The Wachovia Spectrum
(formerly known as the Spectrum
(1967–1994), CoreStates Spectrum
(1994–1998) and First Union Spectrum
(1998–2003) is an indoor arena located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Completed in 1967, it seats 18,136 for basketball and 17,380 for ice hockey, Arena football, indoor soccer, and indoor lacrosse. The building will be closed and demolished following the 2008-2009 hockey and soccer seasons to make way for a new hotel in conjunction with the Philly Live!
complex. Owners Comcast-Spectacor plan to build a 10,000 to 12,000 seat arena in the Philadelphia area to replace the Spectrum. [1]
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WACHOVIA SPECTRUM TICKETS
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History
Opened as "The Spectrum" in the Fall of 1967, Philadelphia's first modern indoor sports
arena was originally built to be the home of the expansion
Philadelphia Flyers of the
NHL, and also to accommodate the existing
Philadelphia 76ers of the
NBA. The building was the second major sports facility built at the South end of
Broad Street in an area previously known as "
East League Island Park" and now referred to simply as the "
South Philadelphia Sports Complex."
Early years
The Spectrum was conceived and built to accommodate expansion of the NHL into Philadelphia which was awarded an expansion team for the
1967-68 season. Ground was broken on the arena in June, 1966, and finished in 16 months at a cost of $7 million. The first event at the arena was the Quaker City Jazz Festival on September 30, 1967.
[2] The 76ers moved there from
Convention Hall. On
March 1,
1968, high winds blew a portion of the covering of the Spectrum's roof off during a performance of the
Ice Capades forcing the building to close for a month while the damage was repaired. (Similarly in 1993, the Flyers played a day game against the Los Angeles Kings during a blizzard. A piece of flying debris smashed out one of the concourse windows causing cancellation of the game just after the first period was finished. ) While the 76ers were able to move their home games to Convention Hall or to the
Palestra, neither of those arenas had ice rinks at the time and there were no other NHL-quality sites in the Philadelphia area. Thus the Flyers hurriedly moved their next home game (against the
Oakland Seals) to
Madison Square Garden in
New York followed by a meeting with the
Boston Bruins played at
Maple Leaf Gardens in
Toronto before establishing a base at
Le Colisée in
Quebec City, home of their top minor league team, the
AHL Quebec Aces, for the remainder of their regular season home schedule. (The roof was repaired in time to permit the Flyers to return to the Spectrum to open their first ever
Stanley Cup play-offs against the
St. Louis Blues on April 4, 1968.)
[3] Because of its location the Flyers of the 1970s soon became popularly known as the "Broad Street Bullies."
Flyers and Sixers' championships and All-Star Games hosted
The Flyers won their first
Stanley Cup at the Spectrum on
June 19,
1974, defeating the
Boston Bruins, 1-0, in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals in front of a then-capacity crowd of 17,007. Perhaps the most important and emotional hockey game -- or sporting event of any kind -- ever held there, however, came at the height of the
Cold War on
January 11,
1976, when the Flyers became the first NHL team to defeat (by 4-1) the then vaunted hockey team of the Soviet Central Red Army (????). Two games in the inagural
Canada Cup hockey tournament were also held at the Spectrum in September of that year, as the
USA took on
Czechoslovakia and the
USSR.
Ten NHL or NBA playoff championship series were hosted at the Spectrum with the Flyers competing in the
Stanley Cup Finals in 1974, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1985, and 1987, and the 76ers playing in the
NBA Finals in 1977, 1980, 1982, and 1983. The 1976 and 1992
NHL, and 1970 and 1976
NBA All-Star Games were also held here. The AHL Phantoms also won their first
Calder Cup title on Spectrum ice before a sell-out crowd of 17,380 on
June 10,
1998, by defeating the
Saint John Flames, 6-1.
College basketball tournaments
The Spectrum is frequently used for many basketball tournaments, including
Big Five games, eight
Atlantic Ten Conference tournaments (1977, 1983, 1997-2002), the 1975, 1980 and 1992
NCAA East Regional (site of the famous last-second shot by
Christian Laettner of
Duke to beat
Kentucky), and the 1976 and 1981
Final Fours (both won by
Bobby Knight's
Indiana Hoosiers). Smaller conferences still prefer holding tournament games at this venue over the larger Center nearby.
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling exhibitions promoted by the
World Wrestling Federation (WWF) were performed at the Spectrum on a regular basis during the 1980s and 1990's. As were the Flyers and 76ers games, many of these performances were telecast live by
PRISM, a regional sports and movies cable channel with its production and broadcast facilities physically located in the Spectrum from its founding in September 1976, until it ceased operations on October 1, 1997.
[4] (On that date PRISM was replaced by
Comcast SportsNet located in the Wachovia Center.) Among the major WWF events which the building hosted were
SummerSlam in 1990
[5],
King of the Ring in 1995, and various other live shows featuring performers such as
Hulk Hogan and others. After the WWF moved their shows into the adjacent
Wachovia Center (opened in 1996) and Convention Hall at the
Philadelphia Civic Center was closed (demolished in 2006),
World Championship Wrestling (WCW) promoted their Philadelphia based shows at the Spectrum until the company was bought by the WWE in 2001.
