The Washington Bullets did the same thins in DC in the 90s. They demolished about 90% of their Chinatown neighborhood. It also happened in Brooklyn when they put the Barclay Center there. It’s bad enough that the convention center in Philly already took about a 40% chunk of Chinatown but a new stadium will take another 50%.
My take on this arena (as a Philadelphian): It’s bullshit. They’re choosing the smack middle of the city where thousands live their lives in pace & do commerce. Main example is Chinatown. Small businesses will take a hit & I fw Chinese food. Also the gridlock will be insane Regular tourists+opposing fans/out of state home fans/home fans+regular people going to what’s left of Chinatown if it’s built. Also the even though the heart of SEPTA’s rail system is nearby the congestion on the MFL, Regional Rail, the nearby BSL & nearly trolley lines will be insane to the point to it’s underground gridlock as well. Buses will also deal with this problem therefore the sidewalks will look like your average pre-Covid rush-hour or the line to a restaurant blocking the whole sidewalk. Also, down in the Sports Complex, there is plenty of open parking lot in the Sports Complex, you could build it next to Xfinity Live where the spectrum was or next to Live & Citizens Bank. Incentivize people to take SEPTA, it could be a good thing that way they could be like “oh look so many people are using the BSL & the buses to go to games we need funding to get these people there” basically use the sports fans to secure funding. That’ll benefit not only the Sixers, but the Eagles, Flyers & Phillies & the other events. It’ll also benefit the rest of the city.
They already know what's going to happen. The building that exists on that site now was the Gallery shopping mall. It was just repoened 5 years ago after a multi-year renovation into a fashion outlet. It was a complete nightmare. Now, they want to do it again.
@@yesthisisvic that mall is a ghost town and is going bankrupt these Asians are just using identity politics to be nimbys Chinatown isn't even a thing anymore most Asians have been and continue moving to the suburbs stop letting people use identity politics to strongarm and stop progress
"if they can get the public transportation right" - this means more than infrastructure. Philadelphia and especially the surrounding suburbs does not have a "public transportation culture". Sure, there's splashes of it, but in general, the mindset isn't there. Now, if the Eagles were doing this, there might be enough incentive to create genuine behavior modification. But the Sixers simply are not and have never been anywhere near the draw that the Eagles are. Combine this with the real possibility that the Sixers are on a trajectory to bottom out sooner rather than later success-wise, and you've got a formula for a white elephant from day one.
It would actually make transit from the suburbs and NJ much easier as I belive it would be similar to MSG where the train station is right under the arena
From NJ people would take the Patco to existing 8th and market. Hopefully, part of city councils demands will be to improve that station as well. But I agree, I’m much more likely to go to Sixers games and other events at that arena than the WFC. I’d be much more comfortable drinking as well knowing I can just take an Uber to and from my local Patco station
I mean technically we already have a train that drops us off directly at the stadium. Regardless of if the stadium in downtown or south Philly, you have to catch the same trains. The problem is where will people park? Traffic is already bad without the stadium. Don’t forget about the hospitals downtown, traffic will make getting there worse for people with an emergency.
I can always tell who’s not from Philly. Suburban/NJ public transit into Philly is abysmal. Suburban lines run every 2 hours on weekends. Imagine missing the train and then having to wait two hours for, the game would be over!
@@Tigeradams101 I regularly take patco from nj to Philly. I rely on it for work and it’s remarkably on time. Not sure why you’re having a drastically different experience. Edit: not to mention you can take a round trip ride for $6 on patco. That’s a stark difference to a bridge toll, plus $20 parking plus a few bucks in gas.
You talk about the massive crowds and parking as if drivers won't switch to public transit. Why? This new stadium will do something good for ridership at a time when we are in danger of losing public transportation in Philadelphia. The answer to parking problems is to take public transit, and unlike the one public transit line that serves the stadium complex (one line at the south end of the line), every major transit rail line serves this site and it's in the middle of these lines. It will be a much easier choice to take for the entire metropolitan region, and crime won't be an issue, because crowds are the best antidote to criminal activity. We need to use big important sites like this one located in Center City and on top of public transportation for something big, even if it is not for the Sixers. The site is located on "Market Street". That does not have enough positive activity now. Located in the center of town, will dramatically improve the number of people who choose to use public transit to get there, from 10% to 40% according to the Sixers, and I think it will be more in line with MSG and Barclays which is well over 50%. I have no problem and strongly believe we can and should protect those who would be negatively impacted by the gentrification of Chinatown, but the local restaurants will do well by the patrons who will visit their restaurants. But to say only one neighborhood will be impacted is wrong. This site serves then entire metropolitan region and to hold up the economy of the entire metropolitan region is wrong. I've watched NYC's Little Italy be swallowed up by Chinatown in Manhattan and now there are four Chinatowns in NYC the largest is in Flushing, Queens. These places and people move. That is what is historical. To try and stop any moment in time and say we're done with change is to ignore the very reality that Chinatown Philadelphia is today. I'm sorry but this stadium site is great for developing some positive activity on east Market Street which is currently depressing and needs it. And the public transportation under it has the capacity to handle it and desperately needs it. Your construction argument is weak. Again, the site is on Market Street and Arch Street is available for access, they can tell the Sixers to keep the construction vehicles away. They had to do that for the Convention Center, which is a much larger footprint adjacent to Chinatown than the current site. Finally, where did you hear the Sixers asked for public funds? I don't believe they have.
Exactly! They are literally planning on building the stadium, on top of one of the three main regional rail hub stations. Honestly this will encourage people from the collar counties to go to more games and not have to deal with 95's congestion.
even if 40% of people use public transit to get to games, there is still a need to accommodate 1000s of cars in an already very congested area. As someone who often works nights in center city, the traffic is already bad enough without a stadium. Also what highway exit do you expect these people to take to get there? are you gonna put all that traffic on the callowhill exit? Our road infrastructure is not built to sustain this kind of traffic. We already have public transit to the current stadiums, not to mention the fact that since its on the end of a line you can run a train out of there literally every minute to keep the crowds down. On top of all of this, you have the insane development project that Comcast just agreed to for the area by the current stadiums, putting 2 billion dollars in development into the area. Also for those who live outside of the city, where do you expect them to park to take public transit?
