Spectrum, Indoor sports arena in South Philadelphia, US
The Spectrum was an indoor arena at the south end of Broad Street in Philadelphia's South Philadelphia Sports Complex, built for the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers and the NBA's 76ers. It seated 18,168 for basketball and 17,380 for ice hockey, arena football, indoor soccer and box lacrosse. Its scoreboard carried the first dot-matrix messageboards in pro hockey or basketball, replaced in 1986 by ArenaVision, six 9-by-12-foot rear-projection screens.
The arena opened on September 30, 1967, as home to the Philadelphia Flyers and Philadelphia 76ers. The building closed in 2009 and was demolished two years later after both teams moved to newer facilities.
The name "Spectrum" was coined by former president Lou Scheinfeld: "SP" for sports and South Philadelphia, "E" for entertainment, "C" for circuses, "T" for theatricals, "R" for recreation, and "UM" for "um, what a nice building!" The Grateful Dead played the arena 53 times, more than any other act.
The facility stood at 3601 South Broad Street and was reachable by bus and subway lines. Visitors found concession stands and restrooms distributed across all four levels, with multiple entrances around the building.
On January 11, 1976, the Flyers beat the Soviet Central Red Army 4-1 at the Spectrum, becoming the first NHL team to defeat that squad. The visitors briefly left the ice in protest of the officiating before returning to finish the game.
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