Philadelphia finally released months-overdue analyses on the economic impact of putting an NBA arena in the city's Chinatown, which is overwhelmingly opposed by residents.
The Sixers say there would be $1.5 billion in net tax revenue for schools and the local and state government.
The analyses say it would bring in $390 million — off by more than $1 billion. And economists say the $390M number is probably an overestimate.
The new analyses also say the arena could cause gridlock at major intersections and indirectly fuel gentrification and "loss of cultural identity" in Chinatown.
It’s also important that the 76ers bankrolled these studies. Studies done by the Comcast Spectator, the owner of the Wells Fargo Center, shows that having two arenas would sink them both due to splitting the market.
https://whyy.org/articles/philadelphia-sixers-arena-study-impact-economic-community/
by Jay_Dubbbs
14 Comments
They should build it in Kensington
lmao. they really proposed building it in Chinatown? and city had to do analyses? what kinda backwards ass shit is that
It’d be a damn shame if they built it in Chinatown. There’s gotta be less well-utilized areas in Philly.
it doesn’t take a city skylines expert to figure this shit out
Well… I’m sure the Sixers calculated the impact of gentrifying the area as an impact for more tax revenue.
> loss of cultural identity
Thank goodness this line was in there – conclusion – build somewhere else in Philly
Eons ago I was tangentially involved in the feasibility studies for the new Bengals and Reds stadiums with my architecture firm. 5 out of 5 studies commissioned by the teams showed that the worst locations for the two stadiums would be on the lots adjacent to the shared stadium at the time, Riverfront.
The Bengals and City commissioners proceeded to ignore all 5 studies and build in the worst locations possible. The Bengals were also able to sell a plot of land to the city for their new stadium, which the city then gifted back to the Brown family.
This shit aint nothin new. Sorry to Philadelphia, we all deserve better.
Confused. How is an estimate of 390$ million off by more than $1B?
yea, I-95 and Broad Street Line lead directly to the sports complexes. Without being a building like MSG, they are in a great spot right now.
Probably would get more economic benefit by just going Robert Moses on Kensington and building there.
NYC does Chinatown dirty with popping up the homeless shelters and the bigger version of The Tombs being built there.
lol there’s probably a reason it was months overdue.
Someone should share this with MLB and the Oakland A’s
wasn’t there a years-long general analysis that came about years ago about how *none* of these arenas provided a positive economic impact? Or was that just in relation to the ones that were taxpayer funded? (not sure what this one is)
This is misleading–the 390mm figure refers to discounted present value, not total tax revenue. And the reason the 76ers paid for the studies is because they’re building the arena—would you rather have the taxpayers foot the bill?
BREAKING: Big Business lying to jam their agenda down the throats of populous. BIG IF TRUE!