Wachovia Spectrum

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Image:Spectrum1.jpg

The Wachovia Spectrum (formerly known as the Spectrum, CoreStates Spectrum and First Union Spectrum) is an indoor arena located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Completed in 1967, it seats 18,136 for basketball and 17,380 for ice hockey. The arena was the second building completed in what has become the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, the first being the John F. Kennedy Stadium, which was located directly south of the arena. Veterans Stadium was located to the north of the arena.

History

The arena was the home of the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL and the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA from 1967-1996. Because of its location on Broad Street the Flyers of the 1970s were known as the "Broad Street Bullies."

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 $12 million. The 76ers moved there from Convention Hall. On February 17, 1968, the building's roof blew off due to a storm during a performance of the Ice Capades. The Spectrum was closed for several weeks while the roof was repaired, sending the 76ers and Flyers on the road for several weeks.

Though both teams left for the Wachovia Center (located on the former site of John F. Kennedy Stadium) in 1996, the arena remains in place and is still used by the Philadelphia Phantoms of the AHL, the Philadelphia Kixx of the MISL, the Philadelphia Soul of the Arena Football League for Saturday home games, and other sporting events and concerts. The 1970 and 1976 NBA All-Star Game and the 1976 and 1992 NHL All-Star Games were also held here. The 76ers played there in the NBA Finals in 1977, 1980, 1982, and 1983. The Flyers played there in the Stanley Cup Finals in 1974, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1985, and 1987,. The Flyers won the Stanley Cup there on May 19, 1974, defeating the Boston Bruins, 1-0.

The Spectrum was used for many basketball tournaments, including Big Five games, eight Atlantic Ten Conference tournaments (1977, 1983, 1997-2002), the 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 (interestingly, both won by Bobby Knight's Indiana Hoosiers). The Spectrum was an important venue for the WWF, hosting shows on a more or less monthly basis for over fifteen years (including Summerslam in 1990 and the King of the Ring tournament in 1995. The Grateful Dead played the Spectrum 53 times, by far the most of any musical act.

Rocky

A statue of Sylvester Stallone, depicting him in his famous role of Philadelphia boxer Rocky Balboa, stands in front of the main entrance to Wachovia Spectrum, which was the site of Rocky's first fight with Apollo Creed.

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