Protesters march and rally against Sixers' plan for a downtown arena, saying it would harm their communities

The demonstrators came from all over the city and elsewhere, endured a soaking rain and wind gusts that announced the seasons were changing, and marched thoroughly drenched from City Hall to the Chinatown Arch.

Along with sending a message to City Hall that they wanted no part of a $1.5 billion arena project for the 76ers, the protesters aimed to underscore that what generations of Philadelphia may know primarily as a restaurant district, in real life is one of the city’s legacy ethnic neighborhoods.

“You can’t replicate what it is like to be in the heart of a neighborhood,” Vivian Chang, 33, executive director of Asian Americans United and a leader in the Save Chinatown Coalition, said as the rally kicked off around 1 p.m. at a point when the sun actually was shining.

Being a teenager in a city where there aren’t many places for people under 18 can be hard. But for Faye Liu and Erica Zhong, a new layer is added when what they feel is one of the few places teenagers can exist is at risk.

“It makes me feel angry,” said Zhong. “If there is no space for people to find culture, grab food, have family reunions, build community, where are youth suppose to go?”

For Liu, the question comes with a sense of loss. The 17-year-old thinks an arena will not only take away their hangout spots, but forever alter their development.

Following the march around Center City, the wet but fired-up crowd assembled under the Chinatown Arch, where the remainder of the speaking program picked up.

Students Against Sixers Arena spoke about how despite generations of exclusionary practices, Asian Americans have built thriving communities like Chinatown. But after all their parents sacrificed their communities are still at risk.

“Why do you want to steal our future?” they asked.

Saturday's march began amid rainfall, as participants paraded around City Hall chanting and holding signs.

"It's raining, it's pouring, Parker is snoring," one group chanted, referring to Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, who has not taken a firm position on the proposed Center City arena’s construction.

Others marched with banners that read "Chinatown is not for sale" and "We won't be displaced."

As clouds rolled in on Saturday's rally and the first raindrops began to fall, some participants began leaving.

Mel Harriston, of UC Townhomes, may have gotten the last word before the rain:

“76ers like to talk about process. We are tired of your damn process. Your process has failed!”

“It’s time to show the 76ers that if you mess with one of us, you mess with all of us,” said State Rep Rich Krajewski, firing up the crowd as the skies darkened.

“We stand united with the Save Chinatown Coalition,” said Rev. Greg Edwards of Power Interfaith, the multiracial, multi-denomination organization, who said the arena would “undermine the legacy and quality of life of Chinatown, tearing apart its social and cultural fabric.”

Edwards added that “the arena will lead to gentrification and displacement,” and “place an unwarranted strain on already strained city resources.”

No severe weather is expected, but a line of showers moving west to east through the region is expected to reach Center City within the next hour, said Mike Silva, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Office in Mount Holly.

And another line may arrive after that one, he said. Showers may continue “on and off” until 5 or 6 p.m., he said.

“I can’t rule out a rumble of thunder as well,” he added.

A sea of white shirts flooded the north side of City Hall as hundreds on people gathered to advocate for “No arena in Chinatown.”

For many, the rally is more than a demonstration. It’s a way to contribute to the neighborhood they call home.

Anson Zhao, 15, walked 10 blocks with a 25-pound yellow and green traditional Chinese lion costume to join the rally.

People going to the march were energized by the release of a new citywide poll that shows 56% of Philadelphia voters oppose a downtown Sixers’ arena.

Only 18% support it.

Fully 80% were concerned that event-day traffic would hurt access to the emergency room at nearby Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

Organized by Asian Americans United and the Asian Pacific Islander Political Alliance, the event is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m., starting at City Hall before proceeding east on Market Street. Participants will then head north on 11th Street to Race Street, then back south on 10th Street. The march is expected to end at the Chinatown gate near Arch Street, organizers said.

“We’ll rally with voices from diverse Philly neighborhoods then march into Chinatown with the power of the people,” Asian Americans United wrote in a social media post announcing the march.

The march will come just days after Philly lawmakers returned to City Council on Thursday for the first meeting of the fall session. Council is expected to consider as many as a dozen pieces of legislation related to the project, The Inquirer has reported. The arena’s construction requires legislation to be passed before demolition and construction could begin.

March organizers aim to surpass the size and scope of the June 2023 demonstration that shut down Center City streets and packed the area east of City Hall with sign-waving protesters.

Saturday’s weather forecast calls for scattered showers and a high of 77 degrees – not quite the gorgeous weather that bathed marchers last year.

On that day a veil of wildfire smoke finally lifted from the region, and the bright sun lent energy to an event that was both protest and release for Chinatown supporters. People were eager to get outside and do something big, loud and physical after months of indoor presentations and meetings.

Chinatown residents and business owners have argued for two years that building a new Sixers arena on their doorstep would wreck a vulnerable and valuable immigrant neighborhood.

Now a new, city-sponsored analysis adds credence to those concerns.

It predicts that many small businesses that compose the beating heart of Chinatown would be hurt by the proposed $1.55 billion arena and warns that under some scenarios, the neighborhood’s identity and significance could be lost.

One of the most powerful labor leaders in Philadelphia stood outside the City Council caucus room on Thursday, waiting to talk to lawmakers about a topic of mutual interest.

“A little thing called the arena,” said Ryan Boyer, chair of the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council.

That little thing — the Sixers’ controversial plan to build a $1.55 billion basketball showplace in the heart of Center City — dominated the first day of City Council’s fall session, a preview of what is sure to be months of contention and drama.