1st public testimony for proposed Sixers arena begins Tuesday

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The public will get to testify for the first time in front of the Philadelphia City Council this week to express thoughts on the proposed Sixers arena in Center City.

The Philadelphia City Council Committee of the Whole will hear testimony during hearings on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at City Hall.

The hearings will include testimony from dozens of community leaders and executives, as well as a portion dedicated to public comments.

The full hearings on Tuesday and Wednesday will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

During those hearings, members of the public will testify from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday and 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

The final hearing on Thursday will be held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., and is scheduled entirely for public testimony.

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The community meeting Monday night in Chinatown served as a good preview of what the Council will likely hear during public testimony this week.

Councilman Mark Squilla answered questions during that meeting. He represents the district where the Sixers want to build the arena along Market Street in Center City.

Some of the big topics remained the same: traffic, quality of life and public transportation.

"The fact is that his plans to offer services like cleaning, lighting and security cameras to reduce the impacts of the arena will not save this community when the community is threatened by the gridlock and traffic that will be the downfall of our businesses," one community member told Action News.

Councilman Squilla also acknowledged that convincing the vast majority of fans who live outside the city to take SEPTA will be a major hurdle.

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"When you talk to other municipalities where people did not take public transit at all and everybody just drove, how do you change that behavior?" Squilla said. "That's still something that we have to come up with because if that arena is there, you can't have 80% of the people driving there. There's no parking so you wouldn't be able to do it."

SEPTA officials told councilmembers last week that the struggling agency cannot afford additional services without more funding.

As of now, the Sixers refuse to cover that additional cost.

Those who support the arena include labor unions who say it'll bring hundreds of jobs for local workers.