Studies of impact of a downtown Sixers arena won’t be released this year

The studies that Philadelphia officials say will help them decide whether to let the Sixers build a $1.55 billion downtown arena won’t be ready this year after all.

The Kenney administration confirmed Thursday that the end-of-year deadline would be pushed into 2024. The reason for the delay wasn’t immediately clear.

“Comprehensively evaluating a proposed project of this size is an enormously complex and multifaceted process,” Kenney said in a statement. “As we’ve said, for a proposal of this scale, it is critical that we do our due diligence right, and that has taken time, intentionality, and care.”

All involved have been awaiting the release of two separate city-sponsored studies on the economic- and community-impact of an arena that would rise at 10th and Market Streets.

The analyses, paid for by the basketball team, are being conducted by consultants hired by the outgoing Kenney administration and the city’s public-private development agency, the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp.

Kenney said in the news release that his administration would ensure that the study process would transition smoothly to Mayor-elect Cherelle Parker’s team.

The Sixers say their proposed arena would stoke economic activity on a swath of East Market Street that has struggled after the pandemic, while allowing more people to take public transit to games and concerts at the new 18,500-seat venue.

The arena would take up the western third of the Fashion District mall site and abut Chinatown. Residents there and in some surrounding neighborhoods are worried about traffic, parking, trash, and congestion.

Earlier this week, the 76ers development team made a detailed presentation about the arena’s effects on issues like pedestrians and traffic circulation to the city’s civic design review committee. Attendance was dominated by opponents of the project, and the team was asked to return before the advisory-only committee next year.

The studies, the administration said, are meant to bring an independent perspective to the discussion.

Sports and entertainment specialist CSL International is conducting the economic impact, which is exploring questions about, for example, whether the stadium’s benefits might be muted by the competition for events with the sports complex in South Philadelphia.

The community-impact study is being led by firms including New York-based BJH Advisors and Philadelphia-based Sojourner Consulting. It would focus on how an arena would affect Chinatown, the Market East commercial corridor, and other nearby neighborhoods like Washington Square West.

The 76ers placed hundreds of thousands of dollars into a fund controlled by the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp. (PIDC) to pay for the studies, saying that developers usually pay for analyses of how their projects will affect their surroundings. Opponents say that’s a conflict of interest, particularly after the city promised a fair, independent analysis of what has become a highly contentious issue.