Some Chinatown business owners and employees were hesitant to weigh in on the 76ers arena proposal as City Council advanced the legislation this week.

Philadelphia City Council voted Thursday to advance bills that would allow the 76ers' proposed arena in Center City to be built.***On Wednesday, councilmembers proposed the Community Benefits Agreement be $100 million in order to get the deal passed,

The bills passed out of council's Committee of the Whole Thursday morning after the vote was tabled Wednesday. The bills will need to pass a second council vote next week.

Philadelphia lawmakers gave initial approval to the Sixers' $1.3 billion downtown arena project a day after delaying a vote to negotiate a better community benefits package. Why it matters: It's expected to be smooth sailing from here.

Over several days of intense negotiations, City Council President Kenyatta Johnson pushed for the 76ers to dramatically increase how much the team was willing to pay as part of a community benefits agreement associated with its Center City arena project.

A new arena for the Philadelphia 76ers could be approved as soon as next week after a series of bills were advanced in City Council on Thursday.