@@ryanpm6055 I disagree. This site and the other large site on Market Street, are where Philadelphia's economy started and smart people will avoid parking anywhere near the stadium. I believe most will take public transit. If I was to drive, I would park along the Ben Franklin Parkway and walk, and I believe a lot of others will as well. The current public transit is one line at the end of a line. The new site is in the middle of three heavy capacity rail lines that are in severe need of more riders as SEPTA is in danger of collapsing due to lack of riders. And you act as if public transit is for others. Everyone can take it and yes the spare capacity of SEPTA is huge. People have no idea. The Broad Street line could move 400,000 per day, pre covid it was 125,000 per day, now its 75,000. The Market Frankfort line could move 230,000 per day, pre covid it was 186,000 per day, now its 125,000 per day The Regional Rail system could move 400,000 per day, pre covid it was 125,000 per day, now its 70,000. This covers the entire Delaware valley. Patco could move 120,000 per day, pre covid it was 39,000 now its 19,000 We have so much spare capacity that NYC, London, Paris would be drooling - and we do nothing with it. All we do is complain about traffic and have no tolerance for getting out of our cars, while this huge asset that goes to waste. And when the games start at 7 PM most of rush hour has finished. In fact, since covid the PM rush starts and ends an hour earlier. People always freak out when "traffic" might get bad. I remember the 1989 Quake in San Francisco. The Embarcadero Freeway collapsed and everyone thought traffic would come to a standstill. The highway never came back and San Francisco is still there. In 1973 the West Side Highway collapsed, and everyone said Manhattan would turn into driving hell. It didn't. The fact remains, there are multiple public transit alternatives to take, and people will take them to avoid carmogetton. If we just worked together an made a modest investment at making it nicer and run more often this city could be world class.
you not a true Philadelphian bc #1 China town is a nice twist to our blue city. #2 the fact Septa is losing money and cannot scale is not the peoples fault. Talking away someone's culture/community is fawked up, greed kills. To just add insult to injury in Philly you will be a victim for just staring at someone wrong. Shame on you, u gotta be from the county
This is not national news, but SEPTA which is Philly's public transit system is actually in danger of going bankrupt because the state's govt is not funding it anymore and won't let the city come up with any new taxation policies to keep it running bc Republicans hate Philly. Josh Harris isn't going to be funding SEPTA either, so public transit is absolutely FUCKED if this arena is built now. It will be a traffic hellscape bc Philly is not nearly as large as NYC or DC when it comes to the street sizes and infrastructure.
The Sixers are only tenants at Wells Fargo Center. They make no revenue on amy events other than their own games. They want a place where they can make revenue and control event dates. They do need a new arena
This is future for most arenas and mlb ballparks whether you like it or not. They want to have a city neighborhood feel to these venues. You can still drive to them. Good luck for paying for parking and dealing traffic. Car dependency is a mental illness btw
Bullshit, the Majority if the fans come from the Suburbs and have to take i76 into the city and everyone HATES i76. The fact that I can take regional rail right into Jefferson station and get out and the new stadium is Right There... its perfect.
This new anti-car rhetoric is Class Warfare. It used to be that Well off white middle class owned cars and poor minorities took public transportation. Now that more poor & working class people own cars (thus clogging up the roads) Now you here the white upper middle class talking about "Car Dependency" and wanting to try and model European / Asian public transportation 🙄
Ideally they should have just carved out another section of the sports complex to build a 4th stadium for the Sixers as a happy medium for everyone. Yeh this would mean carving out a section of the parking area most likely the space occupying Citizen Bank Park. However parking isn't a big issue in the complex since they do opened up parking form the other arenas in the past. (The real challenge is getting out when a game is over due to the limited exits.)
It will get built against the will of the citizens and will be a complete disaster, mark it down. The developers say as long as 60% of attendees take public transportation to the games, traffic won't be a nightmare. Do you know who can actually afford to go to a Sixers game? Rich suburbanites. They are never going to take public transportation from the suburbs to the game. Never.
It’s actually not in Chinatown, it’s in market East. It just borders Chinatown. Also the Sixers haven’t asked for any public funds, idk where you got that from. Another point public transit is figured out, the main regional rails from the suburbs all will stop under 76Place
@bracarbone key word is "city". The Sixers said they would accept state funds if made available. This is still public money. And this is an arena that we don't want. And the fact that it will be used for roughly 41 games a year is pointless and unnecessary.
@@mbbno it’s not pointless, many people want this stadium. The people who don’t are the ones who are from the suburbs that like the easy access to I95. They’ll have other events besides basketball, they hope to get a WNBA team and they’ll have other events like concerts ect And I don’t think you’re right about the state fund thing lol
@bracarbone honestly nobody wants this. No one wants a WNBA team either. That may sound sexist but they don't have the following that the NBA has. We have more than enough concert venues also. This will only pull from similar sized venues and not add.
NJ resident. 6 year Philly resident. 3 year Chinatown Philly resident. This would actually make it easier for NJ peeps to get to the game since PATCO is way better than SEPTA. That said, stadium area bars and restaurants are usually characterless mass produced chain experiences that are overly corporate. It can’t be worse than Market East “Fashikn District,” which has been an abject failure. 🤷🏼♂️ I’ll be getting ramen then walking to the games. Cheers.
As a Philly resident we don’t want it! It’s going to make everything in Chinatown more expensive, in Chinatown is one of the last places near Center City that somewhat affordable. It’s also going to slow down response times from ambulances and fire fighters during the game because the area is not equipped to handle the type of traffic the arena will bring. It’s a lot of small one-way streets. Not to mention the effect that it Will have on the local businesses. Our mayor is selling us out…they can go to Camden!
As someone who lives in Philly…putting the stadium in Chinatown would be an absolute disaster. I hope no one goes if they build it. Where the stadiums are now is the perfect place. Sixers are ass anyways.
I want to be as respectful as possible, but there's a few key things absent from your video. Comcast is the landlord at the Wells Fargo center and has a LOT to lose from the Sixers being allowed to leave and as such has funded and backed much of the opposition to the arena being built. An AstroTurfing campaign was run by Comcast to spread misinformation about the project which I see you repeat at the end of the video. There are no public funds going towards building this arena which makes it unique, Josh Harris and the Sixers ownership are footing the ENTIRE bill for the land and the construction of the arena. They are buying the land, gifting it to Philadelphia, and then paying PILOT on top of that because you don't pay taxes on property you don't own. You also mentioned 6 years of construction when it's only 3. It would be very cool if you read up on the funding and backing of the land and construction to back up what I am saying and at least amend the notes. But that's probably a lot to ask in a world where people farm for clicks and move on.
If the 76ers don't get that new arena, I can see them moving to Newark, NJ, Tampa Bay, Kansas City or St Louis (they need to change their name), and make new fans that'll go to their games
Comcast basically said if the Sixers doesn't get the Arena they'll take that space for something else regardless. But no one's talking about that. Y'all are focused on the Sixers, Comcast said they'll make there own plans for that space and expand on it.
No one wants to ever mention this. Comcast is the reason the Sixers want to go to there in the first place. think of how much money they are leasing to that arena each year to see barley any good shit done with it.. yeah they got some solid renovations but WFC is cooked fr.
I'll believe Comcast's claim that they'll do something with the space when they finish the sports complex development they proposed in 2008 All they have to show for it is Xfinity Live.
I am so sick and tired of sports teams holding cities hostage and local politicians bending over backward to keep these teams from moving. Leave taxpayers out of it. The sixers will suck Day 1 in any new arena anyway.
bad idea will loose a lot of fans due to parking and location and congestion. current location is great for on and off major roads and bridges . security is another concern vote no
I never understood why the fight against gentrification, before Williamsburg become yuppie-ville, people lived in terrible buildings with bad electrical wires, no AC, and slum lords running the place. New buildings upgrade the neighborhood, less crime, and better quality of life.
