Sixers abandon Center City arena to stay in South Philly

Over the last two years, the Save Chinatown Coalition, an umbrella group representing more than 245 organizations, urged the Sixers, Parker and lawmakers to stop the project. Activists argued it would choke the neighborhood with traffic on game days, hurting hundreds of small businesses in the process.

On Sunday, Asian Americans United, one of the coalition’s most vocal organizations, celebrated the Comcast agreement, declaring the team’s decision to stay in South Philly a victory of the “multiracial, multilingual, intergenerational movement.”

“The people of Philadelphia deserve a city that serves ALL communities. Our work continues and remains cautious to protect precious neighborhoods from exploitative development, but for now let’s celebrate together,” said the group in a statement posted online.

The city’s building trades, meanwhile, strongly supported building an arena in Center City. The project was slated to create hundreds of jobs. The unions also echoed sentiments that it would be a much-needed economic engine for Market East.

Mark Lynch, Jr., business manager for Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, applauded the Comcast deal on Sunday, calling it in a statement a “significant win for the 76ers, Comcast, our members and the entire City of Philadelphia.”

“The Stadium District in South Philadelphia will be dramatically enhanced and expanded, providing the 76ers with the new state-of-the-art arena the team needs and deserves. Comcast has also pledged to commit the financial resources needed to revive the dormant Market East corridor, which is critically important to the entire city,” Lynch said.

He said Comcast has pledged “financial resources” to help revive the Market East corridor.