140-668: The Spectrum (later known as CoreStates Spectrum , First Union Spectrum and Wachovia Spectrum ) was an indoor arena in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . The arena opened in September 1967 as part of what is now known as the South Philadelphia Sports Complex . After several expansions of its seating capacity , it accommodated 18,168 for basketball and 17,380 for ice hockey , arena football , indoor soccer , and box lacrosse . The final event at
280-580: A "lovable loser" (much like the Cubs) with the St. Louis hockey team. NHL president Clarence Campbell said during the 1967 expansion meetings, "We want a team in St. Louis because of the city's geographical location and the fact that it has an adequate building." The team's first owners were insurance tycoon Sid Salomon Jr., his son, Sid Salomon III, and Robert L. Wolfson, who were granted the franchise in 1966. Sid Salomon III convinced his initially wary father to make
420-486: A bid for the team. Former St. Louis Cardinals great Stan Musial and Musial's business partner Julius "Biggie" Garagnani were also members of the 16-man investment group that made the initial formal application for the franchise. Garagnani would never see the Blues franchise take the ice, as he died from a heart attack on June 19, 1967, less than three months before the Blues played their first preseason game. Upon acquiring
560-517: A concert titled "Last Call". Tickets were as low as $ 6.00. The remaining members of the Grateful Dead ; including Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann performed their final set of shows at the Spectrum on May 1 and 2, 2009; the show of May 2 was their 54th consecutive sell-out at the Spectrum. The Dead closed the show of May 2 with the song " Samson and Delilah ". The song contains
700-709: A franchise-worst 18–50–12 record with 48 points in 1979 , the Blues made the playoffs the following year, the first of 25 consecutive postseason appearances. After being one of the worst teams a couple of years before, they were one of the best in 1981 , as they finished with a then-franchise-best record of 45–18–17 record which translated to 107 points and the second-best record in the league. Ten players reached at least 20 goals, including Wayne Babych , future Hall of Famer Bernie Federko , and team captain Brian Sutter . They also had strong goaltending led by Mike Liut . They would get rewarded as head coach Red Berenson won
840-414: A large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators, and may be covered by a roof. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the lowest point, allowing maximum visibility. Arenas are usually designed to accommodate a multitude of spectators. The word derives from Latin harena , a particularly fine-grained sand that covered the floor of ancient arenas such as
980-588: A location, often with the specific intent of comparing an idea to a sporting event. Such examples of these would be terms such as "the arena of war", "the arena of love" or "the political arena". St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis . The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in
1120-589: A mostly advisory role. The former New York Rangers goaltender promptly made multiple blockbuster deals, picking up Jay McKee , Bill Guerin and Manny Legace from free agency, and bringing Doug Weight back to St. Louis after a brief ( and productive ) stopover in Carolina . Weight was again traded in December 2007 to the Anaheim Ducks , along with a minor league player, in exchange for Andy McDonald . At
1260-476: A nice building!'" Scheinfeld also said that a seat in the city's first superbox initially cost $ 1,000 a year: "For every Flyers game, Sixers game, circus, you name it, you got 250 events for $ 1,000." The Flyers won their first ever home game in this arena by defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins , 1–0. Bill Sutherland scored the arena's first goal. On March 1, 1968, wind blew part of the covering off
1400-617: A prism) was launched by Spectacor, carrying home games of the Flyers and 76ers (as well as the Phillies); PRISM's technical and studio operations were based out of the event level of the Spectrum (though PRISM's administrative offices were instead located in Bala Cynwyd ). PRISM's successor, NBC Sports Philadelphia , is based out of the present-day Wells Fargo Center in a similar arrangement. A plaque inside The Spectrum stated that it held
1540-465: A representative, which led the Blues to forfeit their picks. The day after the draft, the NHL filed a $ 78 million counter-suit against Ralston, accusing Ralston of "damaging the league by willfully, wantonly and maliciously collapsing its St. Louis Blues hockey operation." The NHL also said that Ralston broke a league rule that an owner had to give two years' notice before dissolving a franchise. Ralston called
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#17327717892641680-676: A score of 104–101 in the final NBA game in the Spectrum. The game was sold-out and attendance was 17,563. The Phantoms' last regular season game at the Spectrum was played April 10, 2009, against the Hershey Bears , as the Phantoms won the game, 5–2, while the last Kixx game was against the Massachusetts Twisters on March 22. The Kixx moved onto the Temple University campus and played the 2009–10 season at
1820-541: A season-ending injury, and Jaden Schwartz missed a large portion of the season. The Blues also dealt away Paul Stastny to the Winnipeg Jets at the trade deadline for their first-round pick as they won only 23 games of their remaining 51, but they still had a chance to get into the playoffs on the last day of their season against the Colorado Avalanche. After losing Vladimir Tarasenko to injury during
1960-663: A second-round exit in 1996, and he was fired on December 19, 1996. Caron was reinstated as interim general manager for the rest of the season, and general manager Larry Pleau was hired on June 9, 1997. Hull, who had a lengthy feud with Keenan, left for the Dallas Stars in 1998. He went on to win the Stanley Cup with the Stars the next year , scoring a controversial goal on the Buffalo Sabres ' Dominik Hasek to clinch
2100-521: A specially-written version of the song "Wrecking Ball" , which he had written in honor of the demolition of Giants Stadium , with revised lyrics to honor the Spectrum. A scheduled concert with Leonard Cohen on October 22 was moved to the Tower Theatre in Upper Darby , instead. On October 23, 2009, Philadelphia area musicians The Hooters , Todd Rundgren and Hall & Oates headlined
2240-490: A star. While the Blues remained competitive, they were unable to keep many of their young players. More often than not, several of the Blues' emerging stars ended up as Calgary Flames , and the sight of Flames executive Al MacNeil was always greeted with dread. In fact, several of the Blues' young stars, such as Rob Ramage , Joe Mullen and Gilmour, were main cogs in the Flames' 1989 Stanley Cup win . Sutter and Federko were
2380-410: A strong development program under head scout Jarmo Kekalainen , using the team's raft of high draft picks in 2006 and 2007 to select highly touted prospects such as T. J. Oshie , Erik Johnson and David Perron . On January 4, 2007, the Blues had a record of 6–1–3 in their previous ten games, which was the best in the NHL during that stretch. Despite a healthy 24-point jump from the previous season,