Phillies wanted to build Citizens Bank Park in pretty much the same location but that got shot down when it hit the Mayors doorstep back in early 2000s plus Chinatown was pissed as well and fought. Now the Sixers want to do this, now they're pissing them off again. KEEP THEM IN SOUTH PHILLY. Its the reason why we have the complex. You keep the traffic away from Center City, plsu the Subway system goes all the way down to the complex, both Local (always running) and Express (depening on whats going on)
The location of the proposed Phillies stadium (12th and Vine) is nowhere near the current proposed arena. The Phillies stadium would have been on the complete opposite side of Chinatown and involved a much larger footprint. An arena and a baseball stadium are not comparable in terms of size. We have a virtual dead space in the heart of our city and you guys just want to keep the status quo? Like it or not, there SHOULD be traffic in Center City. The sign of no traffic in a downtown is the sign of a dying city. I love Philly (born and raised) and I want it to succeed, which will not happen if we continue to refuse any meaningful development on the second most important street in the city.
Comcast is also at fault here. They own all those parking lots and the Xfinity area while having done JACK SHIT to make the sports complex into a true entertainment district. Instead it's just pavement for tailgates. Absolute waste.
As a sixers fan I hate them now.. I hate that owner of the Washington commanders wants a new arena in center city philadelphia and a new stadium for the Washington commanders.. Like are you for real?? I hate the sixers now for forcing this arena on center city.. traffic, noise,is next to hospitals ..ambulances are gonna be stuck with patients waiting for care..and the cherry on top is THE SIXERS STINK!! THEY ALWAYS TERRIBLE,,THEY DONT EVEN DESERVE A NEW ARENA..
My issue isn't China Town my issue is it's gonna be built near hospitals. If there's an emergency and theres a sixers game it's gonna conjust the roads. It wouldn't make sense to leave the Fashion District vacant (because ppl barely go) but we can find another place.
Imagine you live in Jersey and are coming over Ben Franklin Bridge for a Wedding or Theater and there's a SIXERS Game????? It will be GRIDLOCK NIGHTMARE!!!!!
The thing about New Jersey just came up and was more or less a scapegoat or excuse for Mayor Parker. She has always been openly planning to back up the Sixers owners and the building trades unions, she’s pro-millionaire and pro-development and barely made the thinnest show of listening to community concerns. She’s not making some sort of well thought out strategic decision, she’s just backing up her guys.
Small mom & pop ethnic business is the charm of Chinatown, as it is in most Chinatowns. Those restaurants would be suffocated from the onslaught of Sixers game-night patrons. Sixers should look elsewhere, as much as a shame it would to not have it in center city.
the only thing i don't get about this is where was all the fuss when the gallery was there , the only thing the sixers are trying to do is use the other side of the gallery that the fashion district didn't use
Nobody talks about all of the hospitals in the area of where they plan on building the stadium…..market street doesn’t have enough lanes to accommodate for ambulances that come and go from the area
THEY TRIED. it belongs to COMCAST, Comcast won't let them, they tried to move previously but it didn't work.. now this is all they got left or they move to jersey.
to take advantage of regional rail they could build at Schuykill Yards over the train tracks, or build at Broad & Lehigh and take over that whole section of the city like the Barclays Center in NY
I'm literally not going to a Flyers game tonight because SEPTA regional rail isn't running past 10pm. I sincerely doubt they'll extend hours if the Sixers move to center city
I used to catch nj transit at 10th and market from 2017-2019 (when they were doing fashion district construction). The construction is a non issue for restaurants
May have been an okay idea before but now with Septa having multiple issues. Including the potential of going on strike for both city and suburban sides (not including regional rail) not to mention the fare increase and reduced service that's being proposed to take a affect by Jan 2025. I just don't see this working at this moment. Can't take public transit if Public transit itself isn't going to be reliable enough for it. Might as well just build it at Franklin Mills considering the entire mall is damn there close now. That's just me tho.
You do realise that areas/stadiums outside the US can manage this easily? In Melbourne, Australia, for instance, there's multiple stadia near each other and everything still works - without cars! The criticism of this project is very 'American'. If you're criticising the lack of car parking or having to use a train, then the problem is you and the people who don't support this arena.
I work in Center City everyday and its already congested. And our new Mayor Cherell "lying lips moving"Parker completely lied to get into office. She told everyone she wouldn't approve it, and then ahe got kickbacks into what committees she chose and then they started a little chess move with her agreeing to approve it, if the Sixers threaten to move to Camden. So what was the response? A random post on Instagram, with her sitting at her comfortable mayors seat saying, "How its a great day for Philadelphia and the 76ers, because they will remain in Philadelphia when i approve the Arena. I have to sit and watch her walk to her comfy office into City Hall from about 100ft away everyday. The bullshit speeches she has right there is always all talk. Where is the minimum increase? That you heavily promised if you would get elected? 7.25hr had been the minimum wage since 2012! Let that sink in, while in Camden, just across the river you get 15hr to flip burgers at McDonald's. This city, sadly will always be a ghetto if we keep having people that dont put the people first. I would love to speak at one of the town halls, i think ahe would quickly realize how quick she needs to try and shut me up.
Dude, shut up. If she was white, your entire approach and disposition would be different. She's damned if she does and damned if she doesn't. If they go to Camden, then the Sixers left on her watch. And if she approves the Center City project, she's still scum, according to people like you. SMH.
