by KYW's Paul Kurtz and Jim Melwert
Fans partied like it was 1983 as their 76ers beat the Chicago Bulls 104-101 in the final NBA game in the Spectrum:
“It brings back good memories for the Sixers, remembering how excited the city was for basketball, and how good the Sixers were back then, and how exciting it was to go see the games. That’s what I remember most.”
Many fans lucky enough to see Julius Irving remembered how the crowd hung on his every move. Others thought back to Charles Barkley, including one play when he fell into the crowd, and they threw him back on the court like a slingshot:
“And he ran down the court to get a fastbreak dunk and then he pointed to the fans in a gesture of giving them the thanks, I thought that was a cool move.”
The Spectrum is scheduled for demolition later this year.
The arena opened in 1967 as the home of the Flyers -- then an expansion franchise for the NHL.
The 76ers, who were coming off a world championship, had beaten the San Francisco Warriors in the '67 finals.
The Flyers won their first Stanley Cup championship there in 1974.
It was the venue for many memorable NCAA tournament games, including that amazing 1992 game between Kentucky and Duke when Christian Laettner (right) hit that last-second turnaround jumper to win it for Duke.
And the building was much more than a sports arena. Countless musical artists played there.
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 -- more than any other band.
The Spectrum will be closed and demolished following the hockey and soccer seasons, and the final planned event will be a concert in September.
Afterwards, the Spectrum site will hold a new hotel and shopping complex called "Philly Live!" (see previous story).
(Top photo by KYW's Dennis Abdul-Jihad)
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