Spectrum Demolition in Philadelphia Brings Back Memories

[youtube]27eYZbtjfKs[/youtube] Julius Erving (Dr. J) at the Spectrum demolition ceremonies.

Philadelphia’s Spectrum arena stood for 43 years and workers started demolition procedures on Tuesday, according to NBC Philadelphia.

The arena once hosted the Philadelphia 76ers during their championship year and the Philadelphia Flyers. Both teams moved out in 1996.

The wrecking ball made several hits before it could crack the facade of the arena, NBC reported.

"Many of us have had so many exciting times at the Spectrum," Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter said, according to NHL.com. "This demolition is not really the end of an era, it's the start of a new one for our great city."

The arena, which will be destroyed to make room for a shopping and entertainment complex, held concerts after the teams moved out. Bruce Springsteen, Pavarotti, Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, the Grateful Dead, and others performed there.

“That’s where the Flyers won the cups-on this side of the street,” Edgar Linauts, a Flyers fan from Limerick, Penn., told NBC.

The Flyers won the Stanley Cup in 1974 and 1975. In 1976, the Flyers defeated the Soviet Red Army team.

"I understand the building has gotten old and has to be replaced," Hockey Hall of Famer Bob Clarke told NHL.com. "We're all old enough to understand that buildings get old and have to be replaced. We love that building. But you move houses sometimes; it's time to move buildings."