@ahta Great video this is the first time I have seen any of your videos and helps to explain the reason why Josh Harris hasn’t announced anything related to a new stadium for the Washington Commanders yet. As a born and raised Washington DC and Baltimore area sports fan. Baltimore is 90 to 125 minute drive from Washington DC for anyone outside the area are wondering. @ahta the Commanders’ Stadium proposal that you showed was made back in 2022 when Dan Snyder Still owned the team. Snyder when he owned the Washington Redskins/Commanders had plans at some point to move the team to Virginia, specifically to DC’s Northern Virginia Suburbs. His plans never went through because of how much people including local officials in the DMV (DC,MD,VA) Metro area hated him and felt that he had ruined what many people considered one the NFL’s most beloved and historic franchises 🏈. The 2022 Stadium proposal that you should was to have a new stadium built just across the river from Washington DC in neighboring Arlington VA (the Irony hasn’t lost on me that of the Washington Redskins’ historic rival the Dallas Cowboys’ home of AT&T Stadium also happens to be located in Arlington TX and Washington proposing to build a stadium in a city with exact same name). The plan hasn’t gotten the go ahead yet, because there are other proposals on the table.There has been a past proposal to have the Commanders’ new stadium be built in Loudon County Virginia close to Dulles International Airport. The reason being that the Commanders’ front office and training facilities are located in Ashburn Virginia, so it would make more logistical sense to have the team’s new stadium be built nearby and for visiting teams who are arriving at Dulles International Airport 🛬. The main reason why both the Arlington VA and Dulles VA aren’t happening is because the local resident don’t want it, for a similar reason to why the residents of Philadelphia’s Chinatown don’t want the 76ers moving nearby. The new stadium will only further make the intolerable traffic in Northern Virginia even worse. Northern Virginia is home to some wealthy individuals who are not interested in having their long 90 minute commutes from Washington DC made an extra 30 minutes longer, because the Commanders are playing Thursday Night Football 🏈. Also have a number of tolls in Northern Virginia, you have the infamous Dulles Toll Road, which is awful to be on. The most popular proposal currently among fans and he City of Washington DC is to rebuild RFK Stadium in downtown Washington DC. Washington DC’s other Sports teams the Nationals ⚾️, Capitals 🏒, Wizards 🏀, and DC United ⚽️ all are playing in stadiums located in Washington DC, so why not have Commanders 🏈 back in DC? Well the Original RFK Stadium was closed down back in 2019 and was demolished 3 years later and what is left is a wide open field, for which you can build a new stadium on top of. The RFK Stadium property interestingly enough is owned by US Department of the Interior, which one of the many quirks of Washington DC being the Nation’s Capital and goes back to when the original stadium was built back in 1960. US President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his successor President John F. Kennedy used the fact that DC Municipal Stadium (renamed RFK Memorial Stadium in honor of RFK following his death in 1968) was being built on Federal land to force both the Washington Redskins 🏈 and Washington Senators ⚾️ to racial integrate. The Washington Redskins, were the last NFL 🏈 franchise to racial integrate, because the team’s original founding owner George Preston Marshall was a well know Bigot, even by 1960s standards and it was his idea to change the name the teams’ OG name the Boston Braves to the Boston Redskins and then the Washington Redskins. Today the RFK Stadium property is an empty lot and both the local and federal governments don’t know what to do with it. The property is zoned for recreational or sports related purposes by the federal government, which means that you can still build a new stadium on the property. The main problem the Commanders’ will face with the rebuilding RFK Stadium proposal is because the property is owned by the US Government, it would have to get approved by both the city and federal government. The other hurdle being with Trump being reelected your going a push among many Republican members of the US Congress and the new Trump administration will probably be demanding the team should revert back to be call the Washington Redskins. For some fans honesty wouldn’t mind the team going back to be called the Washington Redskins not because they’re bigots like George Preston Marshall, but because they’re nostalgic for teams’ glory years back in the 1970s-1990s. The Commanders name and brand is hated among many fans for being bland and closely associated with former owner Dan Snyder. @ahta I know my comment is very long already but owner of both the Washington Capitals 🏒 and Washington Wizards 🏀 Ted Leonis tried to move the teams out of Capital Arena in Chinatown neighborhood in Washington DC and tried to build a new arena across the other side of the Potomac River in the Potomac Yard district near Alexandria Virginia. The move failed massively because of opposition from both Washington DC and Alexandria VA. Alexandria VA residents didn’t want it because it would mean increase traffic and Washington DC didn’t want to lose both teams. The only one who supported the move was Virginia Governor Glen Youngkin, but the Finance committee in the Virginia House of Delegates which would have approved the tax breaks and funds to build the Potomac Yard stadium for the Capitals and Wizards, just so happen that the State Delegate who was the head of the Finance Committee happened to represent the voters from Alexandria VA. The stadium funds and tax breaks where never approved and died in committee in the Virginia State Legislature, forcing Capitals and Wizards owner Ted Leonis to agree to a half a billion dollar renovation of Capital One Arena from the city of Washington DC.
Have they researched where the Sixer's fans are coming from and the way Philadelphia has shootings every other day and increase in violence, what family would want to take a train a bus to get to a game vs drive / park their car, walk in walk out get in their car and drive their 30 /40 minutes home and not waiting on a train track if the train is on time late at night or having to take two types of transportation to get to a game vs a car. I would think 50% percent of people are not located in an area to take the public transportation. Try taking a family to a game, good luck with that
SEPTA won’t even exist by the time this arena is built. Leaving an Eagles game and using the BSL is becoming a complete nightmare. Be prepared to take hours to leave a Tuesday night game. When now it’s easy enough to drive in and out of Wells Fargo and be right on a highway.
The flyers will still use the arena. The indoor lacrosse team the wings will also use Wells Fargo center. Villanova men’s basketball team also uses the arena.
I know a lot of people from Philadelphia are upset about this, and are upset about the mayor backing this, but at the end of the day it became essentially the only option for Philadelphia the moment New Jersey offered 400 million in public money to get them across the bridge and into the garden State. The moment that happened, Josh Harris had an out and a way to create an ultimatum.
Yeah because jersey made a side deal with officials in city hall and agreed to do that in order for the new arena to get approved. Parker is the biggest fraud and liar that this city has seen in a long time
No one tailgates for Sixers games.
Basketball fans do not like partying and drinking before games the same way as football and hockey fans do. Even baseball is more rowdy.
A lot of this guy's information is way off and clearly biased
The Washington Bullets did the same thins in DC in the 90s. They demolished about 90% of their Chinatown neighborhood. It also happened in Brooklyn when they put the Barclay Center there. It’s bad enough that the convention center in Philly already took about a 40% chunk of Chinatown but a new stadium will take another 50%.
My take on this arena (as a Philadelphian): It’s bullshit. They’re choosing the smack middle of the city where thousands live their lives in pace & do commerce. Main example is Chinatown. Small businesses will take a hit & I fw Chinese food. Also the gridlock will be insane Regular tourists+opposing fans/out of state home fans/home fans+regular people going to what’s left of Chinatown if it’s built. Also the even though the heart of SEPTA’s rail system is nearby the congestion on the MFL, Regional Rail, the nearby BSL & nearly trolley lines will be insane to the point to it’s underground gridlock as well. Buses will also deal with this problem therefore the sidewalks will look like your average pre-Covid rush-hour or the line to a restaurant blocking the whole sidewalk. Also, down in the Sports Complex, there is plenty of open parking lot in the Sports Complex, you could build it next to Xfinity Live where the spectrum was or next to Live & Citizens Bank. Incentivize people to take SEPTA, it could be a good thing that way they could be like “oh look so many people are using the BSL & the buses to go to games we need funding to get these people there” basically use the sports fans to secure funding. That’ll benefit not only the Sixers, but the Eagles, Flyers & Phillies & the other events. It’ll also benefit the rest of the city.
It’s not really in China Town, but it is right next to it. So I could see why some people are upset about it.
They already know what's going to happen. The building that exists on that site now was the Gallery shopping mall. It was just repoened 5 years ago after a multi-year renovation into a fashion outlet. It was a complete nightmare. Now, they want to do it again.
@@yesthisisvic that mall is a ghost town and is going bankrupt these Asians are just using identity politics to be nimbys Chinatown isn't even a thing anymore most Asians have been and continue moving to the suburbs stop letting people use identity politics to strongarm and stop progress
"if they can get the public transportation right" - this means more than infrastructure. Philadelphia and especially the surrounding suburbs does not have a "public transportation culture". Sure, there's splashes of it, but in general, the mindset isn't there. Now, if the Eagles were doing this, there might be enough incentive to create genuine behavior modification. But the Sixers simply are not and have never been anywhere near the draw that the Eagles are. Combine this with the real possibility that the Sixers are on a trajectory to bottom out sooner rather than later success-wise, and you've got a formula for a white elephant from day one.
