A package of bills that would allow the Philadelphia 76ers to construct a new $1.3 billion arena in Center City Philadelphia were passed on Thursday, Dec. 12, through a Philadelphia City Council Committee of the Whole. The bills, which included a $60 million community benefits agreement, now need to pass a second vote by the council on Thursday, Dec. 19.

Philadelphia City Council chambers filled with supporters and critics of the proposed 76 Place arena and its economic impact on the city’s Chinatown neighborhood. The proposed arena site is bordered by 10th, 11th, Filbert, and Market streets and would replace a portion of the mall in the Philadelphia Fashion District and a vacated Greyhound bus terminal.

Reaction to Thursday’s vote was mixed. Chinatown business owner Xu Lin told CBS 3 Philadelphia that the City Council’s actions were “a disgrace,” he said. “It was a disappointment, it was a betrayal. It was a bad deal. Arenas, stadiums will only make billionaires richer.”

In a statement issued on Thursday, Dec. 12, Mayor Cherelle Parker called the decision a “monumental action on this $1.3 billion economic development project for Philadelphia that, as I have consistently said, extends far beyond the basketball.”

The bills were voted on after several public hearings where residents also questioned how the proposed arena would affect parking, traffic, and public transportation in the areas around Center City’s Market East section.

Part of deliberations on Thursday centered around requesting the Sixers to fund a 30-year community benefits agreement that would support a grant program designed to help businesses impacted by the arena. The final agreement would give $33 million to Chinatown and nearby neighborhoods and $27 million for citywide investments. Those investments would include $3 million for SEPTA and PATCO’s use of arena events, $2 million in grants for legacy Chinatown businesses, and $17.5 million for an Arena Special Services District.