2520-402: A year during its six-year ownership of the Blues. However, Dean took the losses philosophically, having taken over out of a sense of civic responsibility. In 1981, Dean retired. His successor, William Stiritz, wanted to refocus on the core pet food business, and his personal sporting interests were in horse racing rather than hockey. He saw the Blues as just another money-bleeding division, and put
2660-476: Is also the sport of indoor American football (one variant of which is explicitly known as arena football), a variant of the outdoor game that is designed for the usual smaller playing surface of most arenas; variants of other traditionally outdoor sports, including box lacrosse as well as futsal and indoor soccer , also exist. The term "arena" is also used loosely to refer to any event or type of event which either literally or metaphorically takes place in such
2800-468: The 1983-84 season . While the fans were stunned, the players were aware of this. When the Blues faced the Oilers on December 7, 1982, brochures were distributed titled "Saskatchewan in the NHL". These distractions would greatly affect their performance as they squeezed into the playoffs with a 25–40–15 record in the 1983 season , good enough for 65 points. This led to a Norris Division semifinals exit against
2940-718: The Boston Bruins 3–2 in overtime. On June 12, 2019, the Blues defeated the Bruins 4–1 in game 7 to win their first Stanley Cup. Ryan O'Reilly won the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP. Up until that point, the Blues were the oldest franchise to never win the Stanley Cup; they were also the last of the five surviving 1967 expansion teams to win the Cup for the first time. This all but assured that Berube would have
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#17327717892643080-562: The Boston Bruins in exchange for Wideman, became the fastest Blues player to reach 40 goals since Brett Hull , doing so during the 2007–08 season . During the 2007 off-season, the Blues signed free agent Paul Kariya to a three-year contract worth $ 18 million, re-signed defenseman Barret Jackman to a one-year contract, lost their captain Dallas Drake to the Detroit Red Wings , and traded prospect Carl Soderberg to
3220-628: The Colosseum in Rome , Italy, to absorb blood. The term arena is sometimes used as a synonym for a very large venue such as Pasadena's Rose Bowl , but such a facility is typically called a stadium . The use of one term over the other has mostly to do with the type of event. Football (be it association , rugby , gridiron , Australian rules , or Gaelic ) is typically played in a stadium, while basketball , volleyball , handball , and ice hockey are typically played in an arena, although many of
3360-800: The Jack Adams Award , Mike Liut finished a close second to Wayne Gretzky in the Hart Trophy voting, and earned the top spot on the NHL All-Star team , Larry Patey finished third in the Frank J. Selke Trophy voting, and Blake Dunlop won the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy . Their regular season success, however, did not transfer into the playoffs, as they were eliminated by the New York Rangers in
3500-662: The Lady Byng Trophy for the Blues in 1970 and New York Rangers castoff Red Berenson became the expansion team's first major star at center. The arena quickly became one of the loudest buildings in the NHL, a reputation it maintained throughout its tenure as the Blues' home. During that time, Salomon gained a reputation throughout the NHL as the top players' owner. He gave his players cars, signed them to deferred contracts and treated them to vacations in Florida . The players, used to being treated like mere commodities, felt
3640-707: The Liacouras Center . The Phantoms were sold to a Pittsburgh-based ownership group, and moved to Glens Falls, New York , for the 2009–10 season, and subsequently moved to Allentown , where they became the Flyers-affiliated Lehigh Valley Phantoms . "With this season being the final season of the Wachovia Spectrum, we will celebrate the history of the Spectrum with an exciting, year-long, celebration of events," Comcast Spectacor President Peter Luukko said. Phish
3780-620: The Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena .) The statue was removed several times over the years to be used in the filming of sequels to the original film. In September 2006, it was given a new home in an area near the base of the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art not far from where a spot on the plaza at the top of the Museum's steps where it had appeared in the film Rocky III . Since the statue
3920-598: The Minnesota North Stars , Los Angeles Kings , Philadelphia Flyers , Pittsburgh Penguins , and California Seals . St. Louis was the last of the six expansion teams to gain entry into the League; the market was chosen over Baltimore at the insistence of the Black Hawks owners, James D. Norris and Arthur Wirtz . Following the Black Hawks' championship in 1961 , the team became much more successful at
4060-464: The Original Six . Although frequent postseason contenders for most of their history, the franchise has usually struggled in the playoffs, including consecutive Stanley Cup Finals defeats at the end of their first three seasons. With the Blues' victory in their fourth Stanley Cup Finals, 49 years after their last appearance and in their 52nd year of existence, they became the final active team from
4200-543: The Philadelphia Flyers and Minnesota North Stars to reach the 1968 Stanley Cup Finals. However, St. Louis was swept in their first Finals appearance by the heavily favored Montreal Canadiens . Under Bowman, the Blues dominated the West for the next two seasons, becoming the only expansion team to compile a winning record, and they captured division titles by wide margins each year. However, they were swept in
4340-684: The Saint John Flames , 6–1. The only visitors to win the Stanley Cup and NBA championship at the Spectrum were the Montreal Canadiens (1976) and the Los Angeles Lakers (1980) respectively. The Spectrum is the only venue to host the NBA and NHL All-Star Games in the same season, doing so in 1976, when it also hosted that year's Final Four . It is also one of a handful of venues to host the Stanley Cup and NBA Finals at
Spectrum (arena) - Misplaced Pages Continue
4480-672: The U.S. Navy Yard bounded by 10th Street, Packer Ave., 23rd Street, and Terminal Avenue. The Spectrum itself occupied the portion of the Exposition's grounds on the south side of Pattison Avenue between Broad and 11th Streets that in 1926 served as the fair's main trolley terminal operated by the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company . For its first 25 years, the Spectrum overlooked the 102,000-seat John F. Kennedy Stadium , known prior to 1964 as "Municipal Stadium", located roughly 600 feet (180 m) south of
4620-515: The Western Conference . The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the six teams from the 1967 NHL expansion and is named after the W. C. Handy song " Saint Louis Blues ". They play their home games at the 18,096 seat Enterprise Center in downtown St. Louis, which has been their arena since moving from St. Louis Arena in 1994. The Blues won the Stanley Cup in 2019 and have the most Stanley Cup playoff appearances outside of