Good point
as a die hard philly sports fan i think the arena would be great for the city. im excited for it
Facts
No
And they are using their own money these nimbys using identity politics need to go away
BUILD IT
there’s plenty of open parking lot down there smh why tf u choosing in the middle of my city where thousands live there lives
Why do you not know the difference between "stadium" and "arena"?
It would actually make transit from the suburbs and NJ much easier as I belive it would be similar to MSG where the train station is right under the arena
From NJ people would take the Patco to existing 8th and market. Hopefully, part of city councils demands will be to improve that station as well.
But I agree, I’m much more likely to go to Sixers games and other events at that arena than the WFC. I’d be much more comfortable drinking as well knowing I can just take an Uber to and from my local Patco station
I mean technically we already have a train that drops us off directly at the stadium. Regardless of if the stadium in downtown or south Philly, you have to catch the same trains. The problem is where will people park? Traffic is already bad without the stadium. Don’t forget about the hospitals downtown, traffic will make getting there worse for people with an emergency.
I can always tell who’s not from Philly. Suburban/NJ public transit into Philly is abysmal. Suburban lines run every 2 hours on weekends. Imagine missing the train and then having to wait two hours for, the game would be over!
@@Tigeradams101 I regularly take patco from nj to Philly. I rely on it for work and it’s remarkably on time. Not sure why you’re having a drastically different experience.
Edit: not to mention you can take a round trip ride for $6 on patco. That’s a stark difference to a bridge toll, plus $20 parking plus a few bucks in gas.
There's already a train station directly under where they want to build this arena.
You talk about the massive crowds and parking as if drivers won't switch to public transit. Why? This new stadium will do something good for ridership at a time when we are in danger of losing public transportation in Philadelphia. The answer to parking problems is to take public transit, and unlike the one public transit line that serves the stadium complex (one line at the south end of the line), every major transit rail line serves this site and it's in the middle of these lines. It will be a much easier choice to take for the entire metropolitan region, and crime won't be an issue, because crowds are the best antidote to criminal activity.
We need to use big important sites like this one located in Center City and on top of public transportation for something big, even if it is not for the Sixers. The site is located on "Market Street". That does not have enough positive activity now.
Located in the center of town, will dramatically improve the number of people who choose to use public transit to get there, from 10% to 40% according to the Sixers, and I think it will be more in line with MSG and Barclays which is well over 50%. I have no problem and strongly believe we can and should protect those who would be negatively impacted by the gentrification of Chinatown, but the local restaurants will do well by the patrons who will visit their restaurants. But to say only one neighborhood will be impacted is wrong. This site serves then entire metropolitan region and to hold up the economy of the entire metropolitan region is wrong.
I've watched NYC's Little Italy be swallowed up by Chinatown in Manhattan and now there are four Chinatowns in NYC the largest is in Flushing, Queens. These places and people move. That is what is historical. To try and stop any moment in time and say we're done with change is to ignore the very reality that Chinatown Philadelphia is today. I'm sorry but this stadium site is great for developing some positive activity on east Market Street which is currently depressing and needs it. And the public transportation under it has the capacity to handle it and desperately needs it. Your construction argument is weak. Again, the site is on Market Street and Arch Street is available for access, they can tell the Sixers to keep the construction vehicles away. They had to do that for the Convention Center, which is a much larger footprint adjacent to Chinatown than the current site. Finally, where did you hear the Sixers asked for public funds? I don't believe they have.
Exactly! They are literally planning on building the stadium, on top of one of the three main regional rail hub stations. Honestly this will encourage people from the collar counties to go to more games and not have to deal with 95's congestion.
even if 40% of people use public transit to get to games, there is still a need to accommodate 1000s of cars in an already very congested area. As someone who often works nights in center city, the traffic is already bad enough without a stadium. Also what highway exit do you expect these people to take to get there? are you gonna put all that traffic on the callowhill exit? Our road infrastructure is not built to sustain this kind of traffic. We already have public transit to the current stadiums, not to mention the fact that since its on the end of a line you can run a train out of there literally every minute to keep the crowds down.
On top of all of this, you have the insane development project that Comcast just agreed to for the area by the current stadiums, putting 2 billion dollars in development into the area. Also for those who live outside of the city, where do you expect them to park to take public transit?
@@ryanpm6055 I disagree. This site and the other large site on Market Street, are where Philadelphia's economy started and smart people will avoid parking anywhere near the stadium. I believe most will take public transit. If I was to drive, I would park along the Ben Franklin Parkway and walk, and I believe a lot of others will as well. The current public transit is one line at the end of a line. The new site is in the middle of three heavy capacity rail lines that are in severe need of more riders as SEPTA is in danger of collapsing due to lack of riders. And you act as if public transit is for others. Everyone can take it and yes the spare capacity of SEPTA is huge. People have no idea.
The Broad Street line could move 400,000 per day, pre covid it was 125,000 per day, now its 75,000.
The Market Frankfort line could move 230,000 per day, pre covid it was 186,000 per day, now its 125,000 per day
The Regional Rail system could move 400,000 per day, pre covid it was 125,000 per day, now its 70,000. This covers the entire Delaware valley.
Patco could move 120,000 per day, pre covid it was 39,000 now its 19,000
We have so much spare capacity that NYC, London, Paris would be drooling - and we do nothing with it.
All we do is complain about traffic and have no tolerance for getting out of our cars, while this huge asset that goes to waste.
And when the games start at 7 PM most of rush hour has finished. In fact, since covid the PM rush starts and ends an hour earlier. People always freak out when "traffic" might get bad. I remember the 1989 Quake in San Francisco. The Embarcadero Freeway collapsed and everyone thought traffic would come to a standstill. The highway never came back and San Francisco is still there. In 1973 the West Side Highway collapsed, and everyone said Manhattan would turn into driving hell. It didn't. The fact remains, there are multiple public transit alternatives to take, and people will take them to avoid carmogetton. If we just worked together an made a modest investment at making it nicer and run more often this city could be world class.
you not a true Philadelphian bc #1 China town is a nice twist to our blue city. #2 the fact Septa is losing money and cannot scale is not the peoples fault. Talking away someone's culture/community is fawked up, greed kills. To just add insult to injury in Philly you will be a victim for just staring at someone wrong. Shame on you, u gotta be from the county
This is not national news, but SEPTA which is Philly's public transit system is actually in danger of going bankrupt because the state's govt is not funding it anymore and won't let the city come up with any new taxation policies to keep it running bc Republicans hate Philly. Josh Harris isn't going to be funding SEPTA either, so public transit is absolutely FUCKED if this arena is built now. It will be a traffic hellscape bc Philly is not nearly as large as NYC or DC when it comes to the street sizes and infrastructure.
Teams in those other cities actually needed new arenas. The sixers do not
The Sixers are only tenants at Wells Fargo Center. They make no revenue on amy events other than their own games. They want a place where they can make revenue and control event dates.
