Mayor Cherelle Parker will hold a town hall about the proposed Sixers arena Wednesday

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker will host a meeting with community members about the proposed Sixers arena on Wednesday, an event likely to draw a crowd of residents passionate — in one way or another — about the controversial project.

Parker is set to hold the two-hour town hall event at the Convention Center on Wednesday starting at 6 p.m. Fliers are circulating in neighborhoods near the site of the proposed project at 10th and Market Streets.

There are likely to be many questions for Parker, who has yet to take a firm position on the proposed arena but has spoken favorably about the job creation the project could spur. And she is politically aligned with the Philadelphia Building Trades and Construction Council, an umbrella organization of trade unions, which is in favor of the arena project.

Parker has vowed to seek opinions from all sides of the issue, and she has met behind closed doors with leaders from Chinatown, the historic neighborhood adjacent to the site of the proposed arena.

News of the town hall comes amid a flurry of activity over the proposal, which was first announced in 2022. City Council returned for its fall session last week, and leaders said lawmakers could consider legislation enabling the project in the coming months.

The Save Chinatown Coalition, an umbrella organization of grassroots groups opposed to the arena, called the public meeting “last minute.” Vivian Chang, executive director of Asian Americans United, said in a statement the Mayor’s Office informed the group of the meeting at 8:30 Sunday night.

“We will be there representing the 69% of Philadelphians who oppose this arena,” Chang said, referencing a recent poll commissioned by the coalition. “It’s time for Mayor Parker to shut it down.”

The developers behind the project, who say their proposed $1.5 billion arena and housing tower stand to revitalize the East Market Street corridor, have appeared at multiple public meetings to tout their proposal and answer questions about its impact.

» READ MORE: A new twist in the 76ers’ arena negotiations could complicate the team’s promise to forgo city taxpayer support

One, in December 2022, was dominated by Chinatown residents and activists. A coalition of more than 20 grassroots organizations came to the event and peppered Sixers representatives with questions while attendees rained down boos.

Developers also hosted a question-and-answer session at a Center City hotel in November 2023, and that crowd was more mixed. Union members donning pro-arena T-shirts applauded at the mention of job creation, while opponents held anti-arena signs in the back of the room.

The Parker administration last month released a series of long-awaited studies about the potential effects of the arena on the local economy, Chinatown, and other matters such as parking and transit. The city-commissioned studies, conducted by outside consultants and paid for by the Sixers, concluded the arena may be appropriate for Center City but pose substantial risks for Chinatown.

» READ MORE: City releases long-awaited studies on impact of a downtown Sixers arena

Last week, New Jersey tried to lure the team to Camden, offering the Sixers up to $800 million in tax credits, plus the chance to borrow hundreds of millions of dollars. Parker said keeping the Sixers in the city is a priority. Chinatown proponents decried the “veiled threats to leave” as “a classic gambit to scare politicians into giving billionaire team owners what they want.”

On Friday, news emerged that one snag in negotiations between the Sixers and the Parker administration is the team’s desire for a provision that could allow the Sixers to receive local tax dollars in the future — only in the event the city subsidizes a different Philly sports facility.

And on Saturday, in pouring rain, arena opponents staged a protest in Center City, holding signs that said: “Save Chinatown. No arena.”