Rock concerts
Popular music concerts have been staged at the Spectrum since the 1960s. American rockband
The Doors performed a 95 minute show and released years later,
The Doors Live in Philadelphia '70.The
Grateful Dead played the Spectrum 53 times, by far the most of any musical act.
Led Zeppelin played here in 1972 and 1975 (Some footage of the second show has been seen in recent bootleg videos).
Pink Floyd performed two nights at this venue on their 1977
Animals tour. On the second night, Floyd member
Roger Waters fell ill and did most of the show after a painkiller injection. However, the painkiller wore off and was taken to the hospital and missed the final encore of "
Us and Them" where second guitarist
Snowy White had to fill in on bass guitar. Unbeknownst to the crowd, this was the first time that the rest of Pink Floyd (guitarist/vocalist
David Gilmour, drummer
Nick Mason and keyboard player
Rick Wright) performed a song live without Waters (they would go on without him as of 1986). Roger's experience whilst performing ill at this venue would be documented on "
Comfortably Numb".
Queen played at this venue in 1977 (2 shows), 1978, 1980 and 1982, and they played as
Queen + Paul Rodgers here again on their
2006 tour of North America.
The Who performed at the Spectrum throughout the 1970s. The 1973 show was documented in a famous audio bootleg of their Quadrophenia performance. A CD has been released of
John Entwistle's performance on March 15, 1975 when he opened for
Humble Pie.
Genesis regularly played the venue during the
Phil Collins led era. Their 1983 performance on the band's
Mama Tour was released as a bootleg called Three Nights in Philly. Guns N' Roses also played at The Spectrum in 1991 during their Use Your Illusion Tour. The most recent rock act to play The Spectrum was
The Cure.
Spectrum Theater
The Spectrum Theater was a venue for acts not big enough to fill the entire Spectrum arena. The stage was placed in the middle of the Spectrum floor, and the other half of the arena behind the stage was closed off with curtains, creating a theater-like environment. Some of the acts that played in this configuration included
Frank Zappa in 1973, 1976 and 1977; David Bowie's
Diamond Dogs Tour in 1974; Bob Marley's
Natty Dread Tour in 1975; and
Peter Gabriel's tours in 1982 and 1986.
The Flyers and 76ers' move
Although both the Flyers and 76ers moved across the parking lot to the new and larger
Wachovia Center in 1996, the arena remains in place and is still used by the
Philadelphia Phantoms of the
AHL, the
Philadelphia Kixx of the
NISL, the
Philadelphia Soul of the
Arena Football League for Saturday home games, and a variety of other sporting events and concerts.
The Flyers and 76ers had been in need of a new facility for some time. One reason was the need for more revenue streams to meet skyrocketing operating costs. The Spectrum has relatively few luxury suites or other amenities common in newer arenas.
In addition, the arena's sight lines left much to be desired. Some seats in both the hockey and basketball configurations (especially in the upper level) had badly obstructed views. There was only one
concourse for all three levels, making for somewhat cramped conditions whenever attendance was anywhere near capacity.
End of an era
On July 14, 2008,
Comcast-Spectacor Chairman
Ed Snider officially announced that the Spectrum will be shuttered and torn down to make way for the
Philly Live!
area hotel at the end of the 2008-2009 hockey and soccer seasons. “This has been one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make,” said Snider. “The Spectrum is my baby. It’s one of the greatest things that has ever happened to me.”
The Phantoms will commemorate the final season of the Spectrum by wearing a special patch on their uniforms, as illustrated on the right. The team will also celebrate some of the building’s memorable moments throughout the season. The Flyers will play the
Carolina Hurricanes in an NHL pre-season game on
September 27,
2008 and play against the Phantoms on
October 7th of that same year, and the Sixers will host the
Chicago Bulls on
March 13,
2009. The Phantoms' last game in the building is scheduled for
April 12, 2009 against the
Norfolk Admirals.
“With this season being the final season of the Wachovia Spectrum, we will celebrate the history of the Spectrum with an exciting, year-long, celebration of events,” Comcast-Spectacor President Peter Luukko said. The band Phish is rumored to be among the acts to commemorate the closing of the arena. A website dedicated to the arena has been created and listed below in the External Links section.
“It is our hope and intent to bring back many of the musical acts and entertainers who have made the Spectrum ‘America’s Showplace.’”
The Spectrum's "Sports Complex" neighbors
The Spectrum is now the oldest of the four currently existing arenas and stadiums (of the six built overall between 1926 and 2004) which make up Philadelphia's massive "Sports Complex" located at the South end of Broad Street. The Complex now occupies roughly a quarter of the 1926 site of Philadelphia's
Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition
, a massive 184-day
World's Fair which ran from May 31 to November 30, 1926, on grounds bounded by 10th Street, Packer Ave., 23rd Street, and the U.S. Navy Yard (Terminal Avenue). The Spectrum now occupies the portion of the original Exposition grounds located on the south side of Pattison Avenue between Broad and 11th Streets that in 1926 was the site of the fair's expansive main trolley station operated by the
Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company.
