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Minutes

Committee of the Whole, December 3, 2024

Philadelphia City Council Committee HearingsDec 3, 2024

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Mr. Gould

Absolutely.

Mr. Kafenbaum

Sure. Thank you for the question. It's an important one and one that we've given a lot of thought to. So we would be responsible for all operations of the arena, including not just basketball games but the booking of shows. That includes concerts, family shows, comedy shows, other types of events. So everything that's happening at the arena would be our responsibility to book, manage, et cetera.

Councilwoman Ahmad

Go ahead.

Mr. Kafenbaum

No, go ahead.

Councilwoman Ahmad

I was going to say outside of the common space that is underneath the arena, how are you developing that because you'll still be owning that space and renting or doing whatever, leasing that space. What is that plan?

Mr. Kafenbaum

That's correct. And so, we would look to -- first, we would look to design the building in a way that helps activate the street, as you said, not just on event days or event times but all throughout the day and throughout the year. So that means raising the event floor. So previous iteration has had the event floor one level below grade. That caused a lot of different issues and concerns. We've since raised it above the street level which allowed us to program the street level with retailers that could be open, A, to the general public and street-facing but, B, throughout the course of the day. So that could be things like restaurants or coffee shops or stores that help bring people there or give people a reason to be there.

Councilwoman Ahmad

So that sounds great because this would be the same thing I would say. But what is the commitment level and what is the actual granular detail about that because we're signing off on something potentially that means the ball is in your court and if we don't hold you accountable, we don't know what you're going to do. We just heard about Camden and the lack of investment in certain spaces, right. So we're just looking at track record and we're looking to see you're saying these things, and I don't mean to say you're lying, but I'm just a person who wants transparency and accountability as to how we are signing off a space with so much potential to you. So I would like to know what is the commitment level, what is the accountability process and how granular will be this plan and where would that be? I have not seen that as of yet.

Councilman Jones

Point of information, Madam Chair.

Councilwoman Bass

Chair recognizes Councilman Jones.

Councilman Jones

(Inaudible) --

Mr. Gould

Your microphone, Councilman.

Councilwoman Bass

Yeah, speak into the mic, Councilman.

Councilman Jones

(Inaudible). COUNCIL IT SUPPORT: I apologize. There's an issue with the system.

Councilman Jones

(Inaudible).

Councilwoman Bass

She can't -- can you hear him?