Black Clergy of Philadelphia endorses Sixers plans for downtown arena

The Black Clergy of Philadelphia and Vicinity endorsed the construction of the Sixers proposed downtown arena on Tuesday, saying the project offers huge opportunity to Black residents and to the city overall.

The clergy group, long an activist voice for the African American community, cited the jobs, training, and business growth that it said the $1.55 billion arena could provide.

“We are confident that this is a huge net-plus benefit to the whole city,” said Rev. Robert Collier Sr., president of the organization, who made the announcement during a news conference at the African American Museum in Center City.

He called the arena “a once in a lifetime opportunity” to infuse a troubled part of Market Street East with a giant private investment, and added, “We cannot afford to throw away our shot at this critical time in our city’s history.”

He and Sixers representatives signed a memorandum of understanding that bound the team to key promises — including that 40% of food-and-beverage concessions at the arena would be Black-owned. And that, as the team previously stated, the Sixers would spend $2 million to prepare African-American-owned businesses to work in the arena.

The Sixers, Collier said, are “leading the way like no one has before to ensure that Black people have a stake in the ongoing economic enterprise of professional basketball in Philadelphia.”

The Black Clergy was founded about 40 years ago, and works on multiple causes and issues of importance to the African American community. The Philadelphia Tribune reported how the group opposed Temple University’s plan to build a football stadium in a mainly African-American neighborhood, led the failed opposition to the city’s tax on sweetened beverages, and backed an earlier bid by the Sixers to build a basketball stadium on the Delaware River waterfront.

David Gould, the chief diversity and impact officer at Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment, which owns and operates the Sixers, said Tuesday that the conversation between the two organizations focused “on what’s going to benefit the Black community, but also what’s going to benefit the city as a whole. ... I want to commend them and thank them for how much they’ve pushed us, and them doing their own homework before coming to this decision.”

Gould was accompanied by lead developer and Sixers co-owner David Adelman, who signed the memorandum of understanding.

Collier said the decision on the endorsement was reached after a long process of reflection and soul-searching, and with the recognition that the clergy group occupies a position of trust in the community.

He said in an interview after the news conference that he was aware of Chinatown’s outspoken opposition to the project, and had met with a delegation of neighborhood leaders to hear their concerns. Chinatown leaders had hoped to persuade the clergy of their views, that an arena would ultimately gentrify the neighborhood and force out long-term residents.

“We believe that the overall benefit of what the 76ers are proposing would be a benefit to the Chinese community, rather than being a liability,” Collier said. Fans coming to the arena would mean more customers for Chinatown businesses, “so we think it’s a win-win,” he said.

Chinatown leaders disagree.

Mohan Seshadri, executive director of the Asian Pacific Islander Political Alliance, which has fought the team’s plan to build on the edge of the neighborhood, called the clergy’s endorsement “definitely disappointing.”

“We 100% support resources going to the Black community, but not at the expense of Chinatown, at the expense of our community,” he said.

He said he doubts the team’s promises of new jobs, big spending and revitalization will come true, calling the arena “a bad deal for our community and a bad deal for the city.”

Rev. Wayne Lee of the Chinese Christian Church and Center, who was among the Chinatown leaders who met with the Black Clergy, said he and others fully support greater Black employment and opportunity. And he commended the Black clergy for gaining commitments from the Sixers.

All of those goods, however, should happen at an arena that’s not built on Chinatown’s doorstep, he said.

The Sixers say the arena will be privately financed, that while they’re open to state and federal funding, no city dollars will be sought.

The team says the arena would create jobs and drive spending on a part of Market Street East that’s blemished by boarded-up stores, and that building atop the transit hub of Jefferson Station would benefit the region by encouraging fans to take public transportation to the games.

City Council has put off consideration of legislation to approve the project until at least January, when a new Council and mayor will be seated. Presumptive Mayor Cherelle Parker has spoken positively about the team’s plans, and was ushered to the Democratic nomination with heavy backing from organized labor.

The arena would rise four blocks from City Hall, on the footprint of 10th to 11th and Market to Filbert Streets, claiming the now-empty Greyhound bus station and part of the Fashion District mall while abutting Chinatown at Cuthbert Street.

It’s been endorsed by building trades unions enticed by the team’s promise of 9,000 construction jobs, and by the African American Chamber of Commerce of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, which cited business and growth opportunities.

The Sixers say the arena would generate $472 million in new, net state tax revenues, in addition to $1 billion for the city and the schools, but have declined requests to share the consultant reports that contain the calculations.

“This is a world-class opportunity for us to build a new arena for basketball and to shore up our city’s economic foundation, creating more opportunity for more people,” Collier said on Tuesday. “We believe that the 76ers arena would revitalize our city to where the folks would be excited about going into Center City.”