Chinatown advocates bristle as Councilman Squilla says city can’t control whether 76ers get arena funding from state, federal sources

Opponents of the plan to build a new arena in Center City are accusing a key City Council member of reneging on a pledge to ensure that the project does not use any taxpayer subsidies.

Councilmember Mark Squilla, whose 1st District includes the proposed arena site on East Market Street, was asked at a December town hall meeting whether he would “commit to not introduce legislation until developers have made a legally binding commitment to not accept any public financing.”

“Yes,” Squilla replied at the time, causing the room to erupt in applause.

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But now, Squilla says that he was only talking about city money and that he can’t control whether the 76ers obtain state or federal subsidies.

“I don’t have authority over federal funding and state funding,” Squilla said Thursday. “I don’t think my federal colleagues would be happy if I was making decisions for them, so I can only promise no public funding from what I have authority from.”

The debate over the arena has largely focused on its impact on neighboring Chinatown and whether it would help revitalize the East Market Street corridor. But the question of whether the project will benefit from public subsidies is becoming a key issue as Council prepares to take up the plan due to a lack of clarity in the messaging from 76 Devcorp, the team’s development arm.

The team has insisted the project would be “privately financed” — but it has also said it is open to taxpayer subsidies from the state or federal government.

76 Devcorp spokesperson Amanda Conte said the project “is being financed through a combination of equity and debt, along with advertising and sponsorship revenue.”

”We believe that a development of this nature in Philadelphia should not utilize scarce public resources. We will not be seeking any subsidies from the City of Philadelphia,” Conte said. “However, if there are existing state and federal programs that this project qualifies for and could help us enhance the project, we will be open to exploring them.”

J.C. Bradbury, an economics professor at Kennesaw State University in Georgia who has studied arena financing, said that unless the team explicitly rules out using public aid, it’s reasonable to assume that the team plans to seek it.

“It’s right to be suspicious when someone says, ‘We’re paying for it ourselves, but we’re open to funding down the line,’” Bradbury said. “When they say they’re open [to public subsidies] down the road, that to me is, ‘We expect to get money down the road.’”

The most vocal criticism of the arena, which would border Chinatown, has come from advocates for the historic immigrant community who fear the development would disrupt or displace businesses and residents. They held a news conference outside City Hall on Thursday morning criticizing Squilla just before Council gaveled in its first regular session of the year.

“Unfortunately, we’re seeing Councilmember Squilla try to go back on his word once again,” said Mohan Seshadri, executive director of the Asian Pacific Islanders Political Alliance. “Public money should be spent on the public good, not on the wants of billionaire arena developers.”

Council is expected to consider legislation enabling the arena this year after the city releases impact studies on the proposal. Squilla has promised to allow community groups 30 days to review draft legislation after the studies are released, pushing the timeline for a Council showdown over the plan to spring or early summer.

It is unlikely that his colleagues would know whether the project would benefit from state or federal programs before that time.