Say Goodbye To America's Showplace

Well this is not as dramatic as the Veterans Stadium implosion. Maybe because a wrecking ball decking a few walls and windows is not as dramatic as a whole stadium imploding at once. Maybe it's because the Spectrum has in effect been dead for a couple years now. Yesterday it was an empty building that had not been relevant for a few years now. Today, it is a building with some odd looking holes in it. The Flyers and the Sixers have been playing in the "Wells Fargo whatever-it's-called Center" since 1996, around the exact same time that I started the 1st grade. As much as I want to have these warm fuzzy feelings associated with watching the Flyers and the Sixers play there, I instead have these warm fuzzy feelings of watching the Phantoms and the Soul play there. Yes. American League Hockey and Arena Football FTW! So goodbye old building where I used to sit in the front row of minor league hockey games with my best friend in elementary school. You will be missed.






Goodbye, Spectrum.

The Last Hockey Game Has Been Played At The Spectrum....Or Has It?

The historic Spectrum (now known as the Wachovia Spectrum, but I refuse to add a corporate sponsor to the name of America's Showplace), now home to the AHL Philadelphia Phantoms and other minor league and minor sport teams, played host to it's last regular season hockey game. But something truly amazing happened last night. The Norfolk Admirals beat the Binghamton Senators and the Phantoms beat the Hershey Bears 5-2. And that means only one thing, the Philadelphia Phantoms have clinched a playoff spot!

The crowd last night was sold out, with 17,380 fans jam packing the Spectrum, and to put that in perspective, in the Phantoms 13-year history, they have only sold out the Spectrum a total of 21 times! The banner documenting the final game at the Spectrum may have been hung last night, but the Spectrum will live to see more hockey.

I'll be keeping close tabs on the Phantoms and the Spectrum.

Reasons Behind The Sell Of The Phantoms

As I was perusing through this morning's Inquirer articles online, I came across an interesting article on why the Phantoms were sold, and the answer is not just because the Spectrum is being torn down. And seeing as other than the A-Rod story that I refuse to shove down your throats any more than is already done by TV news everywhere and other websites, I figured I would share it with you.

The plucky Phantoms minor-league hockey team had trouble earning profits in recent years as attendance dipped, and the franchise faced other economic issues.

The team needed a new ice arena, which would cost $60 million to $80 million.

Meanwhile, the team hadn't found a critical mass of cable viewership because the franchise competed with the popular Flyers in the local television market, a sports media executive close to the situation said.

The most pressing problem was the fact that the Phantoms' home, the famed Wachovia Spectrum, is expected to be torn down for a development of stores, clubs and hotels in 2010.

Peter Luukko, president of Comcast-Spectacor, said yesterday a new ice arena would need public assistance and "there wasn't a local municipality prepared to spend that kind of money and we did not politic for it."

The Phantoms' attendance slipped somewhat in recent years and a modest profit had become a small loss, Luukko said.

Comcast-Spectacor announced last week that it had reached the agreement to sell the Phantoms franchise to the Brooks Group of Pittsburgh. It is not known where the team will move.

Comcast-Spectacor, which owns the Flyers and 76ers, brought the Phantoms to Philadelphia in 1996, when the Flyers' and Sixers' new arena opened in South Philadelphia. The minor-league team put the Spectrum to use for about 40 nights a year. Other events in the Spectrum included the circus, concerts, college basketball and Kixx soccer.

With an average ticket price of about $11, the Phantoms offered hockey fans a cheap alternative to the Flyers. Luukko said he was pleased with the Phantoms and he probably would have kept the team going for a few years in Philadelphia if it weren't for the Spectrum redevelopment.

Sorry for the length of that blockquote, I just felt that there was a lot of good stuff in there and I could not really think of a place to cut it off until deep into it. It will be interesting to see where they eventually end up locating and I will follow that story for you and give you word as soon as I find out in the coming months or so.

