Just three years after the Syracuse Nationals arrived in Philadelphia and transformed into the 76ers , the team went from calling Philadelphia Arena home to honoring The Spectrum in South Philadelphia with the same honor.
Philadelphia Arena — originally called Philadelphia Ice Palace and Auditorium — had been serving Philadelphia at 4350 Market Street since 1920. Philadelphia’s original basketball franchise — the Warriors — had also been a Philadelphia staple since 1946 and had moved to San Francisco just a year earlier in 1962.
The building that the 76ers would move to in South Philadelphia — the Spectrum — opened its doors in September 1967 not just for basketball, but also for the Philadelphia’s new expansion NHL Team known as The Flyers. One year earlier in 1966 , the ground that would become The Spectrum was broken by Eagles Owner Jerry Wolman and Philadelphia Mayor James Tate.
In October of 1967 , the Spectrum opened to neither a basketball game nor a hockey match , but rather boxing when Tony Doyle fought Joe Frazier. For nearly 45 years before it’s demolition in 2009, The Spectrum saw everything from the Broad Street Bullies winning the Stanley Cup in the 1970s to the Sixers winning a championship in 1983. It even survived the roof being blown off in the winds during the Ice Capades. Then the Flyers and the 76ers moved to the Spectrum II in 1996 (originally called the CoreStates Center).
Many of us have had the opportunity to ride that great escalator in the Wells Fargo Center that took you up to the myriad of concession and vendors and then into the arena. Constructed on the site of the old Philadelphia Municipal Stadium , the $210 million indoor colosseum in South Philly accommodated just over 20,000 fans for basketball games and just under that number for hockey. It has over 125 luxury suites and nearly 1,900 club-box seats.
Now, the Wells Fargo Center prepares for a facelift to become XFinity Mobile Arena on Sept. 1, 2025.
The long home of Philadelphia’s Sixers, Flyers, Wings, the Villanova Men’s Basketball team, and so much more, the building itself will remain in place through the 2030-2031 season, after which the Sixers, Flyers, and other entertainment events will move to the upcoming stadium build that will also be located in the South Philly Sports Complex.
Michael Thomas Leibrandt is member of the York Road Historical Society and lives and works in Abington Township.
