Wachovia Spectrum The Wachovia Spectrum ( formerly known as the Spectrum ( 1967 – 1994 ) , CoreStates Spectrum ( 1994 – 1998 ) and First Union Spectrum ( 1998 – 2003 ) is an indoor arena located in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania as part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex . Completed in 1967 , it seats 18 , 136 for basketball and 17 , 380 for ice hockey , Arena football , indoor soccer , and indoor lacrosse . The building will be closed and demolished following a four - night concert with Pearl Jam on October 27th , 28th , 30th and 31st , 2009 ; afterwards , the arena will be razed to make way for a new hotel in conjunction with the " Philly Live ! " complex . History . Opened as " The Spectrum " in the Fall of 1967 , Philadelphia ' s first modern indoor sports arena was originally built to be the home of the expansion Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL , and also to accommodate the existing Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association . The building was the second major sports facility built at the South end of Broad Street in an area previously known as " East League Island Park " and now referred to simply as the " South Philadelphia Sports Complex . " Early years . 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 on June 1 , 1966 by Jerry Wolman and then Philadelphia Mayor James Tate . Construction was finished in 16 months at a cost of $ 7 million . The first event at the arena was the Quaker City Jazz Festival on September 30 , 1967 , produced by Larry Magid . The 76ers moved there from Philadelphia Civic Center . On March 1 , 1968 , high winds blew a portion of the covering off the Spectrum ' s roof during a performance of the Ice Capades forcing the building to close for a month while Mayor James Hugh Joseph Tate fought with Philadelphia DA Arlen Specter over responsibility for the construction of the roof , and the damage was repaired . While the 76ers were able to move their home games to Convention Hall or to the Palestra , neither of those arenas had ice rinks at the time and there were no other NHL - quality sites in the Philadelphia area . Thus the Flyers hurriedly moved their next home game ( against the Oakland Seals ) to Madison Square Garden in New York followed by a meeting with the Boston Bruins played at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto before establishing a base at Le Colisée in Quebec City , home of their top minor league team , the AHL Quebec Aces , for the remainder of their regular season home schedule . ( The roof was repaired in time to permit the Flyers to return to the Spectrum to open their first ever Stanley Cup play - offs against the St . Louis Blues on April 4 , 1968 . ) Similarly in 1993 , the Flyers played a day game against the Los Angeles Kings during a blizzard . A piece of flying debris smashed out one of the concourse windows causing cancellation of the game just after the first period was finished . Because of its location the Flyers of the 1970s soon became popularly known as the " Broad Street Bullies . " Flyers and 76ers ' championships and All - Star Games hosted . The Flyers won their first Stanley Cup at the Spectrum on May 19 , 1974 , defeating the Boston Bruins , 1 - 0 , in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals in front of a then - capacity crowd of 17 , 007 . Perhaps the most important and emotional hockey game - - or sporting event of any kind - - ever held there , however , came at the height of the Cold War on January 11 , 1976 , when the Flyers became the first NHL team to defeat ( by 4 - 1 ) the then vaunted hockey team of the Soviet Central Red Army ( CSKA ) . Two games in the inaugural Canada Cup hockey tournament were also held at the Spectrum in September of that year , as the USA took on Czechoslovakia and the USSR . Ten NHL or NBA playoff championship series were hosted at the Spectrum with the Flyers competing in the Stanley Cup Finals in 1974 , 1975 , 1976 , 1980 , 1985 and 1987 , and the 76ers playing in the NBA Finals in 1977 , 1980 , 1982 and 1983 . The 1976 and 1992 NHL , and 1970 and 1976 NBA All - Star Games were also held here . The AHL Phantoms also won their first Calder Cup title on Spectrum ice before a sell - out crowd of 17 , 380 on June 10 , 1998 , by defeating the Saint John Flames , 6 – 1 . The Spectrum is the only venue to host the NBA and NHL All - Star Games in the same season , doing so in 1976 , when it also hosted that year ' s NCAA Basketball Final Four . It is also one of a handful of venues to host the Stanley Cup and NBA Finals at the same time , doing so in 1980 ( all four major Philadelphia teams would reach the championship round of their respective sport in the 1980 season ) . The Flyers and 76ers ' move . Although both the Flyers and 76ers moved across the parking lot to the new and larger Wachovia Center in 1996 , the arena remained in place and was used by the Philadelphia Phantoms of the AHL , the Philadelphia Kixx of the National Indoor Soccer League , the Philadelphia Soul of the Arena Football League for Saturday home games , and a variety of other sporting events and concerts . The Flyers and 76ers had been in need of a new facility for some time . One reason was the need for more revenue streams to meet skyrocketing operating costs . The Spectrum has relatively few luxury suites or other amenities common in newer arenas . In addition , the arena ' s sight lines left much to be desired . Some seats in both the hockey and basketball configurations ( especially in the upper level ) had badly obstructed views . There was only one concourse for all three levels , making for somewhat cramped conditions whenever attendance was anywhere near capacity . End of an era . On July 14 , 2008 , Comcast Spectacor Chairman Ed Snider officially announced that the Spectrum will be shuttered and torn down to make way for the " Philly Live ! " complex , originally planned to be at the end of the 2008 - 2009 hockey and soccer seasons , but now October 31 , 2009 . “ This has been one of the hardest decisions I ’ ve ever had to make , ” said Snider . “ The Spectrum is my baby . It ’ s one of the greatest things that has ever happened to me . ” The Phantoms commemorated the final season of the Spectrum by wearing a special patch on their uniforms , as illustrated on the right . The team also celebrated some of the building ’ s memorable moments throughout the season . The Flyers marked the last season by playing two - preseason games at the Spectrum . They played the Carolina Hurricanes in an NHL pre - season game on September 27 , 2008 and the Phantoms on October 7th of that same year . Before the game against Carolina , the Flyers honored their team captains who had played at the arena . Those honored in the pre - game ceremony were Lou Angotti , Ed Van Impe , Bob Clarke , Mel Bridgman , Bill Barber , Dave Poulin , Ron Sutter , Kevin Dineen , Eric Desjardins , Keith Primeau , and Derian Hatcher . The Phantoms ' last regular season game at the Spectrum was played April 10 , 2009 against the Hershey Bears , as the Phantoms won the game , 5 - 2 , while the last Kixx game was against the Massachusetts Twisters on March 22 . The Phantoms were sold to a Pittsburgh - based ownership group , and have moved to Glens Falls , New York for the 2009 - 10 season . Statues . A statue of Sylvester Stallone , depicting him in his famous role of Philadelphia boxer Rocky Balboa , stood for many years in front of the main ( Pattison Avenue ) entrance of the Spectrum which had been represented in the movie to be the site of Rocky ' s first and second fights with Apollo Creed . ( The arena in which the fight sequences were actually filmed was the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena . ) The statue was removed several times over the years to be used in the filming of sequels to the original film . In September 2006 , however , it was given a new home in an area near the base of the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art not far from where it had appeared in a spot on the plaza at the top of the Museum ' s steps in the film " Rocky III " . However , since it was not deemed to be " art , " it has been moved around the corner of the museum on Kelly Drive . Other statues in the arena footprint include : It is not known where these statues will be placed when the arena is razed .