4760-654: The Xfinity Live! project, the first portion of which opened in April 2012, at the southwest corner of 11th Street and Pattison Avenue. A statue of Sylvester Stallone , depicted in his role of Philadelphia boxer Rocky Balboa , stood for many years in front of the main Pattison Avenue entrance of the Spectrum, which had been represented in the movie as the site of Rocky's first and second fights with Apollo Creed . (The fight sequences were actually filmed at
4900-479: The lockout ), the Blues were in the playoffs. They faced the third-seeded Vancouver Canucks in the first round, but despite the team's tremendous run to end the season, the Blues would ultimately lose the series in a quick four-game sweep. The Blues fired head coach Andy Murray on January 2, 2010, after a disappointing record (17–17–6, 40 points), sitting in 12th place in the Conference. Especially galling were
5040-627: The pre-game ceremony were Lou Angotti , Ed Van Impe , Bob Clarke , Mel Bridgman , Bill Barber , Dave Poulin , Ron Sutter , Kevin Dineen , Éric Desjardins , Keith Primeau and Derian Hatcher . The last NCAA basketball game the Spectrum hosted saw the Villanova Wildcats defeat the Pittsburgh Panthers on January 28, 2009. The Sixers played one regular season game against Chicago Bulls on March 13, 2009, winning by
5180-551: The "CoreStates Center" (1996–1998), the "First Union Center" (1998–2003), and the "Wachovia Center" (July 2003 – June 2010), the 20,000-plus-seat indoor arena replaced the Spectrum as the home of the Flyers, 76ers, and Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League beginning with each club's 1996–97 season. With the demolition of the Spectrum, the Wells Fargo Center has now become the oldest of
5320-492: The "Golden Jet"), became one of the League's top stars and a scoring sensation, netting 86 goals in 1990–91 en route to earning the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's most valuable player. Hull's 86 goals set the record for most goals in a single season by a right-winger (and the third-most overall at the time). Only Wayne Gretzky found the net more than Hull during any given three-year period. Despite posting
5460-532: The "interim" tag removed from his title, which occurred two weeks after their Cup victory. Shortly after the 2019 Stanley Cup Finals, Karla May of the Missouri Senate introduced a bill which would officially designate several items as state symbols of Missouri ; including the Blues being as the state's official hockey team. The bill was signed into law by Mike Parson , the Governor of Missouri , with
5600-682: The 1967 expansion to win their first Stanley Cup. The Blues have a rivalry with the Chicago Blackhawks , with whom they have shared a division since 1970. The Springfield Thunderbirds of the American Hockey League (AHL) and the Florida Everblades of the ECHL are the team's minor league affiliates. Although the St. Louis Arena was not originally designed with hockey in mind, it met NHL standards of
5740-416: The 1970–71 season following a power-sharing dispute with Sid Salomon III (who was taking an increasing role in team affairs), as well as Hall, Plante, Goyette and ultimately Berenson, who were all lost to retirement or trade. Veteran player Al Arbour hastily stepped in to coach the team. Under Arbour, the Blues essentially matched their 1969–70 regular season performance in their fourth season, and were still
Spectrum (arena) - Misplaced Pages Continue
5880-479: The 1976 and 1981 Final Fours (both won by Bob Knight 's Indiana Hoosiers ). Smaller conferences preferred holding tournament games at this venue over the larger Center nearby. In 2003 and 2004, the PBR brought their Built Ford Tough Series tour to the Spectrum. Many concerts were staged at the Spectrum, often praised for its acoustic properties, beginning in the 1960s. In the 1970s, Electric Factory Concerts became
6020-602: The Blues became the first team to reach 100 points and clinch a playoff berth in the 2011–12 season under Hitchcock, qualifying for their first playoffs since 2008–09. They would finish second in the Western Conference, behind the Vancouver Canucks. During the 2012 playoffs, they won their first playoff series since 2002, eliminating the San Jose Sharks in five games. The Blues were swept by
6160-535: The Blues contended during this time period, they never passed the second round of the playoffs. Nonetheless, their on-ice success was enough for a consortium of 19 companies to buy the team. They also provided the capital to build the Kiel Center (now the Enterprise Center ), which opened in 1994. Hull, nicknamed the "Golden Brett" (a reference to his father, NHL legend Bobby Hull , who was nicknamed
6300-550: The Blues ended up in the Smythe Division after a League realignment. This division was particularly weak, and in 1976–77 , the Blues won it while finishing five games below .500, though this would be their last playoff appearance in the decade. In the meantime, the franchise was on the brink of financial collapse. This was partly due to the pressures of the World Hockey Association (WHA), but mostly
6440-402: The Blues fired head coach Mike Yeo after starting the season with a 7–9–3 record and replaced him with Craig Berube on an interim basis. On March 29, 2019, the Blues became the seventh team in NHL since the 1967–68 season to qualify for the playoffs after being placed last after January 1. This resurgence included an eleven-game winning streak between February and March, in large part thanks to
6580-538: The Blues traded goaltender Jake Allen , who had spent 10 years in the Blues organization, to the Montreal Canadiens . The Blues play in the 19,150 (not counting standing room) capacity Enterprise Center , where they have played since 1994. The arena was previously known as Scottrade Center, the Savvis Center, and before that as the Kiel Center. From 1967 until 1994, the team played in the St. Louis Arena (known as The Checkerdome from 1977 until 1983 ), where
6720-665: The Blues, as team captain David Backes left the team to sign with the Boston Bruins , and goaltender Brian Elliott was traded to the Calgary Flames , while veteran forward Troy Brouwer also signed with Calgary as a free agent. Steve Ott also left the team, signing a free-agent deal with the Red Wings. Jake Allen was now the starting goaltender for the Blues, while the team also signed former Nashville Predators backup Carter Hutton . Former Blues forward David Perron
6860-539: The Bruins in exchange for yet more depth in the goal crease, Hannu Toivonen . On October 2, 2007, the Blues finalized the season-starting roster, which included rookies David Perron, Steven Wagner and Erik Johnson. On October 10, the Blues introduced a new mascot, Louie . Two months later, they traded Doug Weight, a 38-year-old four-time All-Star center, to the Anaheim Ducks as part of a package to acquire 30-year-old center Andy McDonald. On February 8, 2008, it
