Report: 76ers plan for new arena in center city expands with plans to acquire the Greyhound Bus Terminal on Filbert Street
Last month the Philadelphia 76ers submitted a proposal for a new arena, 76 Place at Market East.
The proposal was to build a new arena in the Philadelphia “Fashion” District on Market Street between 10th and 11th street. The new construction would mean demolishing a block of the Fashion District Mall, formerly The Gallery, to make room for the new arena, and would be developed by 76 Devcorp, a partnership between the 76ers managing partners Josh Harris, David Blitzer and real estate developer and investor David Adelman.
The new 76ers arena would be privately funded and is anticipated to cost $1.3 billion.
The developers are NOT seeking any funding from the city of Philadelphia which is important, because when the Philadelphia Phillies were considering new sites to build Citizens Bank Park, they floated around the idea of building the stadium downtown. That resulted in Chinatown businesses closing their doors and protesting the potential building plan.
76ers Proposed Arena Location
Organizers say this project will not eliminate any residential homes or displace existing residents. They say they are aware of how past development efforts in Chinatown were opposed.
“The 76ers are ready to bring a new, championship caliber arena back to the heart of Philadelphia. 76 Place is proposed as the new home of the Philadelphia 76ers, where we will build a new arena that is privately funded and developed in collaboration with the community. We are committed to working with local stakeholders to ensure the project supports the surrounding neighborhoods and promotes economic opportunity, inclusivity and accessibility.”
Almost immediately following the announcement, a coalition called Asian Americans United released a statement claiming that building an arena one block away from Chinatown would have a significant impact on their community and that no one from the Philadelphia 76ers have reached out to engage or ask the opinions of any of the community members who came together in the coalition’s first meeting.
“We all share a love and deep commitment to this community which serves as a hub for Chinese and larger Asian communities. We come here to gather with our families, go to church, to go to school, to visit our elders, to practice our cultural heritage. The proposed development would be yet another in a long history of attempts to diminish Chinatown.”
Now that we’re all caught up, new reports this morning state that the Sixers plan to acquire the current site of the Greyhound Bus Terminal on Filbert Street. Acquiring the Greyhound Bus Terminal on Filbert would expand the proposal an extra block.
A spokesperson with the project told CBS3 they will work with Greyhound to help relocate the terminal.
“Since the announcement on July 21, 76 Devcorp has been sharing proposed plans for an arena along Market Street between 10th and 11th Streets back to Cuthbert Street. As Greyhound provides a vital service for Philadelphia and given our proposed long-term investment in Center City, we will do everything we can to help the City and Greyhound develop a viable plan for the future. Fortunately, we’re in the very early stages of the project and no construction is proposed to start for 4 years,” a 76 Devcorp spokesperson said.
I’m sure there will be even more push back on the proposal now that the Philadelphia 76ers want the Greyhound Station on Filbert Street as well. No shot the coalitions from Chinatown will be happy about this. For those unfamiliar with the area, here’s the distance from 10th and Market Street to the Filbert Street Greyhound Station.
Honestly, the 76ers should take the Greyhound Station and literally anything else they want in the area. Let them spend millions of dollars redeveloping the ENTIRE Fashion District. The place is an absolute dump and is in desperate need of a facelift. Philadelphia is home to 1.6 million people, and Chinatown is basically in the heart of the city.
The Fashion District is a failure. The Gallery failed. The Gallery 2.0 failed. The arena technically isn’t in Chinatown and economic development is needed throughout the city. Anytime there’s plans in place to move the needle forward, we can’t be completely opposed to new proposals.
The 76ers development group stated that they would be willing to relocate the Greyhound Station, which as of 2013, was the 4th busiest location in the United States. That really should be the end of the conversation. Find another place for Greyhound and re-develop that entire area. Done deal. Not interested in hearing any more complaints about it.
I really don’t want the Philadelphia 76ers to move to Camden. If the Center City arena gets shot down, we’re running out of options. The 76ers wanted to build in a new home at Penns Landing but that was already axed which leaves us with one of two locations if Center City fails as well.
- Camden
- Navy Yard
The Navy Yard has always been my number one choice and I’m not exactly sure why that wasn’t first on the first for the Philadelphia 76ers. Someone just make sure that our basketball team doesn’t wind up in Camden. Please.
Construction starts in 4 years and I’m positive this won’t be the last addition to the proposal and it certainly won’t be the last time we hear from an anti-arena coalition opposing every plan that’s released for 76 Place at Market East.
