There is no good time for an outbreak of fatal shootings.
But the recent spike in street killings in the city of Chester could not come at a worse time.
The city is about to be thrust into the national spotlight this weekend when the Union, the area’s Major League Soccer franchise, show off their new stadium.
That just happens to be located on the Chester waterfront, right underneath the Commodore Barry Bridge.
While much of the city will likely continue in a state of emergency, with an edict that residents stay off the streets between the hours of 9 p.m. and 6 a.m., more than 18,000 people will arrive for the first game to be played at PPL Park on Sunday at 5 p.m.
The game will be nationally televised on ESPN2.
Union officials say they are not planning any special security precautions, other than what they had originally planned.
The site of PPL Park is not in the areas under the state of emergency restrictions.
The stadium was expected to be the centerpiece of a $500 million development, with retail and office space, along with some pricey condos and townhouses. Officials say that plan is still on track, but you don’t hear anywhere near the buzz about it you did when the deal was first unveiled.
It was that surrounding development that pushed county officials to sink $10 million in public funds into the project. County Councilman Andy Lewis, who voted against the measure, said this week that if the development does not happen, then the county got a bad deal investing in the stadium.
Just one more instance of the two faces of Chester. There is the spectacular development along the city’s waterfront, which includes Harrah’s, PPL Park, and the Wharf at Rivertown.
Then there are the neighborhoods that remain unsafe, where gunfire is a nightly occurrence.
So far the state of emergency seems to be working.
On Sunday, the city’s population will swell from its current 37,000 to more than 50,000, at least for a few hours.
It’s likely most of those people will never have any inkling of the other Chester.
But the recent spike in street killings in the city of Chester could not come at a worse time.
The city is about to be thrust into the national spotlight this weekend when the Union, the area’s Major League Soccer franchise, show off their new stadium.
That just happens to be located on the Chester waterfront, right underneath the Commodore Barry Bridge.
While much of the city will likely continue in a state of emergency, with an edict that residents stay off the streets between the hours of 9 p.m. and 6 a.m., more than 18,000 people will arrive for the first game to be played at PPL Park on Sunday at 5 p.m.
The game will be nationally televised on ESPN2.
Union officials say they are not planning any special security precautions, other than what they had originally planned.
The site of PPL Park is not in the areas under the state of emergency restrictions.
The stadium was expected to be the centerpiece of a $500 million development, with retail and office space, along with some pricey condos and townhouses. Officials say that plan is still on track, but you don’t hear anywhere near the buzz about it you did when the deal was first unveiled.
It was that surrounding development that pushed county officials to sink $10 million in public funds into the project. County Councilman Andy Lewis, who voted against the measure, said this week that if the development does not happen, then the county got a bad deal investing in the stadium.
Just one more instance of the two faces of Chester. There is the spectacular development along the city’s waterfront, which includes Harrah’s, PPL Park, and the Wharf at Rivertown.
Then there are the neighborhoods that remain unsafe, where gunfire is a nightly occurrence.
So far the state of emergency seems to be working.
On Sunday, the city’s population will swell from its current 37,000 to more than 50,000, at least for a few hours.
It’s likely most of those people will never have any inkling of the other Chester.
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