7000-559: The Canadiens, having won two out of three games against the Habs in the regular season. After that season, Ornest sold the team to a group led by St. Louis businessman Michael Shanahan. St. Louis kept chugging along through the late 1980s and early 1990s. General manager Ron Caron made astute moves, landing forwards Brett Hull , Adam Oates and Brendan Shanahan , defenseman Al MacInnis and goaltender Curtis Joseph , among others. While
7140-478: The Chicago Black Hawks. Following their playoff exit, Ralston authorized the deal to Hunter's company, renamed Coliseum Holdings, Ltd., for $ 12 million on April 21. Emile Francis would call it quits on May 2, leaving to become president and general manager of the Hartford Whalers . The Blues then fired 60 percent of their employees. The remaining staff included the accounting department, scouting staff, and coach Barclay Plager. They waited for an authorization by 75% of
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#17327717892647280-417: The Cup for Dallas. The Blues ended the 1990s as the only NHL team to make the playoffs for the entire decade, although a Stanley Cup title still eluded the franchise. Defenseman Chris Pronger (acquired from the Hartford Whalers in 1995 for Brendan Shanahan ), Keith Tkachuk , Pavol Demitra , Pierre Turgeon , Al MacInnis and goaltender Roman Turek kept the Blues a contender in the NHL. In 1999–2000 ,
7420-437: The Eagles moved to Lincoln Financial Field , a purpose-built football/soccer stadium located SE of the Spectrum site directly across 11th Street from the Wells Fargo Center. The following year, the Phillies relocated to Citizens Bank Park , a dedicated baseball stadium completed in 2004 and located diagonally across from the Spectrum site at the northeast corner of Pattison Ave and Citizens Bank Way (11th St.), immediately east of
7560-481: The Flyers and 76ers moved across the parking lot to the new and larger Wells Fargo Center (then CoreStates Center), the arena remained in place and was used by the Philadelphia Phantoms of the AHL , the Philadelphia KiXX of the NISL , the Philadelphia Soul of the Arena Football League for Saturday home games, and a variety of other sporting events and concerts. The Spectrum had relatively few luxury suites or other amenities common in newer arenas. Additionally,
7700-464: The Flyers played a day game against the Los Angeles Kings during a blizzard. A piece of flying debris smashed out one of the concourse windows, cancelling the game just after the first period. In the 1970s, the venue's location near Broad Street and the reputation for fisticuffs that the Flyers had developed led to the nickname "Broad Street Bullies". In 1976, the local pay television service PRISM (so-named in part as you could see "the spectrum" via
7840-425: The NHL Board of Governors for the sale and transfer of the club. However, the NHL Board of Governors rejected the deal by a 15–3 vote on May 18. feeling that Saskatoon was not big enough to support an NHL team, and also wary of Hunter's involvement based on his roles in the WHA. Ralston then filed a $ 60 million anti-trust lawsuit in U.S. District Court, claiming that the NHL broke federal antitrust laws and breached
7980-455: The NHL in attendance. In 2010–11, the team sold out every home game. The Blues have worn blue and white jerseys with the famous "Blue Note" crest and gold accents since their inception in 1967. From 1967 to 1984, the Blues jerseys featured a lighter shade of blue along with contrasting shoulder yoke and stripes. The blue jerseys lacked the contrasting yoke until 1979. In 1984, the Blues drastically redesigned their look, adding red and darkening
8120-407: The Philadelphia Flyers by giving away Jori Lehtera . Before the season began, the Blues were hit hard with injuries as they lost Robby Fabbri before the season began. Other players like Patrik Berglund , and Alex Steen did not return in time for the season. Despite these losses, the Blues raced out to a 21–8–2 start in their first 31 games. The Blues lost more players as Jay Bouwmeester suffered
8260-841: The Philadelphia Spectrum on August 4, 1988; August 5, 1988; June 13, 1991; December 16, 1991; and December 17, 1991. The Spectrum Theater was a venue for acts not big enough to fill the entire Spectrum arena. The stage was placed in the middle of the Spectrum floor, and the other half of the arena behind the stage was closed off with curtains, creating a theater-like environment. Some of the acts that played in this configuration included Frank Zappa in 1973, 1976 and 1977; David Bowie's Diamond Dogs Tour in 1974; The Kinks ' Soap Opera Tour in May 1975, Bob Marley 's Natty Dread Tour in 1975 and Kaya Tour in 1978; Bruce Springsteen in 1976; The Bee Gees in 1979; Peter Gabriel 's tour in 1982; Howard Jones in 1985 and Julian Lennon with Chris Bliss on June 20, 1986. The 1995–96 NHL and NBA seasons were
8400-404: The Philadelphia area. The Flyers hurriedly moved their next home game against the Oakland Seals to Madison Square Garden in New York followed by a meeting with the Boston Bruins played at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto before establishing a base at Le Colisée in Quebec City , home of their top minor league team, the AHL Quebec Aces , for the remainder of their regular season, marking
8540-419: The South end of Broad Street since 1926. The complex's total area expanded with the addition of each new facility and now takes up the entire southeast quadrant of the grounds occupied in 1926 by Philadelphia's Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition , a massive 184-day World's fair built on 700+ acres of until then largely undeveloped city-owned swamp and park land, including League Island Park adjacent to
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#17327717892648680-425: The Spectrum was a Pearl Jam concert on October 31, 2009. The arena was demolished between November 2010 and May 2011. Opened as the Spectrum in September 1967, Philadelphia's first modern indoor sports arena was built to be the home of the expansion Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL , and also to accommodate the existing Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA . The building was the second major sports facility built at
8820-423: The Spectrum would be shuttered and torn down to make way for Philly Live! , a proposed retail, dining and entertainment hub. "This has been one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make," said Snider. "The Spectrum is my baby. It's one of the greatest things that has ever happened to me." The Phantoms commemorated the final season of the Spectrum by wearing a special patch on their uniforms, as illustrated on
8960-450: The Spectrum's roof during a performance of the Ice Capades , forcing the building to close for a month while Mayor Tate fought with then-Philadelphia County District Attorney Arlen Specter over responsibility for the construction of the roof, and the damage was repaired. The 76ers moved their home games to Convention Hall and to the Palestra , but neither of those arenas had ice rinks at the time, and there were no other NHL-quality sites in
9100-414: The Spectrum. The Flyers competed in the Stanley Cup Finals in 1974 , 1975 , 1976 , 1980 , 1985 , and 1987 . The 76ers played in the NBA Finals in 1977 , 1980 , 1982 , and 1983 . The 1976 and 1992 NHL , and 1970 and 1976 NBA All-Star Games were also held here. The AHL Phantoms also won their first Calder Cup title on Spectrum ice before a sellout crowd of 17,380 on June 10, 1998, by defeating
