Sixers’ shocking arena pivot | Morning Newsletter
And Temple president’s first two months.
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Good morning, Philly, and cheers to our Birds as they move on to the divisional round of the NFL playoffs.
The 76ers have struck a deal with Comcast Spectacor to stay in South Philadelphia and abandon plans for a Center City arena. The unexpected news came less than one month after the team cleared a major legislative hurdle allowing it to build on East Market Street, and following two years of contentious public discourse and hearings at City Hall.
And Temple University’s new president is targeting safety, neighborhood improvements and fundraising for early attention in his tenure.
Here’s what to know to start your week.
— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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The Sixers have scrapped their controversial, years-in-the-making plans for a $1.3 billion basketball arena above Jefferson Station at 10th and Market Streets.
New plan: The team has instead struck a deal with Comcast Spectacor, which owns the Wells Fargo Center, the team’s current home in South Philadelphia, to build a new arena there.
Celebration in Chinatown: The Center City arena plan had faced fierce pushback from Chinatown activists, who feared destruction of their community. Those same activists celebrated the sudden reversal Sunday. “We’re glad it’s a victory, but all of this could have been avoided,” one told The Inquirer about the past two years of struggle.
Another team, perhaps: The Sixers and Comcast are still expected to submit a bid for a Philadelphia WNBA team, a goal voiced last fall when the Sixers were courting city officials’ support.
Read more reactions to the news. Visit Inquirer.com throughout the day for the latest.
In his first two months on the job, Temple president John A. Fry has promised an independent study of university safety staff, announced a plan to review the school’s budget process, and joined the board of a North Philadelphia business improvement district.
The former longtime Drexel University leader has also made an effort to be accessible to both community leaders and staff, a change those groups say is “refreshing.”
“This is somebody who is taking the time to listen to a range of voices, who is taking time to meet with people, who is visible and out there,” the Temple faculty union’s chief told The Inquirer.
Higher education reporter Susan Snyder has the story on Fry’s plans for the spring semester.
What you should know today
Days after a SEPTA bus driver ran over her husband at South Front Street and Washington Avenue, killing him, a Philadelphia woman is searching for answers from the city.
Police are investigating a burglary at St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church in Center City in which a 125-year-old golden crown resting on top of a marble statue of the Virgin Mary was stolen.
Critics who fought to close a Berks County immigrant-detention center called it a “baby jail,” a place that confined small children along with their parents. They’re rallying again as they anticipate President-elect Donald Trump possibly reviving family detention.
The city’s new recovery house in Northeast Philadelphia will serve hundreds of people with substance use disorder. But first, they will likely face significant barriers to entering inpatient treatment.
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, a former state representative, returned to Harrisburg for the start of the legislative session to make early requests to lawmakers to improve the city’s housing, public transit, and public education.
The Los Angeles-based owner of Delaware County’s Crozer Health has filed for bankruptcy protection.
Philadelphia is the only county in Pennsylvania without the state-mandated veterans affairs director. For some advocates, the yearslong vacancy has gone from an annoyance to an insult.
A plumbing emergency has wiped out Tree House Books’ entire library, damaging the North Philadelphia literacy hub’s space and prompting an emergency relief campaign.
Local artist Jesse Krimes had to smuggle his art out of prison. Now it’s in the Met’s permanent collection.
🧠 Trivia time
Which higher ed institution’s 225-acre former campus has been sold and will be torn down?
A) Burlington County College
B) Cabrini University
C) University of the Arts
D) Hussian College
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we’re...
🏕️ Making: Winter camping tolerable, thanks to rural reporter Jason Nark’s tips. (Optional: peeing in your tent.)
🗳️ Heeding: The call to get directly involved in the electoral process ahead of the 2025 primaries.
🏅 Cheering: The self-described “Philly girl” who won the nation’s second-highest civilian honor.
⛄ Considering: The future of the Wanamaker Grand Court.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: Township in Delaware County
QUEEN WORST AWN
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Theresa Hartey, who solved Sunday’s anagram: Cavan Sullivan. The Union’s teen phenom will be featured in an upcoming Apple TV+ docuseries.
Photo of the day
As the Eagles chase another Lombardi trophy, you’ll want to check out these local basements designed for Philly fandom.
Your “only in Philly” story
📬 Think back to the night that changed your life that could only happen in Philly, a true example of the Philly spirit, the time you finally felt like you belonged in Philly if you’re not a lifer, something that made you fall in love with Philly all over again — or proud to be from here if you are. Then email it to us for a chance to be featured in the Monday edition of this newsletter.
This “only in Philly” story comes from reader Jim Diamond, who describes finding a hometown connection nearly 7,000 miles away:
I lived and worked in Beijing July 2008 to August 2009, doing research in the laboratory of a former student who had recently been promoted to full professor at one of the institutes of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. I had not studied Chinese at all, neither speaking nor writing, so I was quite illiterate when I arrived. I took language lessons, and started learning how to read Chinese characters.
My wife joined me for one brief visit in October, after I had been there a little over three months. We visited Xi’an. I have one particularly vivid memory. I was standing at the corner of a very large north-south street and another, and the street sign at the corner was 广街。
I knew the second character was 街, jie, the word for street. The first was 广, guang, which meant wide. The street there certainly was wide, but “wide street” didn’t seem right. After a minute it hit me — it was BROAD STREET!
👋 Wishing you a smooth start to the week. See you back here tomorrow.
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