by KYW's Mike DeNardo and Greg Orlandini

The Spectrum, for decades the South Philadelphia home to the Sixers and Flyers and the site of hundreds of memorable concerts and other events, will close next spring and be demolished.
   
Arena owner Comcast-Spectacor has plans to replace it with a complex of retail space, bars, restaurants, and a hotel  (see related story). The 42-year-old arena, slated to shut down next spring, had been used for Flyers and 76ers games until the adjacent Wachovia Center was built and opened in 1996.  It was the site of the Flyers' Stanley Cup championship victories in 1974 and 1975, site of the Flyers' victory over the Russian team in 1976, and the Sixers' home when they won the NBA championship in 1983.
   
The Spectrum, built in 1967, is currently home to the Phantoms, Philadelphia's minor league hockey team; the Soul, an Arena Football League team; and the Kixx, an indoor soccer team.  
 
Over the years, some of the most notable music performers included Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, the Jackson Five, the Grateful Dead, and Kiss.  (A web site called "Remember the Spectrum" has been set up by the building's owners.)
   
It's unclear where the football and hockey teams will go. The future of the Kixx is also clouded by the fact that its league, the Major Indoor Soccer League, shut down in May. The league is trying to restart in a new form sometime before the 2008-09 season.
   
Comcast-Spectacor, a unit of cable giant Comcast Corp., owns the Flyers, 76ers, Phantoms, the Wachovia Center, and the Spectrum. It also runs arenas around the country and has food service, ticketing, and advertising interests.
   
Comcast-Spectacor was started by Ed Snider -- founder of the Flyers, chairman of the 76ers and co-founder of what is now Comcast's local sports channel.
   
"This has been one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make," said Snider, Comcast-Spectacor's chairman. "The Spectrum is my baby. It's one of the greatest things that has ever happened to me, but after a lot of thinking and discussions, we all feel it is in our best interest to close the Spectrum at the conclusion of the upcoming 2008-09 Philadelphia Phantoms and Kixx seasons."
    
Comcast-Spectacor president Peter Luukko (right) says that while his heart is on the Spectrum floor, his head says the building -- with its narrow corridors and lack of luxury boxes, is past its prime:

"It's tough, but it's inevitable. It is progress. This whole area has been developed tremendously, with a brand new baseball stadium (and) a brand new football stadium. And all the housing in the area. So it's time to move on. But it's a little tough for all of us."

Luukko says Comcast-Spectacor is looking for a new home for the Phantoms. He says it hasn't been decided whether the Spectrum will be imploded, like the Vet was, or demolished by other means.


(Photos by KYW's Mike DeNardo)