December 26, 2025
Provided image/Gensler
The 76ers arena proposal for Market Street, rendered above, would have spanned 10th and 11th streets, taking over a portion of the Fashion District mall.
At the start of the year, the Sixers were poised to put their long-simmering, highly controversial plans for a new arena on East Market Street into motion. But then, in a twist that left even the project's supporters in City Hall sputtering, the team announced it was staying in South Philly.
The dramatic reversal followed two years of heated public discussion, during which the arena developers pressed to move their plans forward and various community members loudly protested the proposal. The $1.3 billion project would have taken over a portion of the Fashion District mall, spanning Market Street between 10th and 11th streets and bounded by Cuthbert Street to north. Its investors, led by the team's minority owner David Adelman, claimed the project would be privately funded and represent up to $1.5 billion in tax revenue for Philadelphia. The city's own estimates placed the figure at $708 million over 30 years.
Business leaders and residents in Chinatown, however, argued the development would effectively gut their neighborhood by driving up rents and turning customers away from restaurants and shops during and after construction. Some medical professionals also worried the traffic on game days would impede ambulance access to Jefferson University Hospital, which operates the only Level 1 adult trauma center in Center City.
After many starts and stops, the legislation to authorize the 76ers arena landed at City Council in late 2024 with Mayor Cherelle Parker's endorsement. The bills passed following a chaotic December session delayed by a sit-in protest.
But less than a month later, the team had changed its mind. Its owners announced plans in mid-January to build a new arena in the stadium district with Comcast Spectacor, its current landlord at the Xfinity Mobile Arena. The "world-class, state-of-the-art arena" will also be the new home of the Flyers. Long-time opponents of the original proposal celebrated the news, while its boosters struggled to hide their shock.
"This is a curveball that none of us saw coming," Parker said at a conference following the announcement. "But nevertheless, we are here. ... I don't have the luxury of wallowing in this 180. This is a celebration for the city."
The exact location of the new Sixers arena, projected to open in the South Philly Sports Complex (pictured above), has not yet been revealed.
76ers ownership is aiming to open their building in time for the arrival of Philadelphia's first WNBA team in 2030. That shaves a year off their initially planned timeline, placing the developers in a time crunch.
The public has not yet seen design plans from Populous and Moody Nolan, the architecture firms selected for the project. Adelman and his partners on the project have also not shared how they plan to finance the arena or where exactly it will be located within the stadium district. They'll need to release those details – and a new legislative package for consideration to City Council – soon to keep their accelerated timeline on track. Building firms AECOM Hunt and Turner Construction are standing by to get started.
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