Spectrum Arena

Now I went there for a Sixers game recently and I hated every minute of it. I am from philly and should not be saying that but its so true. Its a horrible spectrum. Now yes, its clean and well maintained. Whatever. It is so uncomfortable sitting there and the workers are so rude. Also, I was trying to find something to eat and went up to many different stands to get an order of french fries and none of them had them even though they were on the board! I walked up to a stand selling two different sandwiches– sausage and peppers and roast pork… I asked for Sausage and Peppers and they didn’t have it! THEN TAKE IT OFF YOUR STUPID SIGN! It got frustrating and I wound up waiting for someone to come to our uncomfortable seats and bought a waterice. Such a great, filling, and healthy dinner!
Horrible place. Just horrible.

Went there recently for a 76ers game.
It is a nice clean stadium, always has been. Prices are ridiculously outrageous, but I guess that comes w/​it.

The demolition of the Spectrum is now complete and I’m sorry I wasn’t around to say goodbye and thank you. When I lived in the area, I would regularly come down to South Philly to thoroughly engage during Flyers Games. Actually I despised the Broad Street Bullies (and I still do), but what the heck. It’s hard not to get passionate about Sports (on whatever side) in Philly and the Spectrum was the place. I was also smart enough to not go Off Side or end up with a Game Misconduct.

Gone but not forgotten.

Even wrecking balls can’t kill the spectrum.

Beautiful stadium. The crowd is passionate, They played some good hip hop music during the shoot around before the game. I went out there in 2006. Im a big Bulls fans and they were playing the 76ers. I paid $ 260, for a courtside seat. It was awesome. Even though the my Bulls lost. I got to see Iverson, up close, score 46 points. That guy is the TRUTH. Im definitely going back there, someday.

now i haven’t been here until pj closed this place last week, which was amazing by the way! was there thrice. yes, there werent that many bathrooms. yes, it appeared outdated. but i’ll tell you this… didnt appear as there was a bad seat in the house, and gets very loud (great home field advantage!). This is a very cozy arena, no doubt. but thats not a bad thing at all. sure this is a five star for sentimental reasons, but this is a great arena that i wish i had seen more events. Philly Spectrum, may you rest in peace my new friend. i’ll miss you!

We stopped here last night for the Green Day concert.
It was fine – a typical hockey stadium. Sound, as expected from a hockey stadium – loud.
Beer: $ 8.25-$ 9.
Hot Dogs: $ 4 (but decent)
Nachos: $ 5.25 – these had the stalest chips I’ve ever eaten; tasted like styrofoam; I ended up dipping the jalapenos into the cheese-​like sauce
Cup of Cheese Sauce:$ 1.50 (yes, they sell cups of wiz)
Cash Parking: $ 12
The restrooms were clean enough both before the concert and towards the end I didn’t have to wait more than 2 minutes. The lines for getting in were friendly and efficient too, and while moving slowly through the crowd towards our section, people actually said «excuse me» when they were barely pushed into me. There were little kids (under 5) at the concert.
So even though it was filled with soccer mom’s and sports fans, the people were incredibly polite. Those finished with tailgaiting prior to the concert offered to help us fit into the narrow spots between monster SUVs.
A star was dinged because of Green Day; their American Idiot concert in SF was so much better. This one was self-​indulgent, but the fans seemed to love it. Okay. It wasn’t the stadium’s fault.

A great stadium to see games or concerts. To me, there is not a bad seat in the house. The 5 stars are for the arena itself. Some other reviews have made comments about the fans, which I will get into a bit. The fans are not the same as back in the day. The passion is gone. For Flyers games, it is pretty quiet and most of the fans are more interested in their conversations than the games. This can probably be said of most fans for most sports across the U.S. Sports have become completely commercialized and the high ticket prices have weeded out the working American, who used to be the backbone of sports franchises. WIthout this presence at games, the atmosphere just is not the same. At least not to me. That can be held against Wachovia Arena, though, as it is a nice stadium.

I was at the Spectrum for possibly the last time this past evening to see Neil Young… I will miss it dearly… mostly.
The Spectrum was the site of my first-​ever «real» concert (Page/​Plant in ’95), as well as countless sporting/​other miscellaneous events as far back as early childhood (Monster Truck Rally? Sesame Street On Ice? Yes please!).
Sure, compared to newer arenas, it isn’t so hot… the concourse is maybe a quarter as wide as at the new spot (whatever bank it is named after this week), which makes it tough to get from your seat to the bathroom (and there aren’t nearly as many bathrooms). If you are in line for refreshments, you will be right in the middle of the main foot traffic. Some seats have no view whatsoever (other than a wall), and to get to those seats you have to climb up many narrow, precarious stairs (saw people take a header more than once).
But despite all that, The Spectrum had character, something the new venues do not (they differ only on the outside, and then only slightly). The concert acoustics (never a strength of these venues) were better than most, and were sometimes even very good (it depended on the artist).
So fare thee well, Spectrum, as you depart into the ether. Thanks for the memories!