They do need a new arena
Yes they do. Move them to downtown. Also be willing to.invest tax dollars to see the project thru
The 76ers do not have their own stadium, they lease the flyers venue.
Yes they do.
@@sirchi8731No
The majority of fans want to drive and not take public transportation. 76ers ownership can’t do anything right
This is future for most arenas and mlb ballparks whether you like it or not. They want to have a city neighborhood feel to these venues. You can still drive to them. Good luck for paying for parking and dealing traffic. Car dependency is a mental illness btw
@@jalfredlcar dependency depends on your situation.
Bullshit, the Majority if the fans come from the Suburbs and have to take i76 into the city and everyone HATES i76. The fact that I can take regional rail right into Jefferson station and get out and the new stadium is Right There... its perfect.
This new anti-car rhetoric is Class Warfare. It used to be that Well off white middle class owned cars and poor minorities took public transportation. Now that more poor & working class people own cars (thus clogging up the roads) Now you here the white upper middle class talking about "Car Dependency" and wanting to try and model European / Asian public transportation 🙄
This is just inherently not true
Ideally they should have just carved out another section of the sports complex to build a 4th stadium for the Sixers as a happy medium for everyone. Yeh this would mean carving out a section of the parking area most likely the space occupying Citizen Bank Park. However parking isn't a big issue in the complex since they do opened up parking form the other arenas in the past. (The real challenge is getting out when a game is over due to the limited exits.)
First you need a good basketball team,a good GM,and pride in ownership…is it too late to bring back the Warriors
It will get built against the will of the citizens and will be a complete disaster, mark it down. The developers say as long as 60% of attendees take public transportation to the games, traffic won't be a nightmare. Do you know who can actually afford to go to a Sixers game? Rich suburbanites. They are never going to take public transportation from the suburbs to the game. Never.
Especially with the "elements" encountered when using Septa.
It’s actually not in Chinatown, it’s in market East. It just borders Chinatown.
Also the Sixers haven’t asked for any public funds, idk where you got that from. Another point public transit is figured out, the main regional rails from the suburbs all will stop under 76Place
Not asking for public funds but will gladly accept them.
@ the city and the Sixers have already agreed not to use public funds.
@bracarbone key word is "city". The Sixers said they would accept state funds if made available. This is still public money.
And this is an arena that we don't want. And the fact that it will be used for roughly 41 games a year is pointless and unnecessary.
@@mbbno it’s not pointless, many people want this stadium. The people who don’t are the ones who are from the suburbs that like the easy access to I95.
They’ll have other events besides basketball, they hope to get a WNBA team and they’ll have other events like concerts ect
And I don’t think you’re right about the state fund thing lol
@bracarbone honestly nobody wants this. No one wants a WNBA team either. That may sound sexist but they don't have the following that the NBA has.
We have more than enough concert venues also. This will only pull from similar sized venues and not add.
NJ resident. 6 year Philly resident. 3 year Chinatown Philly resident. This would actually make it easier for NJ peeps to get to the game since PATCO is way better than SEPTA. That said, stadium area bars and restaurants are usually characterless mass produced chain experiences that are overly corporate. It can’t be worse than Market East “Fashikn District,” which has been an abject failure. 🤷🏼♂️ I’ll be getting ramen then walking to the games. Cheers.
As a Philly resident we don’t want it! It’s going to make everything in Chinatown more expensive, in Chinatown is one of the last places near Center City that somewhat affordable. It’s also going to slow down response times from ambulances and fire fighters during the game because the area is not equipped to handle the type of traffic the arena will bring. It’s a lot of small one-way streets. Not to mention the effect that it Will have on the local businesses. Our mayor is selling us out…they can go to Camden!
I agree. Send them to New Jersey. The sixers suck anyway.
You movd to Camden. 76ers moving to downtown
@@Zack-cr9icyou can move to Jersey. 76ers are coming Downtown with Pennsylvania tax payers helping out.
@@sirchi8731 lol, don't know about Camden but I do like new Jersey. Maybe I will move there someday.😁
@Zack-cr9ic goodbye. But 76ers ownership will get that Downtown Philadelphia arena.
amazingly well done video
Thank you!
They’ll build it and everyone is going to enjoy it once it’s here
Bingo
This is a really thorough and well-done explainer. Thank you!
As someone who lives in Philly…putting the stadium in Chinatown would be an absolute disaster. I hope no one goes if they build it. Where the stadiums are now is the perfect place. Sixers are ass anyways.
I agree. The sixers suck anyway. Send them to Camden. New Jersey can havem.
This was very thorough video, great job!
Glad you liked it. Appreciate the kind words!
I hope they build it, it would be cool!
I am shocked that this stadium is even happening, but good luck to everyone & everything involved
I want to be as respectful as possible, but there's a few key things absent from your video. Comcast is the landlord at the Wells Fargo center and has a LOT to lose from the Sixers being allowed to leave and as such has funded and backed much of the opposition to the arena being built. An AstroTurfing campaign was run by Comcast to spread misinformation about the project which I see you repeat at the end of the video. There are no public funds going towards building this arena which makes it unique, Josh Harris and the Sixers ownership are footing the ENTIRE bill for the land and the construction of the arena. They are buying the land, gifting it to Philadelphia, and then paying PILOT on top of that because you don't pay taxes on property you don't own. You also mentioned 6 years of construction when it's only 3. It would be very cool if you read up on the funding and backing of the land and construction to back up what I am saying and at least amend the notes. But that's probably a lot to ask in a world where people farm for clicks and move on.
If the 76ers don't get that new arena, I can see them moving to Newark, NJ, Tampa Bay, Kansas City or St Louis (they need to change their name), and make new fans that'll go to their games
Comcast basically said if the Sixers doesn't get the Arena they'll take that space for something else regardless. But no one's talking about that. Y'all are focused on the Sixers, Comcast said they'll make there own plans for that space and expand on it.
No one wants to ever mention this.
Comcast is the reason the Sixers want to go to there in the first place. think of how much money they are leasing to that arena each year to see barley any good shit done with it.. yeah they got some solid renovations but WFC is cooked fr.
I'll believe Comcast's claim that they'll do something with the space when they finish the sports complex development they proposed in 2008 All they have to show for it is Xfinity Live.
@@Njndirish13 Philly will give it to them they let them get away with anything 😭
Philly as a whole needs to be realistic other than downtown
I am so sick and tired of sports teams holding cities hostage and local politicians bending over backward to keep these teams from moving. Leave taxpayers out of it. The sixers will suck Day 1 in any new arena anyway.
bad idea will loose a lot of fans due to parking and location and congestion. current location is great for on and off major roads and bridges . security is another concern vote no
will gain a lot more fans who will take the train
I never understood why the fight against gentrification, before Williamsburg become yuppie-ville, people lived in terrible buildings with bad electrical wires, no AC, and slum lords running the place. New buildings upgrade the neighborhood, less crime, and better quality of life.