9240-404: The St. Louis Arena came under the control of the owners of the Chicago Black Hawks . The Black Hawks treated St. Louis as a secondary market, placing minor league affiliates there and even playing a few NHL games in St. Louis during the 1950s while the team still struggled to sell tickets at Chicago Stadium . The Blues were one of the six teams added to the NHL in the 1967 expansion , along with
9380-523: The Stanley Cup Finals by the Montreal Canadiens in 1969 and then by the Boston Bruins in 1970 . While the first Blues teams included fading veterans like Doug Harvey , Don McKenney and Dickie Moore , the goaltending tandem of veterans Glenn Hall and Jacques Plante proved more durable, winning a Vezina Trophy in 1969 behind a sterling defense that featured players like skilled defensive forward Jim Roberts , team captain Al Arbour and hardrock brothers Bob and Barclay Plager . Phil Goyette won
9520-529: The Stanley Cup Finals. In fact, they made it to the conference finals only two times in their streak (1986 and 2001). Amid several questionable personnel moves and an unstable ownership situation, the Blues finished the 2005–06 season with their worst record in 27 years. They missed the playoffs for only the fourth time in franchise history. Moreover, for the first time in club history, the normally excellent support seen by St. Louisans began to decrease, with crowds normally numbering around 12,000, notably less than
9660-422: The Western Conference and second in the NHL. However, as the season was put on pause due to the pandemic, no team would play the full 82 games. Instead, a round-robin tournament for the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs was organized, starting in August 2020. In the round-robin tournament for the four top-seeded teams of the conference, the Blues failed to get a win, and thus despite having the best regular season record in
9800-412: The acquisition of the legendary-but-aging Wayne Gretzky and goaltender Grant Fuhr , both from the declining Los Angeles Kings . During the season, he publicly criticized Gretzky, who entered free agency after the season, declined an offer from the Blues, and took a less lucrative contract with the New York Rangers . Ultimately, Keenan's playoff resume with St. Louis included a first-round exit in 1995 and
9940-567: The arena was an October 17, 1967 boxing match featuring Joe Frazier vs. Tony Doyle. From 1967 through 1972, fifteen fight cards were held at the Spectrum. The NBA's 76ers also moved there from Convention Hall as a second major league sports tenant. Lou Scheinfeld, former President of the Spectrum, explained that the name "Spectrum" was selected to evoke the broad range of events to be held there: "The 'SP' for 'sports' and ' South Philadelphia ', 'E' for 'entertainment', 'C' for 'circuses', 'T' for 'theatricals', 'R' for 'recreation', and 'UM' as 'um, what
10080-422: The arena's sight lines were cited as a concern. Some seats in both the hockey and basketball configurations (especially those added in the upper level over the years) had badly obstructed views. There was only one concourse for all three levels, making for somewhat cramped conditions whenever attendance was anywhere near capacity. On July 14, 2008, Comcast Spectacor Chairman Ed Snider officially announced that
10220-419: The athletes who made the building famous such as Hockey Hall of Famers Bernie Parent and Bob Clarke of the Flyers and Hall of Famer Julius Erving of the 76ers, was held in the adjacent parking lot "H" on November 23, 2010, to formally begin its external demolition. However, unlike Veterans Stadium, its one-time neighbor, which had been located immediately across Pattison Avenue from the Spectrum before it
10360-569: The beginning of the 2006–07 season , the Blues looked to be competitive in the Central Division. However, injuries plagued the team all season, and the lack of a bona fide scorer hampered them as well. Fan support was sluggish during the first half of the campaign, and the end of the calendar year was capped by an 11-game losing streak. On December 11, 2006, the Blues fired head coach Mike Kitchen and replaced him with former Los Angeles Kings head coach Andy Murray . Davidson also installed
10500-470: The bench in a game against the Anaheim Ducks , and would not come back to play again in the season. The game against Anaheim was suspended during the first period and postponed to March 11. This ended up being the Blues' last game in the regular season, as the season would be cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic shortly afterwards. The Blues had remained in strong form throughout the season, finishing first in
10640-467: The best of the expansion teams; however, it was only good enough for second place in the West as St. Louis finished 20 points behind Chicago. The Blues would go on to be upset by the North Stars in six games, thus failing to advance past the first round for the first time in franchise history. Arbour, who officially retired as a player after the 1970–71 season, would remain behind the Blues' bench for
10780-494: The bottom of the Western Conference standings, the Blues began to turn things around behind the solid goaltending of Chris Mason . After a strong second-half run, the Blues made the 2009 playoffs on April 10, 2009, after defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets 3–1. On April 12, the Blues clinched the sixth seed in the West with a 1–0 win against the Colorado Avalanche. For the first time in five years (that is, since
10920-476: The box office in Chicago, thus St. Louis was no longer useful as a secondary market. Nevertheless, the Black Hawks owners still owned the St. Louis Arena. They sought to unload what was then a decrepit facility which had not been well-maintained since the 1940s, and thus pressed the NHL to give the franchise to St. Louis, which had not submitted a formal expansion bid. The Black Hawks owners felt they could establish
11060-469: The complex's three current venues. The Spectrum's closest sports complex neighbor was Veterans Stadium (opened 1971, closed 2003, demolished 2004), which was located north of the arena directly across Pattison Avenue. The 60,000-plus-seat "Vet" accommodated MLB 's Philadelphia Phillies and the NFL 's Philadelphia Eagles for just over three decades before it was itself replaced by two new facilities. In 2003
11200-467: The conference, they ended up being the fourth seed in the Western Conference. In the first round of the playoffs, they faced the Vancouver Canucks , to whom they lost in six games. In the hiatus preceding the NHL's Return to Play, several Blues players contracted COVID-19 , which was cited by the coaching staff as one of the reasons why their play faltered in the playoffs. On September 2, 2020,
11340-455: The counter-suit "ridiculous" and gave the NHL an ultimatum: if the NHL would not accept Hunter's offer by June 14, Ralston would dissolve the team and sell its players and assets to other teams. The Board of Governors rejected the offer and "terminated" the team on June 13, one day before Ralston's supposed deadline. It then took control of the franchise and began searching for a new owner. League president John Ziegler said they would try to keep
