The Philadelphia City Council approved the 76ers’ new arena on Thursday, following the approval of the arena by the council committee last week. After months of opposition to the project by locals, Thursday night’s vote was interrupted yet again by protests and even arrests inside city hall.
The arena bill passed in a 12 to five decision, easily surpassing the required minimum of nine ‘yes’ votes.
Related: Philadelphia Council Committee Approves 76ers New Arena
According to CBS News, council president Kenyatta Johnson said, "If we had turned down this particular deal, we would've been fools. Ten cities across this nation that have downtown arenas are doing one particular thing: asking for money from their city government. This particular arena, a $1.3 billion investment, has asked us for nothing. We'd be fools to turn down this."
Despite enthusiasm from city leadership, Johnson had to delay the meeting for nearly a half hour and attempt to bring order to the hall. He can be seen on video, asking protestors to clear the floor and banging a gavel that can barely be heard above the cries.
Photos from the meeting show swarms of protestors and law enforcement as people in red shirts that read “Shut It Down” are dragged from city hall. Some protestors sat on the council floor, locked arms in opposition to the plan. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, “Police commissioner Kevin Bethel and sheriff Rochelle Bilal personally appeared in Council chambers as officers and deputies handcuffed the demonstrators one by one and walked them out of City Hall.”
CBS Philadelphia reported that the protests on Thursday night were expected after the marches, sit-ins and former meeting interruptions that marked the long arena debate in Philadelphia. Said CBS reporters, “Protestors filled the chambers. Ultimately, they can’t be removed. This is a city council meeting, so as long as they are in their seats they can stay. This is a public space, so they can stay as long as they stay in their seats and are not threatening council members.”
