Deep in the heart of the Philadelphia Sports Complex stood a stadium that bristled with energy and bustled with memories nearly every night. The Spectrum was home to both the Flyers and the 76ers and proved to be quite the advantage for its occupants as their fans rollicked the night away. Through the pain and struggle of searching for that elusive title, the Spectrum became a symbol for all of Philadelphia. This is its story.
The Spectrum
It was built on the site of a former pig farm right next to Municipal Stadium. While the construction crews overseeing the plans of the architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill come to fruition struggled through the muck, they ended up needing to send for tons of dry dirt and concrete to fortify their new structure. It was the same strategy taht worked for Municipal Stadium. But the structure was built and opened on September 30, 1967 after 16 months and $7 million. While it was multifunctional on the inside, on the outside, pundits referred to it as the "big tuna fish can".
While it was built with the NHL in mind, ironically, its first event was a jazz festival that sold out on its second day. The stadium still sparkled anew when it enjoyed three days of fresh memories in October 1967. On the 17th, Joe Fraziers defeated Tom Doyle. On the 18th, the 76ers beat the Lakers 103-87. Finally, on the 19th, the Flyers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 1-0 to finish off the most affluent days of the young Spectrum's life. After that memorable weekend, the Spectrum became apart of the fabric of the city.
Still, it took awhile for it go gain a profit. Like most expansion teams, the Flyers struggled in the standings and the box office and the 76ers were a few years away from relevance too.
Then disaster struck. On February 17, 1968, a piece of the roof was blown off of the Spectrum, leaving a massive hole. While no one was hurt, it proved to be a major embarrassment as politicians made a big deal out of it having to close down until the roof was fixed. The $75,000 didn't help the arena's debt problems and it wasn't until the Flyers board chairman ed Snider and his brother-in-law Earl Foreman came up with $11 million to get the Spectrum out of bankruptcy.
The Glory Days
The Spectrum's golden era began shortly after Snider and Foreman got it out of bankruptcy when a third level was added, adding an additional 2,249 seats. In 1973, the Broad Street Bullies were born. After years of irrelevancy, the Flyers began to really win and ended the 1973-1974 season by beating the Boston Bruins at the Spectrum for the Stanley Cup.
Broad Street was immediately packed with celebrating fans and the city was entranced with its Flyers. They beat the Islanders the following year to win their second straight Stanley Cup but despite falling short against the Canadians in the Finals the following year, the Flyers had won over their city.
In 1976, the Flyers played a Russian national team that was believed to be the best in the world. Seeing how rough the Flyers played, the Russians walked off the ice and refused to finish the game. After they were told that they wouldn't be paid unless they played the whole game, the Russians returned to the ice and were promptly destroyed 4-1 in front of a raucous crowd at the Spectrum.
After acquiring Julius Erving from the ABA's New York Nets, the 76ers started to gain traction in the NBA and by 1977 were in the NBA Finals. However, they lost to the Portland Trailblazers in six games and it would be several years until they returned to the Finals.
After additional heartbreaks to the Lakers to begin the 1980's, the 76ers acquired Moses Malone and defeated L.A. in 1983 to win t heir only championship. The 1980's was the Spectrum's heyday as both the 76ers and Flyers made it to their respective championships three times and were often regarded as one of the most talented teams of their sports. Still, those six championship appearances only brought a single title.
The Spectrum was much more than just a sports venue. Billboard once called the Spectrum "the leading concert venue in the United States". In 1977 alone, 720,000 attended the 50 concerts that were held at the Spectrum. Giants of any era such as Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra drew massive crowds. Billy Joel's famed "Six-Night Engagement" tour made a stop there in 1990 and Luther Vandross as well as the Grateful Dead played there in 1992. The developers foresaw this and had even built a smaller theatre within the more massive venue for artists that wouldn't fill the Spectrum.
By 2009, both the 76ers and Flyers had moved to the newer Wells Fargo Center and the city needed the parking space for the rapidly changing Philadelphia Sports Complex. Gone were both Veterans and Municipal Stadiums and both the Eagles and Phillies had their own homes. So the Spectrum was closed on October 31, 2009 and was soon demolished. Today, a parking lot rests where so many memories were forged.
References