11480-416: The duty of good faith and fair dealing by voting to reject the sale and transfer of the Blues to Hunter's group. They also requested that the court allow them to give up the team and bar the NHL from interfering with the sale of the team. On June 3, Ralston announced that it had no interest in running the team anymore. Because they were not required to participate in the 1983 NHL entry draft , they did not send
11620-564: The emergence of the eventual Calder Trophy nominee, rookie goaltender Jordan Binnington . On May 21, the Blues advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1970 , defeating the San Jose Sharks in a six-game conference finals series. On May 29, the Blues won a Stanley Cup Finals series game for the first time in franchise history after getting swept in three previous series (1968–1970), when they defeated
11760-550: The end of the season, when they gained most points in the league from February 1, when Hitchcock was fired, to the end of the season, the Blues were eliminated in the second round by the Nashville Predators in six games. In the off-season for the 2017–18 season , the Blues would lose David Perron to the Vegas Golden Knights via an expansion draft . They would also pick up Brayden Schenn from
11900-452: The era for size and had good sight lines for the game. After an ice plant was installed, the minor league St. Louis Flyers began play there in 1929. St. Louis soon began to attract the interest as a potential NHL market, eventually leading the owners of the moribund Ottawa Senators to move there for the 1934-35 season . The move proved both ill-conceived and ill-timed, as the renamed St. Louis Eagles continued to lose money. Their situation
12040-486: The eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Los Angeles Kings , in the following round. In 2012–13 , the Blues completed the lockout -shortened season in fourth place in the Western Conference. They were again eliminated by Los Angeles, however, this time in six games in the first round of the playoffs, despite taking an initial 2–0 series lead. The following season, 2013–14 , the team hit the 100-point mark for
12180-539: The final ones for the Flyers and the 76ers at the Spectrum. The 76ers' last game was a 112–92 loss to the Orlando Magic on April 19; on May 12, Eric Lindros scored the arena's final Flyers goal in the 2nd period, and Mike Hough of the Florida Panthers scored the arena's final official NHL goal in the 2nd overtime of Game 5 of the 1996 Eastern Conference semifinals , a 2–1 Flyers loss. Although both
12320-664: The first NHL games in Quebec City in over four decades, and years before the Quebec Nordiques joined the NHL. The roof was repaired in time to permit the Flyers to return to the Spectrum to open their first Stanley Cup playoffs against the St. Louis Blues on April 4, 1968; the opening faceoff came just as the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. was transpiring in Memphis, Tennessee . Similarly, in 1993,
12460-502: The first-round series in six games. This marked the second-straight year the Blues lost in the first round of the playoffs to the reigning champions in six games after leading the series 2–0. In 2014–15 , the Blues won their second Central Division championship in four years and faced the Minnesota Wild in round one of the 2015 playoffs . However, for the third straight year, they lost in the first round and in six games. During
12600-612: The fitting refrain "If I had my way, I would tear this old building down." The lyric was changed by the band's singer Bob Weir to say "I wouldn't tear this old building down." With the demolition of The Spectrum, all venues at which The Grateful Dead played through their career within the City of Philadelphia, except for the Irvine Auditorium, have succumbed to the wrecking ball. On October 27, 28, 30, and 31, American rock band Pearl Jam played over one hundred unique songs across
12740-514: The former Veterans Stadium site which now serves as a parking lot for the entire complex. In 2017, the Phillies' spring training complex in Clearwater, Florida was renamed Spectrum Field after Bright House Networks was purchased by Charter Communications . While named for Charter's residential service, the name invoked memories of the Spectrum arena. Another NBA arena ( Spectrum Center ,
12880-510: The four days. On the final night, the band played 34 songs over nearly four hours before ending with their hit " Yellow Ledbetter ". Opened in 1967 as the first of the five modern facilities to be built at the South Philadelphia Sports Complex between 1967 and 2004, by the time it closed in 2009 the Spectrum was the oldest of the four venues still standing of the two indoor arenas and four outdoor stadiums built at
13020-417: The franchise in 1966, Salomon then spent several million dollars on extensive renovations for the 38-year-old arena, expanding it from 12,000 seats to 15,000. Lynn Patrick initially served as general manager and head coach. However, he resigned as head coach in late November after recording a 4–13–2 record. He was replaced by assistant coach Scotty Bowman , who thereafter led the team to a winning record for
13160-487: The frequent blown leads after two periods, and with the worst home record (6–13–3) posted in the entire NHL. After his duties as interim coach for the rest of the 2009–10 season , Davis Payne was named the 23rd head coach in the Blues' history on April 14. Payne was previously the head coach of the Blues top minor league affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen of the American Hockey League (AHL). On March 17, 2011, it
13300-532: The game, the Blues lost to the Avalanche 5–2 as they missed the playoffs for the first time in seven years. During the 2018 off-season, the Blues acquired forward Ryan O'Reilly from the Buffalo Sabres via trade and re-signed Perron to a third stint with the team in free agency, while also signing forwards Tyler Bozak , St. Louis native Pat Maroon , and goaltender Chad Johnson . On November 19, 2018,
13440-592: The height of the Cold War on January 11, 1976, when the Flyers became the first NHL team to defeat (by 4–1) the vaunted hockey team of the Soviet Central Red Army (ЦСКА). [1] Two games in the inaugural Canada Cup hockey tournament were also held at the Spectrum in September of that year, as the U.S. took on Czechoslovakia and the USSR . Ten NHL or NBA playoff championship series were hosted at
13580-557: The home of the Charlotte Hornets ) currently includes "Spectrum" in its name, although again it refers to the Charter residential service whose naming rights are attached to that building. Although the Spectrum formally closed on October 31, 2009, demolition of the structure did not begin for more than a year with internal work commencing on November 8, 2010. Two weeks later a public "wrecking ball ceremony" attended by some of
13720-635: The indoor arena. Opened on April 15, 1926, the stadium was also the Sesqui-Centennial Exposition's only intentionally permanent facility. The site of 42 Army–Navy Games between 1936 and 1979, JFK Stadium eventually fell into disuse in favor of the newer nearby Veterans Stadium, was condemned in 1989, and demolished in 1992 to make way for the Wells Fargo Center which opened four years later in August 1996. Known earlier as
