The studies intended to guide the city’s decision on a new Sixers arena are now months overdue

The release of key analyses intended to help Philadelphia officials decide whether to let the Sixers build a $1.55 billion downtown arena is three months behind schedule.

And none of the principal agencies involved could say when those studies might be complete.

In the meantime, any city-government action around the future of a massive Center City development remains in limbo.

Councilmember Mark Squilla, a main actor in the contentious debate over the project, said he’s becoming concerned about the delay of the studies. The latest information he received was in mid-February, he said, when representatives of the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp., which is overseeing the study process, told him the studies would be done by the end of March.

“Initially, I thought it was kind of good that they were delayed because they were getting more information and could come up with a study that would be more comprehensive,” Squilla said in an interview. “Now, if it keeps going longer, people are going to think that other things are happening. So why don’t we just get the information here?”

Then-Mayor Jim Kenney ordered the studies a year ago in an attempt to bring clarity to what has become the city’s biggest development fight in years.

The Sixers have received no update on the publication of the reports, and “the city is in full control of the studies and the timing of their release,” according to Mark Nicastre, a spokesperson for the team on arena matters.

The team announced the project nine years in advance to allow ample time for design, development, and feedback, he said, and remains confident the first game of the 2031 season will be played at 10th and Market Streets.

Market Street East was once the city’s grand shopping corridor but now struggles for stability and growth amid pandemic declines in office use, foot traffic, and SEPTA ridership.

The Sixers say the arena will jump-start a renaissance, while others doubt a venue that hosts 150 events a year can exert much impact. Chinatown residents say an adjacent arena would raise property values beyond what people can afford, drive out residents and businesses, and in the meantime fill the area with traffic and trash on event days.

Last week Chinatown activists condemned the studies as “bogus” and certain to be “biased.”

“Studies are about justifying arenas, not analyzing them,” said Vivian Chang, executive director of Asian Americans United, during a news conference at the Old First Reformed United Church of Christ in Old City.

On Tuesday, the Sixers are scheduled to face a second hearing before a city-appointed advisory panel of architecture and planning experts, a process called Civic Design Review. The basketball team recently posted changes to its plan after committee members questioned how the site could handle the simultaneous postgame departure of thousands of fans.

No one at that December hearing spoke in favor of the arena. In late March the Sixers sent a mass email asking supporters to join the CDR hearing online or email statements to the committee.

The city-sponsored studies are focused on two areas: the economic and community impact of putting a 18,500-seat arena and 20-floor apartment tower in the commercial corridor between City Hall and Independence Mall.

The studies were due by the end of December, then put off without explanation until the new year. Now it’s April.

“We continue to work with the city and the consultants to finalize the reports,” said Kevin Lessard, vice president of communications and government at PIDC, the city public-private development agency that’s overseeing the analyses. “More time than expected has been necessary due to the complex nature of the work and to ensure that the reports are as thorough and useful as possible for all interested parties.”

A spokesperson for interim Planning Commission director Martine Decamp gave a similar response. A spokesperson for Mayor Cherelle L. Parker said work on the studies continues and PIDC could best answer questions.

Owning their arena would allow the Sixers to control and profit from everything that occurs inside, while removing a major tenant from the South Philadelphia Sports Complex and specifically from the Wells Fargo Center, owned by Comcast Spectacor. The Sixers say the project would benefit the city, stoking economic growth on Market Street East and encouraging people to use a SEPTA system that needs riders and income.

Squilla’s 1st District includes the arena site and Chinatown, and he holds stop-or-go power over the project because of Philadelphia’s tradition of councilmanic prerogative.

In the interview, he reiterated his promise to publicly share arena-enabling legislation 30 days before it would be introduced in City Council. No legislation would be presented until after the studies are released, he said.

That could delay the timeline for Council hearings, amendments, and final passage close to when the body is scheduled to adjourn for summer break on June 13. Given that, Squilla said, it’s more likely the legislative process, if undertaken, would not conclude until Council’s fall session.

Squilla shared new details about how he plans to approach the process in Council.

He has requested that the authorizing legislation, likely a package of several bills, be sent to the Committee of the Whole. That’s a special committee that includes all Council members, typically convened to handle major issues like the city budget. Otherwise, the arena bills would be sent to separate, individual committees.

Hearings on arena legislation would likely take place over several days, Squilla said, including what could be a full day of public comment.

The team intends to open the arena when its lease expires at the Wells Fargo Center in 2031, building atop Jefferson Station on what is now the western third of the Fashion District mall. Demolition would begin in 2026 and construction in 2028.

News that the Sixers were paying for the reports angered arena opponents, who called it a conflict of interest. The Sixers say that they had no control over the selection of the consultants and that developers usually pay for these types of analyses to spare local government the cost.

The community-impact study is led by firms including New York-based BJH Advisors and Philadelphia-based Sojourner Consulting, tasked to examine how an arena would affect Chinatown, Market East, and other nearby neighborhoods like Washington Square West.

Kei Hayashi, the principal at BJH, referred questions about the studies to city officials, as did Sarah Yeung who leads Sojourner.

The economic-impact report is being conducted by sports-and-entertainment specialist CSL International, which did not reply to questions. The city has asked the firm to explore questions including how a downtown arena might impact the South Philadelphia Sports Complex.