Philadelphia sports arena to be torn down

PHILADELPHIA, July 15 (UPI) -- The owners of The Spectrum, home to Philadelphia's NHL and NBA teams for almost 30 seasons, announced Tuesday the building will be demolished.

"This has been one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make," said Ed Snider, chairman of the Comcast-Spectacor ownership group. "The Spectrum is my baby. But after a lot of thinking and discussions, we all feel it is in our best interest to close the Spectrum."

Both the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL and 76ers of the NBA moved out of the building 12 years ago. It is now home to the American Hockey League's Philadelphia Phantoms and indoor soccer's Philadelphia Kixx.

The Spectrum opened Sept. 30, 1967, and will host its final event next spring. The exact date of demolition was not announced.

"We are looking at the possibility of bringing a pre-season Philadelphia Flyers game and a regular season 76ers game to the Spectrum this year," said Comcast-Spectacor President Peter Luukko.