When opened in 1967, the Spectrum sat just north of the then existing 100,000+ seat
John F. Kennedy Stadium
(originally known from 1926 to 1964 as
"Municipal Stadium"
[6]) which had been built more than four decades earlier (opened April 15, 1926). On September 23, 1926, an announced crowd of 120,557 packed the then new Stadium -- in the rain -- to witness
Gene Tunney capture the world's heavyweight boxing title from
Jack Dempsey, and for decades the monolith also served as the "neutral" venue for a total of 42 annual
Army-Navy Games. JFK Stadium was demolished in 1992 to make way for a new indoor arena, the
Wachovia Center
, which opened in August, 1996. Originally known as the "CoreStates Center" (1996–1998) and then the "First Union Center" (1998–2003), the 20,000+ seat facility replaced the Spectrum as home to the
NHL Philadelphia Flyers,
NBA Philadelphia 76ers and
NLL II Philadelphia Wings.
For thirty-three years,
Veterans Stadium
(opened 1971, closed 2003, demolished 2004), the third facility built at the complex to accommodate the
MLB Philadelphia Phillies and
NFL Philadelphia Eagles, was located immediately north of the Spectrum directly across Pattison Avenue. The "Vet" was replaced by two new facilities: a purpose built football/soccer stadium,
Lincoln Financial Field
(opened 2003), which is located directly across 11th Street from the Wachovia Center, and a new dedicated baseball stadium,
Citizens Bank Park
(opened 2004), located at the northeast corner of Pattison Ave. and Citizens Bank Way (11th St.) immediately east of the former Veterans Stadium site which is now occupied by a parking lot for the sports complex.
The "Rocky" Statue
A
statue of
Sylvester Stallone, depicting him in his famous role of Philadelphia
boxer Rocky Balboa, stood for many years in front of the main (Pattison Avenue) entrance of the Spectrum which had been represented in the movie to be the site of Rocky's first and second fights with Apollo Creed. (The arena in which the fight sequences were actually filmed was the
Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.) The statue was removed several times over the years to be used in the filming of sequels to the original film. In September of 2006, however, it was given a permanent new home in an area near the base of the steps of the
Philadelphia Museum of Art not far from where it had appeared in a spot on the plaza at the top of the Museum's steps in the film
Rocky III
. Other statues in the arena footprint include:
- "Score!", a statue depicting Gary Dornhoefer's game winning overtime goal in Game Five of the Flyers' 1973 Stanley Cup Playoffs quarterfinal series against the Minnesota North Stars;
- A statue of Kate Smith, the Flyers' good luck charm, whose rendition of God Bless America
by Irving Berlin made the Flyers back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions in 1974 and 1975;
- A statue of Julius Erving, who played for the Philadelphia 76ers from 1976 until 1987.
It is not known where these statues will be placed when the arena is razed.
Tenants
Full time:
- Philadelphia Phantoms of the AHL (also plays a few regular season and most Calder Cup playoff games at the adjacent Wachovia Center when the Spectrum is unavailable)
- Philadelphia KiXX of the NPSL / MISL II
Part time:
- Philadelphia Soul of the AFL (a few regular season games when the Wachovia Center is unavailable)
Former full time:
- Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL
- Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA
- Philadelphia Bulldogs of the RHI
- Philadelphia Freedoms of World Team Tennis (1974)
- Philadelphia Fever of the original Major Indoor Soccer League
- Both incarnations of the Philadelphia Wings (NLL I Original franchise 1974-75 and Eagle League/MILL/NLL II the current franchise 1987-1996)
Former part time:
- Villanova University (some high-profile men's basketball home games which the on-campus arena, The Pavilion, is too small to accommodate)
Notable events
- NBA All-Star Game - 1970, 1976
- NHL Stanley Cup Finals - 1974, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1985, 1987
- NHL All-Star Game - 1976, 1992
- NCAA Tournament - Men's Final Four, 1976, 1981 (both won by Indiana University)
- NBA Finals - 1977, 1980, 1982, 1983
- MILL Championship - 1989, 1992, 1994, 1995
- WWF SummerSlam '90 - 1990
- NCAA Tournament, East Regional (won by Duke University) - 1992
- WWF King of the Ring - 1995
- AHL Calder Cup Finals - 1998
- NPSL Championship - 2001
- MISL Championship - 2002
References
- Spectrum owners seek Jersey sites for new arena
- Bulls game at Wachovia Spectrum highlights Sixers 2008-09 schedule
- PhiladelphiaFlyers.com, News: This Date In Flyers History... March 1, 1968... Roof Blows Off Of Spectrum.
- Hardcore History: The Extremely Unauthorized Story of ECW
- SummerSlam History
- Title Unavailable