What's holding up the Sixers arena vote in City Council
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It's still up in the air. A key City Council committee was supposed to vote Wednesday on the controversial legislation to authorize the Sixers' downtown arena, but it was kicked to Thursday morning.
The big picture: The 76ers are hashing out last-minute negotiations after city lawmakers pressured the team to spend more in a community benefits agreement that could soften the $1.3 billion development's impact on Center City.
Driving the news: City lawmakers postponed the committee hearing until 8:30am Thursday, and they'll need to sign off on the legislative package then in order to approve it by the end of the year.
Catch up quick: Council President Kenyatta Johnson's office shared amendments to the legislation Wednesday, including doubling the community benefits agreement to $100 million.
- The amendments would also require the Sixers to provide SEPTA passes for the first year to help avoid gridlock in Center City and increase workforce diversity goals, among other things.
By the numbers: The proposed additional community benefits funding includes:
- Raising the amount of aid for businesses that'll be most affected by the arena's construction to $10 million
- $5 million for a community land trust to protect Chinatown from "unchecked development"
- $5 million for an apprentice program
- $7.5 million for grants to help city youth
- $3 million for a neighborhood security substation
What they're saying: Johnson told reporters after the Wednesday meeting that negotiations were still a "work in progress."
- "We want this deal to work," he said. "They want to get a deal done. We're trying to get a deal done."
- Asked if there's any potential the deal fails, Johnson said he remained "optimistic."
The Sixers didn't return Axios' request for comment.
The intrigue: Mark Lynch, business manager for the local building trades union, a major backer of the project, told the Inquirer that the two sides were about $10 million to $15 million apart on a deal Wednesday night.
The other side: Anti-arena supporters chanted, "It's a bad deal," as they cheered wildly at the latest postponement, believing it signals a divide among city lawmakers.
- John Chin, head of the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation, called the legislative package a "failure" and said he believes it's "dead on arrival."
- "If Chinatown falls, the next neighborhood falls," he said.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with recent developments.