ASIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, NEIGHBORHOOD RCOS, PCDC, AND OTHERS SUPPORT CALL FOR $300 MILLION COMMUNITY BENEFITS AGREEMENT

Minority Leader Kendra Brooks and Minority Whip O’Rourke offer $300 million CBA Framework for 76ers New Arena

PHILADELPHIA – On Tuesday, Minority Leader Kendra Brooks and Minority Whip Nicolas O’Rourke, along with Councilmember Jeffery Young, Jr., released a citywide framework for a

$300 million community benefits agreement for a new 76ers arena. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on the proposal:

“Meanwhile, the only three Council members who have come out against the proposal — Kendra Brooks, Nicolas O’Rourke, and Jeffery Young Jr. — are pushing for a $300 million CBA that would include significant resources for Chinatown, including a $100 million neighborhood stabilization fund, as well as other citywide initiatives, such as $60 million for SEPTA. The plan also retains some of Parker’s priorities that the mayor added to the existing CBA proposal, such as $7.5 million for her year-round schooling initiative.”

What Others Are Saying

Since the release of the $300 million CBA from the Minority Party leaders, multiple business groups, RCOs, and community-based organizations have praised the scope and leadership of the Councilmembers who have been working in close partnership with the No Arena coalition to secure the best deal for all of Philadelphia

PCDC’s John Chin released a statement praising the efforts stating, “We are appreciative of City Councilmembers opening up this conversation to reach that $300 million number, and substantively engaging stakeholders in and beyond Chinatown to make sure the people of Philadelphia are part of the agreement and not an afterthought.

The Asian Chamber of Commerce offered their official support in a press release. The chamber said, “We agree with Councilmembers Kendra Brooks and Nicolas O’Rourke that a substantially higher investment from the team would compensate for the property taxes that the city and school district are foregoing as a result of the plan to lease the arena site to the 76ers. As such, the Chamber supports the proposal made by At-Large Councilmembers Kendra Brooks and Nicolas O’Rourke, which advocates for a minimum $300M CBA amount.

In addition, a diverse city-wide coalition including Black and Latino community groups held a press conference at City Hall this week echoing the demands. NBC10 covered the press conference. “$50 million isn’t a benefit, it’s a robbery,” said Winfield Thomas, of the Brewerytown Sharswood Neighbors Coalition. “This arena proposal affects us all including North Philly. We need Council to stand up and fight for the people of Philadelphia and negotiate a real investment.

What We’re Saying

Minority Leader Kendra Brooks and Minority Whip Nicolas O’Rourke released the following statement on the growing support for their framework and $300 million community benefits agreement.

“Our offices believe our $300M CBA proposal is the type of serious proposal in scope and investment that will benefit all of us across Philadelphia. We appreciate those who helped inform our framework for a better CBA and those who have spoken publicly in support of our efforts.

This is the first CBA proposal to draw significant support from both inside and outside of Chinatown. Our offices do not take that lightly given the strong opposition the arena has faced. Over the coming weeks, we will fight for the best outcome and we believe that will happen through serious discussion about a $300 million CBA.

Since they announced this project in 2022, the 76ers have touted a 30-year CBA totaling $50 million dollars. To put this number in perspective, Joel Embiid recently signed a 3-year contract extension totaling $193 million. That’s three years versus 30 years. The MVP makes more money in one year than the City and Chinatown will receive over the next 30 years if the arena gets built.

We want the billionaire owners of the 76ers to get serious about the bad deal they are forcing on the City.”