Phillies wanted to build Citizens Bank Park in pretty much the same location but that got shot down when it hit the Mayors doorstep back in early 2000s plus Chinatown was pissed as well and fought. Now the Sixers want to do this, now they're pissing them off again. KEEP THEM IN SOUTH PHILLY. Its the reason why we have the complex. You keep the traffic away from Center City, plsu the Subway system goes all the way down to the complex, both Local (always running) and Express (depening on whats going on)
The location of the proposed Phillies stadium (12th and Vine) is nowhere near the current proposed arena. The Phillies stadium would have been on the complete opposite side of Chinatown and involved a much larger footprint. An arena and a baseball stadium are not comparable in terms of size.
We have a virtual dead space in the heart of our city and you guys just want to keep the status quo? Like it or not, there SHOULD be traffic in Center City. The sign of no traffic in a downtown is the sign of a dying city. I love Philly (born and raised) and I want it to succeed, which will not happen if we continue to refuse any meaningful development on the second most important street in the city.
Comcast is also at fault here. They own all those parking lots and the Xfinity area while having done JACK SHIT to make the sports complex into a true entertainment district. Instead it's just pavement for tailgates. Absolute waste.
Josh Harris could have bought the Flyers and Wells Fargo Center, but I don't think Comcast was looking to sell the Flyers, only the 76ers in 2011.
As a sixers fan I hate them now.. I hate that owner of the Washington commanders wants a new arena in center city philadelphia and a new stadium for the Washington commanders.. Like are you for real?? I hate the sixers now for forcing this arena on center city.. traffic, noise,is next to hospitals ..ambulances are gonna be stuck with patients waiting for care..and the cherry on top is THE SIXERS STINK!! THEY ALWAYS TERRIBLE,,THEY DONT EVEN DESERVE A NEW ARENA..
If they start construction in 2028 and open in 2031, how do you get 6 years of construction?
He's stupid
My issue isn't China Town my issue is it's gonna be built near hospitals. If there's an emergency and theres a sixers game it's gonna conjust the roads.
It wouldn't make sense to leave the Fashion District vacant (because ppl barely go) but we can find another place.
hospitals are on the other side of market. for real emergencies there’s medivac at jefferson. also the ER for Jeff and Penn are multiple blocks down
Imagine you live in Jersey and are coming over Ben Franklin Bridge for a Wedding or Theater and there's a SIXERS Game????? It will be GRIDLOCK NIGHTMARE!!!!!
The thing about New Jersey just came up and was more or less a scapegoat or excuse for Mayor Parker. She has always been openly planning to back up the Sixers owners and the building trades unions, she’s pro-millionaire and pro-development and barely made the thinnest show of listening to community concerns. She’s not making some sort of well thought out strategic decision, she’s just backing up her guys.
Small mom & pop ethnic business is the charm of Chinatown, as it is in most Chinatowns. Those restaurants would be suffocated from the onslaught of Sixers game-night patrons. Sixers should look elsewhere, as much as a shame it would to not have it in center city.
So Chinatown restaurants will be drowning from having too much business? Yeah, I am sure that's a problem many would love to have.
the only thing i don't get about this is where was all the fuss when the gallery was there , the only thing the sixers are trying to do is use the other side of the gallery that the fashion district didn't use
The stadium is not a “done deal” yet. It’s still going through public hearings as of this video.
Nobody talks about all of the hospitals in the area of where they plan on building the stadium…..market street doesn’t have enough lanes to accommodate for ambulances that come and go from the area
Simple solution…build the new arena on the on one of the current arena/stadium parking lots.
THEY TRIED. it belongs to COMCAST, Comcast won't let them, they tried to move previously but it didn't work..
now this is all they got left or they move to jersey.
to take advantage of regional rail they could build at Schuykill Yards over the train tracks, or build at Broad & Lehigh and take over that whole section of the city like the Barclays Center in NY
Broad and Lehigh? they don't let you carry guns into the stadium and im not going there unarmed.
I'm literally not going to a Flyers game tonight because SEPTA regional rail isn't running past 10pm. I sincerely doubt they'll extend hours if the Sixers move to center city
I used to catch nj transit at 10th and market from 2017-2019 (when they were doing fashion district construction). The construction is a non issue for restaurants
That was just a renovation of an existing building. Now, they want to completely demolish it and construct a whole new building.
76ers need this facility
it was either this or camden, so chinatown has to take one for the team here
The traffic is going to be crazy
May have been an okay idea before but now with Septa having multiple issues. Including the potential of going on strike for both city and suburban sides (not including regional rail) not to mention the fare increase and reduced service that's being proposed to take a affect by Jan 2025. I just don't see this working at this moment. Can't take public transit if Public transit itself isn't going to be reliable enough for it. Might as well just build it at Franklin Mills considering the entire mall is damn there close now. That's just me tho.
You do realise that areas/stadiums outside the US can manage this easily? In Melbourne, Australia, for instance, there's multiple stadia near each other and everything still works - without cars!
The criticism of this project is very 'American'. If you're criticising the lack of car parking or having to use a train, then the problem is you and the people who don't support this arena.
I remember the Phillies wanted to build their new baseball stadium in Chinatown
I work in Center City everyday and its already congested. And our new Mayor Cherell "lying lips moving"Parker completely lied to get into office. She told everyone she wouldn't approve it, and then ahe got kickbacks into what committees she chose and then they started a little chess move with her agreeing to approve it, if the Sixers threaten to move to Camden. So what was the response? A random post on Instagram, with her sitting at her comfortable mayors seat saying, "How its a great day for Philadelphia and the 76ers, because they will remain in Philadelphia when i approve the Arena. I have to sit and watch her walk to her comfy office into City Hall from about 100ft away everyday. The bullshit speeches she has right there is always all talk. Where is the minimum increase? That you heavily promised if you would get elected? 7.25hr had been the minimum wage since 2012! Let that sink in, while in Camden, just across the river you get 15hr to flip burgers at McDonald's. This city, sadly will always be a ghetto if we keep having people that dont put the people first. I would love to speak at one of the town halls, i think ahe would quickly realize how quick she needs to try and shut me up.
Dude, shut up. If she was white, your entire approach and disposition would be different.
She's damned if she does and damned if she doesn't. If they go to Camden, then the Sixers left on her watch. And if she approves the Center City project, she's still scum, according to people like you. SMH.
