the hallway at a fast pace. The interaction became heated once officers brought Wei into an elevator: arena opponents tried to force their way in, until one officer whipped out a baton. 

The rest of the chanters were ushered out later. No Arena choir members sang protest tunes in the hall’s echoey stairwell as members regrouped outside the building. 

*** 

For Wei and other Chinatown activists, the arena is just one in a series of development battles. 

“It’s been over 50 or 60 years of fighting projects that sometimes we lost,” the 67-year-old said. 

The neighborhood fought and defeated attempts to build a Phillies stadium in 2000, a prison in the ‘90s, and two different casinos in 2008 and 2013. They’ve also fought against developments that did happen, including the Vine Street Expressway, the Pa. Convention Center, and Market Street East. 

“We’re training our young people,” Wei said. “We’re always going to have to fight for the right for our 150-year-old community to continue to exist.”

Activists held a press conference outside the building where high school students and other speakers made speeches to a crowd clad in red shirts. Off to the side, a middle-aged white union worker smoking a cigar and an elderly Asian woman argued with each other. Inside the crowd, a brass band slowly made its way to the center.

The morning ended with more music: volunteers passed around sheets of lyrics, the band began to play, and the choir broke into song.

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