13860-588: The larger arenas hold more spectators than do the stadiums of smaller colleges or high schools. There are exceptions. The home of the Duke University men's and women's basketball teams would qualify as an arena, but the facility is called Cameron Indoor Stadium . Domed stadiums, which, like arenas, are enclosed but have the larger playing surfaces and seating capacities found in stadiums, are generally not referred to as arenas in North America. There
14000-588: The name of the team's home venue to the St. Louis Arena. To date, this is the closest that an NHL team has come to folding since the Cleveland Barons merged with the Minnesota North Stars after the 1977–78 season. Ornest ran the Blues very cheaply, though the players did not mind. According to Sutter, they wanted to stay in St. Louis because it reminded them of the rural Canadian towns where many of them grew up. For instance, Ornest asked many players to defer their salaries to help meet operating costs, but
14140-510: The next two seasons. The Berenson trade did bring then- Detroit Red Wings star center Garry Unger , who ultimately scored 30 goals in eight consecutive seasons while breaking the NHL's consecutive games played record . Defensively, however, the Blues were less than stellar and saw Chicago and the Philadelphia Flyers overtake the Division. After missing the playoffs for the first time in 1973–74 ,
14280-530: The off-season, forward T. J. Oshie was traded to the Washington Capitals in exchange for Troy Brouwer . In 2015–16 , the Blues finished in second place in the Central Division to the Dallas Stars . The Blues took on the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks in the first-round series. The Blues jumped to a 3–1 series lead, but struggled in games 5 and 6. However, St. Louis ended their first-round losing streak by beating Chicago 3–2 in game 7 of
14420-521: The old St. Louis Eagles played, and which the original owners had to buy as a condition of the 1967 NHL expansion. The St. Louis Blues are one of the more successful NHL teams in terms of attendance. After the 2004–05 lockout , the Blues' attendance suffered, but has since improved every year since its all-time low in 2006–07 . In 2009–10 , despite not having a playoff year, the Blues had an average attendance of 18,883 (98.6% total capacity), selling out 34 of its 40 home games, which placed them seventh in
14560-423: The only team in the four major North American sports (ice hockey, basketball, baseball, and American football) to be owned by a private equity firm. Following the disappointing 2005–06 season, which saw the Blues with the worst record in the NHL, the new management focused on rebuilding the franchise. Under new management, the Blues promptly installed John Davidson as president of hockey operations, moving Pleau to
14700-520: The only untouchables on the Blues during that era. By 1986 , the team reached the Campbell Conference finals against the Flames. Doug Wickenheiser 's overtime goal in game 6 to cap a furious comeback remains one of the greatest moments in team history (known locally as the " Monday Night Miracle "), but the Blues lost game 7, 2–1. Years later, Sutter argued that had the Blues made it to the Stanley Cup Finals , they would have likely beaten
14840-562: The only way they could pay him back was to give their best on the ice every night. The Blues' successes in the late 1960s, however, did not continue into the 1970s. The Stanley Cup playoff format changed in such a way that a Western team was no longer guaranteed a Finals berth, and also the Chicago Black Hawks were moved into the Western Division following the 1970 expansion. The Blues lost Bowman, who left during
14980-612: The players always got paid in the end. During most of Ornest's tenure, the Blues had only 26 players under contract–23 in St. Louis, plus three on their farm team, the Montana Magic . Most NHL teams during the mid-1980s had over 60 players under contract. Despite operating on a shoestring, the Blues remained competitive even though they never finished more than six games over .500 in Ornest's three years as owner. During this time, Doug Gilmour , drafted by St. Louis in 1982 , emerged as
15120-416: The playoffs. Under the expansion playoff format, Bowman's leadership was enough as the Blues qualified for the playoffs in their inaugural season. Although they had finished in third place, St. Louis was regarded as fairly evenly matched with the other three Western qualifiers since only four points separated first and fourth place. Ultimately, it was the Blues who prevailed by winning in seven games each over
15260-411: The prominent concert promoter for the facility. Philadelphia soul groups that performed at the Spectrum include LaBelle in '71 and Hall & Oates in '83. The O'Jays (they were signed to Philadelphia International ) performed there in '73, and Lou Rawls (also signed to Philly International) performed there in '69. Boyz II Men from Philly performed there in '95. Guns N' Roses performed at
15400-425: The rest of the season. Like the other five expansion teams, the Blues' roster consisted primarily of castoffs from the Original Six and players who had previously never managed to break out of the minor leagues. As part of the expansion, the NHL had agreed to put all of the expansion teams in the new Western Division , an arrangement which was intended to ensure all of the new teams all had an equal chance of reaching
15540-495: The result of financial decisions made when the Salomons first acquired the franchise. The deferred contracts came due just as the Blues' performance began to slip. At one point, the Salomons cut the team's staff down to three employees. One of them was Emile Francis , who served as team president, general manager and head coach. In hopes of saving the franchise, Francis persuaded St. Louis-based pet food giant Ralston Purina to buy
15680-475: The revised statute becoming effective August 29, 2019. In the 2019–20 season , the Blues suffered an early blow as forward Vladimir Tarasenko suffered a season-ending injury on October 24. However, they would continue their strong play even despite being plagued with various other injuries, consistently remaining at or near the top of the Western Conference. On February 12, 2020, the Blues suffered another loss as defenseman Jay Bouwmeester suddenly collapsed on
15820-504: The right. The team also celebrated some of the building's memorable moments throughout the season. The Flyers marked the last season by playing two pre-season games at the Spectrum. They played the Carolina Hurricanes in an NHL pre-season game on September 27, 2008, and the Phantoms on October 7 of that same year. Before the game against Carolina, the Flyers honored the team captains in the franchise's history. Those honored in
15960-431: The same time, doing so in 1980 (all four major Philadelphia teams would reach the championship round of their respective sport in 1980). The Spectrum was used for many basketball tournaments, including Big Five games, eight Atlantic 10 Conference tournaments (1977, 1983, 1997–2002), the 1975, 1980 and 1992 NCAA East Regional (site of the famous last-second shot by Christian Laettner of Duke to beat Kentucky ), and
