Residents clash on site of new stadium

They came prepared for a protest. The chants were loud. The signs and banners were bright. And the fortune cookies were tasty. Last night, over 200 raucous Philadelphia residents edged their way into a packed chamber at City Hall for another round of discussion on proposals for two new publicly funded stadiums for the Phillies and Eagles sports franchises. The over three-hour long town hall meeting was organized by Mayor John Street and the city's Stadium Transition Subcommittee. It featured presentations by the mayor, team representatives and some of the city's business and civic leaders. But the loudest voices of the evening belonged to the general public in attendance, most of whom came from the Chinatown and Northern Liberties areas of the city to express their displeasure with proposals to place the new baseball stadium in their respective neighborhoods. The Eagles have received support for the construction of a football stadium at the current sports complex in South Philadelphia, while city leaders are committed to establishing a Center City location for a open-air Phillies baseball venue. "The experience from other cities is conclusive -- downtown ballparks draw bigger crowds," said Paul Levy, executive director of the Central Philadelphia Development Corporation, citing financial growth that followed the construction of new stadiums in Denver, Cleveland and Baltimore. Though city officials seem convinced of the potential for economic gain from a downtown stadium, the public remains divided over the site of the new ballpark. Committee representatives now say that several main sites are under consideration -- the east and west corners of the intersection of Broad and Spring Garden streets, 12th and Vine streets near Chinatown and the site of the old Schmidt's brewery in Northeast Philadelphia. "Typically, the communities with the least political power are the ones that get the projects that no one else wants," said Father Thomas Betz, a teacher at the Holy Redeemer Catholic School near the proposed Chinatown site at 12th and Vine. Mnay of Betz's students joined him to protest the Chinatown site, which neighborhood officials say is an example of poor government spending. "Why should we allow something as unimportant as entertainment to affect the future and education of our children?" said Mabel Lee, a student at Holy Redeemer, as her classmates held up signs and distributed fortune cookies to the crowd. The fortune read, "A stadium is in your future -- but NOT in Chinatown." "Chinatown already offers us plenty," Lee added. "What more could a stadium offer us?" Even Phillies President David Montgomery offered his opposition to a Center City site, saying that such a location was contrary to the wishes of Phillies fans and would anger residents of the ballpark's neighborhood. "I believe we listened to our fans," Montgomery said. "And our fans expressed a very strong desire to remain [in South Philadelphia]." Previously, the committee had considered a site on the current Postal Service property at 30th and Market streets. The proposal was eliminated amidst complaints from the University that it would create a congestion problem and interfere with plans to develop the area as a technological hub.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.