Why don’t they actually win a chip, then maybe the city would care enough to let them have a new arena
@ahta Great video this is the first time I have seen any of your videos and helps to explain the reason why Josh Harris hasn’t announced anything related to a new stadium for the Washington Commanders yet. As a born and raised Washington DC and Baltimore area sports fan. Baltimore is 90 to 125 minute drive from Washington DC for anyone outside the area are wondering. @ahta the Commanders’ Stadium proposal that you showed was made back in 2022 when Dan Snyder Still owned the team. Snyder when he owned the Washington Redskins/Commanders had plans at some point to move the team to Virginia, specifically to DC’s Northern Virginia Suburbs. His plans never went through because of how much people including local officials in the DMV (DC,MD,VA) Metro area hated him and felt that he had ruined what many people considered one the NFL’s most beloved and historic franchises 🏈. The 2022 Stadium proposal that you should was to have a new stadium built just across the river from Washington DC in neighboring Arlington VA (the Irony hasn’t lost on me that of the Washington Redskins’ historic rival the Dallas Cowboys’ home of AT&T Stadium also happens to be located in Arlington TX and Washington proposing to build a stadium in a city with exact same name). The plan hasn’t gotten the go ahead yet, because there are other proposals on the table.There has been a past proposal to have the Commanders’ new stadium be built in Loudon County Virginia close to Dulles International Airport. The reason being that the Commanders’ front office and training facilities are located in Ashburn Virginia, so it would make more logistical sense to have the team’s new stadium be built nearby and for visiting teams who are arriving at Dulles International Airport 🛬. The main reason why both the Arlington VA and Dulles VA aren’t happening is because the local resident don’t want it, for a similar reason to why the residents of Philadelphia’s Chinatown don’t want the 76ers moving nearby. The new stadium will only further make the intolerable traffic in Northern Virginia even worse. Northern Virginia is home to some wealthy individuals who are not interested in having their long 90 minute commutes from Washington DC made an extra 30 minutes longer, because the Commanders are playing Thursday Night Football 🏈. Also have a number of tolls in Northern Virginia, you have the infamous Dulles Toll Road, which is awful to be on. The most popular proposal currently among fans and he City of Washington DC is to rebuild RFK Stadium in downtown Washington DC. Washington DC’s other Sports teams the Nationals ⚾️, Capitals 🏒, Wizards 🏀, and DC United ⚽️ all are playing in stadiums located in Washington DC, so why not have Commanders 🏈 back in DC? Well the Original RFK Stadium was closed down back in 2019 and was demolished 3 years later and what is left is a wide open field, for which you can build a new stadium on top of. The RFK Stadium property interestingly enough is owned by US Department of the Interior, which one of the many quirks of Washington DC being the Nation’s Capital and goes back to when the original stadium was built back in 1960. US President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his successor President John F. Kennedy used the fact that DC Municipal Stadium (renamed RFK Memorial Stadium in honor of RFK following his death in 1968) was being built on Federal land to force both the Washington Redskins 🏈 and Washington Senators ⚾️ to racial integrate. The Washington Redskins, were the last NFL 🏈 franchise to racial integrate, because the team’s original founding owner George Preston Marshall was a well know Bigot, even by 1960s standards and it was his idea to change the name the teams’ OG name the Boston Braves to the Boston Redskins and then the Washington Redskins. Today the RFK Stadium property is an empty lot and both the local and federal governments don’t know what to do with it. The property is zoned for recreational or sports related purposes by the federal government, which means that you can still build a new stadium on the property. The main problem the Commanders’ will face with the rebuilding RFK Stadium proposal is because the property is owned by the US Government, it would have to get approved by both the city and federal government. The other hurdle being with Trump being reelected your going a push among many Republican members of the US Congress and the new Trump administration will probably be demanding the team should revert back to be call the Washington Redskins. For some fans honesty wouldn’t mind the team going back to be called the Washington Redskins not because they’re bigots like George Preston Marshall, but because they’re nostalgic for teams’ glory years back in the 1970s-1990s. The Commanders name and brand is hated among many fans for being bland and closely associated with former owner Dan Snyder. @ahta I know my comment is very long already but owner of both the Washington Capitals 🏒 and Washington Wizards 🏀 Ted Leonis tried to move the teams out of Capital Arena in Chinatown neighborhood in Washington DC and tried to build a new arena across the other side of the Potomac River in the Potomac Yard district near Alexandria Virginia. The move failed massively because of opposition from both Washington DC and Alexandria VA. Alexandria VA residents didn’t want it because it would mean increase traffic and Washington DC didn’t want to lose both teams. The only one who supported the move was Virginia Governor Glen Youngkin, but the Finance committee in the Virginia House of Delegates which would have approved the tax breaks and funds to build the Potomac Yard stadium for the Capitals and Wizards, just so happen that the State Delegate who was the head of the Finance Committee happened to represent the voters from Alexandria VA. The stadium funds and tax breaks where never approved and died in committee in the Virginia State Legislature, forcing Capitals and Wizards owner Ted Leonis to agree to a half a billion dollar renovation of Capital One Arena from the city of Washington DC.
Have they researched where the Sixer's fans are coming from and the way Philadelphia has shootings every other day and increase in violence, what family would want to take a train a bus to get to a game vs drive / park their car, walk in walk out get in their car and drive their 30 /40 minutes home and not waiting on a train track if the train is on time late at night or having to take two types of transportation to get to a game vs a car. I would think 50% percent of people are not located in an area to take the public transportation. Try taking a family to a game, good luck with that
The Philadelphia Chinatown is beautiful with so many interesting places. I hope they don’t build there.
Omg nooo 1000 people of a city of 1.5 million
Cleveland is trying to do something similar. They want to have a district around the new stadium
Your a Stan for the Sixers
This is not a stadium. It’s an arena. You’re using the terms interchangeably.
I'm in favor of the new arena downtown
SEPTA won’t even exist by the time this arena is built. Leaving an Eagles game and using the BSL is becoming a complete nightmare. Be prepared to take hours to leave a Tuesday night game. When now it’s easy enough to drive in and out of Wells Fargo and be right on a highway.
These greedy, soulless suits could not care less about how their choices impact a pre existing community. Not one little bit
The real reason is they stink.
Super interesting video, well done!
I think this is all a ruse...because it can be direct competition with the convention center for events.
The sixers dont have a big tailgate scene 😂
If the team were owned, managed, and played like, say, the Celtics, then maybe it would be okay. Other issues need fixing first.
This is why target center is King. Go wolves.
I absolutely love the idea
Nobody's going to be in it the way they're coached!
ok so lets build it in this guy's neighborhood? how's that sound?
Awesome vid
They should have moved to Camden
Good info
The Sixers are becoming so irrelevant it doesn’t even matter where they play
good shit
What would they do with the Wells Fargo for the 76ers after they move to this new downtown arena? Would they just up and tear it down?
Flyers would still play there
The flyers will still use the arena. The indoor lacrosse team the wings will also use Wells Fargo center. Villanova men’s basketball team also uses the arena.
@ thank you very much for that answer. I appreciate that.
I know a lot of people from Philadelphia are upset about this, and are upset about the mayor backing this, but at the end of the day it became essentially the only option for Philadelphia the moment New Jersey offered 400 million in public money to get them across the bridge and into the garden State. The moment that happened, Josh Harris had an out and a way to create an ultimatum.
Yeah because jersey made a side deal with officials in city hall and agreed to do that in order for the new arena to get approved. Parker is the biggest fraud and liar that this city has seen in a long time
Such a great move on the sixers part, it forces it. We're one of the only cities that has its own sports complex for a reason. It's a fn joke
They should move back to Syracuse lol
Good video
5:35 yea I don't Support this project But seventy sixers fans would totally Cross the.
River to see a game
CAmden is like a fifteen minute drive which is around the same distance from my house in west philadelphia to the sixers arena
Bad idea to small
Sad !!!
Nah. /
stop calling arenas stadiums, you sound dumb