16100-571: The second round 2–4 after beating the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round 3–2. The Blues would underachieve greatly the following year as they posted a 32–40–8, but they beat the Winnipeg Jets 3–1 in the Norris Division semifinals before dropping to the Chicago Black Hawks in the Norris Division 2–4. While the Blues had returned to respectability on the ice, they were struggling off it. Ralston Purina lost an estimated $ 1.8 million
16240-540: The second-best regular season record in the entire league in 1990–91, the Blues were upset in the second round of the playoffs to the Minnesota North Stars , a defeat that was symbolic of St. Louis' playoff struggles. Mike Keenan was hired as both general manager and coach before the abbreviated 1994–95 season , with the hope that he could end the postseason turmoil that Blues fans had endured for years. Keenan instituted major changes, including trades that sent away fan favorites Brendan Shanahan and Curtis Joseph, as well as
16380-455: The series. They moved on to the next round, where they defeated the Dallas Stars in another seven-game series to advance to their first conference finals since 2001. The Blues season would come to an end at the hands of the San Jose Sharks , who eliminated them in six games. On June 13, 2016, it was announced that Mike Yeo would replace Hitchcock as head coach of the Blues following the 2016–17 season . The 2016 off-season saw big changes for
16520-401: The shade of blue. Initially, the front of the jersey featured the team name above the crest logo, but was removed in 1987. In addition, the contrasting shoulder yoke was removed. For the 1994–95 season, the Blues introduced a more radical jersey set, featuring red in a more prominent role. The jersey introduced the short-lived trumpet logo on the shoulders and featured thin diagonal stripes on
16660-494: The sixth time in franchise history, and gained a franchise record of 52 wins. Their chance of winning the Central Division title, the top seed in the West, and the Presidents' Trophy would all evaporate, after they lost their final six games and wound up in second place in the Division, this time to the Colorado Avalanche. The slump haunted them, as they blew a 2–0 series lead to the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks , losing
16800-544: The south end of Broad Street in an area previously known as East League Island Park and now referred to simply as the South Philadelphia Sports Complex . Ground was broken on the arena on June 1, 1966, by Jerry Wolman and then-Philadelphia Mayor James Tate as the home of the NHL's expansion Philadelphia Flyers . The first event at the arena was the Quaker City Jazz Festival on September 30, 1967, produced by Larry Magid. The first sporting event at
16940-406: The strain of playing in a conference where seven teams finished with more than 100 points kept them out of the playoffs for the second year in a row. Just before the 2007 NHL trade deadline , the Blues traded several key players, including Bill Guerin, Keith Tkachuk and Dennis Wideman , in exchange for draft picks, though they re-signed Tkachuk after the season ended. Brad Boyes , picked up from
17080-485: The tail and sleeves. The bottom of the numbers taper off to give way to the aforementioned stripes. An updated version of the blue sweater, produced by Adidas, was brought back in 2019 as their "90s Vintage Jersey." Before the 1997–98 season, the Blues introduced a new alternate white jersey. The jersey brought back the contrasting shoulder yoke and returned to the lighter blue of previous eras. It also replaced red with navy blue as an accent color. A corresponding blue jersey
17220-470: The team in St. Louis. However, had the league not found a new owner by August 6, it would dissolve the team and hold a dispersal draft for the players. On July 27, 1983, ten days before the deadline, the NHL approved a bid from businessman Harry Ornest and a group of St. Louis-based investors for the team and the arena. Ornest had made plans to buy the team as early as March, but built up his efforts in late June to have enough money. Ornest immediately reverted
17360-525: The team notched a franchise-record 114 points during the regular season, earning the Presidents' Trophy for the League's best record. However, they were stunned by the San Jose Sharks in the first round of the 2000 playoffs in seven games. In 2001 , the Blues advanced to the conference finals before bowing out in five games to the eventual champions, the Colorado Avalanche . Nonetheless,
17500-403: The team on the market. While there were a number of interested parties, none had enough cash to meet Ralston's asking price. On January 12, 1983, Batoni-Hunter Enterprises Ltd., led by WHA and Edmonton Oilers founder Bill Hunter , tendered an offer to buy the team. Hunter intended to build a $ 43 million, 18,000-seat arena in his hometown of Saskatoon , Saskatchewan , to house the team in time for
17640-483: The team remained competitive for the next three years, despite never advancing beyond the second round. Despite years of mediocrity and the stigma of never being able to "take the next step," the Blues were a playoff presence every year from 1980 to 2004 – the third-longest streak in North American professional sports history (all three of which being held by NHL teams). However, they never made an appearance in
17780-515: The team's normal high (about 18,000 in a 19,500-seat arena). Wal-Mart heir Nancy Walton Laurie and her husband Bill purchased the Blues in 1999. On June 17, 2005, the Lauries announced that they would sell the team. Bill Laurie, a former point guard at Memphis State University , had long desired to buy and move a National Basketball Association (NBA) team to St. Louis (coming close to achieving this in 1999, with an unsuccessful attempt to purchase
17920-406: The team, arena, and the $ 8.8 million debt. The Salomons sold the Blues to Ralston on July 27, 1977. However, longtime Ralston Purina chairman R. Hal Dean said that he intended to keep the Blues as a Ralston subsidiary only temporarily until a more stable owner who would keep the team in St. Louis could be found. Ralston renamed the arena the "Checkerdome." After two awful years, including what is still
18060-428: The team. On December 27, 2005, it was announced that the Blues had signed a letter of intent to exclusively negotiate with General Sports and Entertainment, LLC. However, after the period of exclusivity, SCP entered the picture again. On March 24, 2006, the Lauries completed the sale of the Blues and the lease to the Savvis Center to SCP and TowerBrook Capital Partners , L.P., a private equity firm. The Blues are currently
18200-432: The then- Vancouver Grizzlies ), and it was thought that this desire caused him to neglect the Blues. On September 29, 2005, it was announced that the Lauries had signed an agreement to sell the Blues to SCP Worldwide, a consulting and investment group headed by former Madison Square Garden president Dave Checketts . On November 14, 2005, the Blues announced that SCP Worldwide had officially withdrawn from negotiations to buy
18340-627: The top and a four-sided American Sign and Indicator scoreboard at the bottom. