How Philly City Council members voted on the Sixers arena

Philadelphia City Council on Wednesday gave initial approval to the 76ers’ proposed Center City arena, effectively green-lighting the project ahead of an expected final vote next week.

The vote in Council’s Committee of the Whole, which is composed of all 17 members, was 12-4, with one member absent. The legislation they approved requires the Sixers to pay $60 million as part of a community benefits agreement.

» READ MORE: City Council members approved the 76ers Center City arena proposal in a preliminary vote

Below is a breakdown of how every member voted on the legislation. (Click here to find your district Council member.)

Party: Democratic.

Whom he represents: Residents of the 2nd Council District, which includes much of Southwest Philadelphia and South Philadelphia west of Broad Street.

How he voted: Yes.

What he said: Johnson said the 76ers arena may create an “economic boom in Center City.”

”We’re the largest poor city in America, and this is an opportunity for us to build generational wealth, but also an opportunity to revitalize Center City,” Johnson told The Inquirer shortly after the vote. “We also had opportunity to balance the interests of all parties who are concerned regarding this proposal before us.”

In the final days of negotiations before Thursday’s committee vote, Johnson pushed hard for the 76ers to agree to increase how much they paid into the project’s community benefits agreement, which is meant to aid communities affected by the project. The team initially offered $50 million before agreeing to $60 million in negotiations.

Responding to Council members’ requests, Johnson threatened to pass versions of the legislation with the CBA as high as $100 million. But the 76ers didn’t blink, and Council approved the legislation with a $60 million CBA.

”I would love if the Sixers went higher than 60, but at the end of the day it was more than the 50, right?” Johnson said. “They did move to 60. And we had a chance in the CBA to address a variety of different issues that particularly members had concerns about.”

Party: Democratic.

Whom he represents: Residents of the 1st Council District, which includes South Philadelphia east of Broad Street, parts of Center City, and parts of the river wards. Squilla’s district includes the site of the proposed arena at 10th and Market Streets, and he introduced the legislation enabling the project.

How he voted: Yes.

What he said: Squilla was a lead negotiator throughout the process and said Thursday that he was happy with the deal reached between Council members, the Sixers, and the Parker administration.

Squilla said Council leaders and the team were able to reach an agreement with a majority of Council members in part because Mayor Cherelle L. Parker committed to setting aside $20 million for affordable housing in Chinatown.

In brief comments to reporters after the vote, Squilla — who was loudly shouted over by arena opponents chanting “sellout Squilla” — said the funding commitment would “offset” impacts from the construction of the arena.

That money is in addition to a $60 million community benefits agreement that the Sixers said they would fund. It’s still unclear from where exactly the $20 million would come, but it will not be financed by the 76ers and is likely to come from some form of city resources.

Party: Democratic.

Whom she represents: The city at-large.

How she voted: Yes.

What she said: Gilmore Richardson, like Johnson, didn’t say one way or another ahead of time where she would land on the project. But as a member of leadership, she was seen as a likely “yes” vote if Council could reach a deal with the team and the Parker administration that was palatable to enough members. Gilmore Richardson previously voted alongside a majority of members to advance arena-related legislation that was largely procedural.

While Gilmore Richardson didn’t speak negatively about the project publicly, she did express some concerns during public hearings, particularly about reaching workforce diversity goals and about the team’s ownership, which she pointed out is made up of white men.

“If this project is supposed to be such a boon for people of color, women, people with disabilities, local businesses,” she said last month, “why are none of these groups reflected in the equity ownership of this project?”

Party: Working Families.

Whom she represents: The city at-large.

How she voted: Brooks was absent from the vote due to a previously scheduled trip out of town.

What she said: Brooks, a progressive, has expressed some form of opposition to the arena for more than a year. When she was campaigning last fall for reelection, she said she would not support the project as it was proposed at the time. Brooks hasn’t wavered since, and she was among a group of Council members who were pushing for a $300 million community benefits agreement — a package six times larger than the Sixers initially agreed to.

Brooks also criticized the approval process as “rushed” and said several times in Council that members should be focused on other priorities.

In a statement Thursday, Brooks said she and her allies would “explore every option at our disposal to continue making the case to all of Philadelphia that this is a bad deal for the city.”

Party: Democratic.

Whom she represents: The city at-large.

How she voted: Yes.

What she said: Ahmad, a freshman Council member who never indicated where she stood on the project, was considered likely to vote for it. She was endorsed by the building trades unions last year when she ran for election, and at the time, labor leader Ryan Boyer indicated the trades were endorsing only candidates who they believed were in favor of the arena.

However, Ahmad did ask pointed questions about the project during public hearings, and she was critical of the initial $50 million community benefits agreement that the team negotiated with the Parker administration.

“It seems like we’re not getting our fair value,” she said during a hearing last month. “The $50 million, from everybody I’ve heard here, doesn’t seem to be final for us.”

Party: Democratic.

Whom he represents: The city at-large.

How he voted: Yes.

What he said: Through months of negotiations, Harrity was the only Council member who publicly endorsed the project. A longtime Democratic Party operative who has close ties with organized labor, Harrity has advocated for the Sixers and the team’s proposal, citing the construction and service jobs the arena is expected to create. He was endorsed by the building trades unions in his run for reelection last year.

“It’s just about doing the best for the people of Philadelphia and bringing jobs into the city,” Harrity said in August.

Party: Democratic.

Whom she represents: The city at-large.

How she voted: No.

What she said: Landau, a freshman Democrat who leans progressive, was seen as a potential swing vote. She voted against advancing procedural legislation related the arena and criticized the process as rushed. Landau was also deeply critical of the team in recent weeks, telling top Sixers representatives in Council that she was “stunned” they didn’t have answers to members’ logistical questions.

“It is incredibly frustrating that we’re being rushed and we don’t have the answers to our questions,” she said during a hearing earlier this month.

However, Landau said repeatedly that she was open to supporting the project if certain steps were taken. During negotiations, she signaled openness to voting in favor of the project if the community benefits agreement was $100 million and included adequate supports for housing and displacement prevention in Chinatown.

Landau said Thursday that she could have gotten to “yes” on the agreement had there been more time, but she criticized the process as rushed.

”We were ready to get behind this if there was enough to protect Chinatown,” Landau said. “And it just wasn’t there in the end.”

Party: Working Families.

Whom he represents: The city at-large.

How he voted: No.

What he said: Like Brooks, O’Rourke is a progressive who has also expressed opposition to the arena project since running for election last year. He has repeatedly criticized the proposal as a bad deal for the city, and he has questioned why the debate took weeks of hearings in Council.

“We are prioritizing a pet project of billionaires instead of the material needs of Philadelphians,” he said during a hearing last month.

On Thursday, O’Rourke said in a statement that he was not convinced by Parker’s $20 million commitment to support affordable housing in Chinatown.

“This is not part of a community benefits agreement, but rather giving developers an out from their responsibility to mitigate the harm caused by their own project,” he said in a joint statement with Brooks. “This approach gives the appearance of solving a problem, but it ultimately serves to redirect limited city funds from other priorities.”

Party: Democratic.

Whom he represents: The city at-large.

How he voted: Yes.

What he said: Thomas, a Democrat considered relatively centrist but who at times votes alongside progressives, was considered likely to support the arena — he was endorsed last year by the building trades unions that back the project and he is an advocate for growth and tourism. He said in August when other jurisdictions were courting the Sixers that “it would be a major loss to the city — from an economic and cultural lens — to lose a professional team to Delaware or New Jersey.”

Party: Democratic.

Whom she represents: Residents of the 3rd Council District, which includes much of West Philadelphia.

How she voted: No.

What she said: Like Landau, Gauthier is a progressive Democrat who did not support procedural legislation related to the arena, but always expressed that she remained open to the project.

A city planner by trade, Gauthier was often critical of the process, saying the city should have developed a master plan for Market East and Chinatown before the Sixers made their proposal. And she expressed concerns that the team was not providing enough support for SEPTA, which has estimated millions of dollars in increased operational costs related to the arena.

Gauthier said Thursday that she was open to supporting a deal, but that the final agreement did not include enough support for Chinatown to ensure affordable housing and prevent displacement. And she said she was not convinced by Parker’s late commitment to set aside $20 million in city resources for housing in the neighborhood.

“It didn’t feel like a commitment, and it didn’t feel good enough to support Chinatown,” Gauthier said. “We need a real commitment to affordable housing, not a handshake.”

Party: Democratic.

Whom he represents: Residents of the 4th Council District, which includes parts of West and Northwest Philadelphia.

How he voted: Yes.

What he said: Jones, a longtime Council member and an ally of Parker’s, was expected to vote in favor of the project. He didn’t outwardly criticize it through the legislative process, but did probe the Sixers and the administration about safety and security around the proposed site at 10th and Market Streets.

Jones said Thursday he ultimately voted in favor of the project because he never heard a proposal for a viable alternative.

“We want to fight for the preservation of Chinatown,” he said. “But at the end of the day, there’s a whole city that needs this arena, and we did what we thought was best for the city.”

Party: Democratic.

Whom he represents: Residents of the 5th Council District, which includes parts of North Philadelphia.

How he voted: No.

What he said: Young, a freshman Council member with an independent streak, has been skeptical of the arena project for months. He has said the project would have a negative impact on SEPTA, expressed frustration with the team’s plan to make payments in lieu of paying property taxes, and questioned the projected economic benefits.

“In the history of stadiums or arena deals in the country, not one has produced the benefits that they say they were going to produce,” Young said in late October.

On Thursday, Young said the community benefits agreement was too little money for him to vote in favor of the project, and he advocated for a $300 million deal.

“We really needed to take our entire city into consideration and the effects that this agreement is going to have,” he said.

Party: Democratic.

Whom he represents: Residents of the 6th Council District, which includes parts of the river wards and the Lower Northeast.

How he voted: Yes.

What he said: Driscoll, a moderate Democrat, never explicitly endorsed the project but on several occasions suggested he was inclined to support it, and he called the arena “an exciting opportunity.”

Party: Democratic.

Whom she represents: Residents of the 7th Council District, which includes parts of North Philadelphia and Kensington.

How she voted: Yes.

What she said: Lozada did not stake out a position on the arena but was generally considered in support of the project if Council could reach a favorable deal with the team.

On Thursday, Lozada said she was convinced to vote for the arena because it would create job and growth opportunities across the city, including for residents of her district.

“If we want to be in a big, great city, then we have to look at opportunities like this one that will provide that space for us to be able to create jobs,” she said.

Party: Democratic.

Whom she represents: Residents of the 8th Council District, which includes parts of North and Northwest Philadelphia.

How she voted: Yes.

What she said: Bass, a moderate Democrat, did not stake out a position one way or another on the arena, though she did ask the administration and the team’s representatives a series of tough questions during public hearings on the project. She raised concerns about how the arena would affect SEPTA as it weathers significant financial struggles, and she jabbed the team’s owners for not coming directly to Council to testify and instead sending underlings.

“If you have something that you’re trying to get done, you’ve got to show up,” Bass said last month.

However, Bass also expressed frustration with the opposition to the arena, saying groups that spoke out against it did not offer a viable alternative to improve Market East.

Party: Democratic.

Whom he represents: Residents of the 9th Council District, which includes parts of Northwest and Lower Northeast Philadelphia.

How he voted: Yes.

What he said: Phillips is a moderate Democrat and an ally of Parker’s — he took over her former Council seat after she resigned to run for mayor in 2022 — and so he seemed inclined to vote in favor of legislation approving the project. He didn’t speak negatively about the proposal through the legislative process.

Phillips said Thursday that the arena is a “huge win for the Black community,” citing expected job creation and potential opportunities for Black developers.

“This is moving the Black agenda forward in our city,” he said.

Party: Republican.

Whom he represents: Residents of the 10th Council District, which includes much of upper Northeast Philadelphia.

How he voted: Yes.

What he said: O’Neill, Council’s only Republican, was considered likely to support the project. He was not publicly critical of the proposal, and many building trades union members who stand to gain jobs from the arena project live in O’Neill’s Northeast Philadelphia district.