Explore the Center City Arena Studies

Today, the City of Philadelphia announced the release of four separate reports from third-party consultants hired to conduct analyses of a proposal for a new Sixers arena in Center City have been completed. The four reports include: 1) a community impact assessment; 2) an economic impact analysis 3) a design consulting; and 4) a traffic, transportation and parking analysis. 

“We are sharing these detailed reports so that the public can better understand the implications of such a multifaceted proposed project for Philadelphia,” said Mayor Cherelle L. Parker. “On behalf of the City, we thank the independent consultants who completed this work. Transparency is a core value to me as Mayor, which is why I wanted to ensure these reports were available to all interested stakeholders. These studies are important inputs as I consider this proposal.”

The City, in conjunction with its economic development partner PIDC, engaged the expert community impact, economic analysis, traffic, and design consultants to understand and to evaluate the proposal. These consultants were selected in the summer of 2023 and commenced work soon thereafter. No taxpayer dollars were used on the studies.

These studies were conducted by top national experts in each field after a detailed RFP process, which was completely independent from any influence from developers or any other external partners.

On August 26, 2024, the City of Philadelphia released the consultants’ final reports to the public. Each of the four reports from these consultant teams have been translated into Spanish and simplified Chinese. You can download and read the reports on the City’s website here [link]. 

Reports

Community Impact Analysis: BJH Advisors, Sojourner Consulting, and AKRF assessed the potential impacts on neighboring communities, especially Chinatown, that would result if the arena were built. In collaboration with community members, consultants developed a project framework of key questions. Based on this framework, they researched multiple data sources for demographic, socioeconomic, real estate, historical, and other information. They hosted focus groups, conducted multiple interviews, and collected over 400 surveys. With an explicit focus on engaging non-English language speakers. Bilingual team members have conducted conversations in Spanish, English and three dialects of Chinese. Read the report here.

Design Review Report: The team of Convergence Design, LLC, national experts on arena design, and Philadelphia architects and planners Ian Smith Design Group is providing on-call support to the Philadelphia City Planning Commission. The consultants are focusing on how aspects of the proposed design would affect the public and public spaces. These include the facade, entrances, access to retail, pedestrian experience, crowd circulation, and impact on Jefferson Station, which is located beneath the proposed arena site. Read the report here.

Economic Impact Analysis: CSL is a national firm that has provided financial analysis on more than a dozen professional sports arenas. CSL worked with the City’s Finance office to project taxes associated with construction and operations, analyze financial feasibility, and assess capacity of Philadelphia to support two professional sports arenas. Read the report here.

Independent Transportation Impact Study: The engineering firm JMT assisted the City’s Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems (OTIS) and the City’s Streets Department with many projects over the last several years. JMT and the City, along with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and SEPTA, worked together to evaluate the impact the arena would have on traffic, public transportation, parking, and pedestrians. Read the report here.