This arena was decent… but definitely not a place that I will return to again. I saw Bob Dylan and the Raconteurs and the sound was ok, but I have heard better in other arenas. The place itself is located next to the Eagles Stadium and in the middle of no where. I prefer Madison Square Garden or the MCI Center in D.C.

Hockey rink = bad concert venue.
I don’t know why these arenas are converted into concert venues across the country. The accoustics always suck. The echo off of the huge dome ceilings ruins the performance. I have seen NIN play here twice and they were by far the worst two performances ever. Still since they are going to perform here again this summer I will drag my sorry @ss here again and shell out the money because I love Trent.

The Spectrum has mostly been the go to spot for Big Venue Shows for me. I saw my first concert ever here when Aerosmith played back in 97. I may have changed a lot since then, but I still managed to catch A Warped Tour back when they had them in the parking lot, Tool, and David Bowie.
It’s certainly not my first choice for concerts because I hate seated shows and feel that the stadium really takes away from the show experience as a whole. But sometimes there are musicians that you just HAVE TO SEE, and that might just bring me back here.
Aside from concerts I’ve ended up at a number of other events that have happened here, especially as a child. I remember marveling over Ringling Bros Circus, and becoming obnoxiously bored during Disney on Ice. my dad drew the short end of the straw and would take me to WWF events back when I was a Hulkamaniac Brother. but I paid it forward and accompanied him to some college basketball games.
So while it certainly isn’t my best, and it’s far from my first choice when it comes to overall experience. At least your always going to get a good show when you choose to put forward the extra amounts of money and come here.

I’ve mainly been to the Spectrum to see musical performances (back in the day when I still went to big venue shows) and I’ve also seen a Sixers game and I think a lacrosse match there. It’s definitely classic Philly and to me still smells like the 80s, a decade which has been reinvented through the lens of a new generation, in which one would think that good music reigned supreme (I think I actually saw Mark E Mark and the Funky Bunch there, to my embarassment, but I’m not that much of a music snob that I can’t admit pre-​teen musical derailment). But, sadly, the Spectrum is merely a shadow of its former self.

Jake is right, The Spectrum definitely still reminds us of it’s glory years with the Flyers, Sixers and Rocky. Unfortunately however, I was not alive during any of Philadelphia’s championships, and thus the prestige is somewhat lost on me. I see the ghosts of Hersey Hawkins rather than Dr. J.
I would never dis The Spectrum, but it is now a second class citizen in the Arena society. It is a very cool venue to check out, but you will not get the same feel as you did when the Flyers played here and it was packed with REAL hockey fans, (not the suits that fill up the Wach).
The Spectrum WAS an amazing place for Philadelphia sports and the memories will never die. I saw my first Sixer’s and Flyer’s games here, but for me The Spectrum will never have the same nostalgia as The Vet did.
– The Wingbowl is actually big enough that they have it over at the Wachovia Center.

The spectrum was never THAT bad, not like the Vet. But the Wachovia Center is a space-​age palace in comparison. It’s just a shame that the Sixers are so pathetic. Is everyone praying for the top draft pick?

I caught a minor league hockey game here last year; I don’t even know the name of Philly’s team. It was a cool experience though… because this arena still echoes of its ‘80s glory. I don’t mean to get all pretentious on you, but I sort of hold it against the Wach.
This place brought championships, and it’s become a dusty old cave that’s used for B-​list sporting events, monster truck ralleys, and that damn wing-​eating contest, right?
It’s a cool thing to experience… and it looks like it hasn’t changed. If you’re a sports dork, or just somebody who values eyesore history, go go, go.

This is the home of the Philadelphia 76’ers. I came here once to see A.I. play, and am glad when I did, because he recently got traded! This place is your typical basketball stadium, but seats are not bad anywhere, and ample room for seat upgrades. I had a seat behind the basket and the most upper row possible. I sat for a quarter and eyed empty seats. During the break, I walked down to that area, and had great 8^th row seats for the rest of the game! Good gift shops there as well. Right next to the baseball and football stadiums so ample parking. They used to have the Rocky Statue in front of it, but they moved that and put a Rocky silouette statue in it place., kinda weak.