Why The Phantoms Were Sold (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

Comcast-Spectacor To Sell The Phantoms

With the demise of the Spectrum this off-season, comes the sad goodbye of the Philadelphia Phantoms as we know them. Sure, they'll most likely be the Flyers' AHL affiliate, but things just won't be the same, and frankly, they can't be the same. There is a tremendous advantage to having an AHL affiliate play right across the way from an NHL team: easy scouting of minor-league talent, no travel expenses for scouting minor-league talent, and the frequency and easiness of moving players to and fro based on needs. From the Philly Inquirer.

The Flyers suffered a setback, club officials agreed, when Comcast-Spectacor reached an agreement yesterday to sell their AHL minor-league affiliate, the Phantoms, to the Brooks Group of Pittsburgh.

The setback has nothing to do with Brooks. It has everything to do with the fact that, after this season, the Flyers' top minor-league team will not practice in the same Voorhees facility as the Flyers - and won't play its games across the parking lot at the soon-to-close Wachovia Spectrum.

Having the two teams next to each other made it easy for general manager Paul Holmgren to scout the minor-league players and reduce travel expenses. The proximity also made it convenient to send players back and forth between the clubs

It is unknown where the Phantoms will re-locate. Possible locations that have been considered have been Atlantic City and Lehigh Valley among others. I will always have a soft spot in my heart for the Phantoms.

I will always remember as a kid going to Phantoms games and sitting in front row seats at the Spectrum. Having been young then, it is only now that I am beginning to realize just how truly lucky I was to have been able to sit in front row seats at America's Showplace.

And most of all the Phantoms were the reason for the first time I was ever truly angry at a TV station. In the 2005 Calder Cup which the Phantoms won, ComcastSportsnet and CN8 had only signed on to broadcast games 2, 5, 6, and 7. Well, as it turned out, the Phantoms swept the Chicago Wolves and game 4 was not one of the games scheduled to be televised so it was not televised. I was so angry about that, especially considering the times. The Eagles were 5-months removed from losing a Super Bowl and Terrell Owens was beginning his hissy fit, the NHL was in a lock-out, the Phillies were an embarrassment, and the Sixers were failing miserably to try to win a championship with Allen Iverson. The Phantoms were all Philly had to cling their championship hopes on, and that game 4 where the Phantoms clinched the Calder Cup was not televised. That is still to this day the angriest I have gotten over sports and sports media. If only I had a blog then.....


Phantoms' sale likely means move out of the area (Philadelphia Inquirer)

The Wildcats Say Goodbye To The Spectrum With A Win

The game may not have been an all-time classic, but for us in Philadelphia, last night's game will be remembered for quite some time. Last night, the Villanova Wildcats closed out college basketball at the Wachovia Spectrum by beating Pittsburgh 67-57 , finally giving the Wildcats a signature win that they so desparately needed.

However, last night was the last time a college basketball game will ever be played at the Spectrum. The Philadelphia Phantoms of the AHL, who use the Spectrum as their home ice, will finish up their season there the Philadelphia Kixx will ifnish up their season there as well, the Sixers have one more game at the Spectrum in March and that's it. The stadium is set to be demolished later on in the year.

Aside from being the home of the Villanova Wildcats, the Wachovia Spectrum is known for being the home of one of the greatest plays in college basketball history. It was Duke and Kentucky in overtime in the East Regional Final (Elite 8) of the 1992 NCAA basketball tournament. Kentucky was leading 103-102. Yeah, I think you know where this is going....I'll just cue the YouTube video and Christian Laettner.



Good times at the Spectrum.......good times. I'll have much more on the Spectrum as we get closer to the demolition.

Update: It turns out that Bob Ford of the Philly Inquirer and I have some pretty similar thoughts. For it turns out that his article in the mornings paper "Wildcats give Spectrum a fitting farewell". Either I sub-consciously saw it as I was looking at headlines this morning or it was a pure coincidence, but either way, no copyright infringement was intended by me taking the same title. I doubt anyone noticed, but just to be safe, I have retitled my post.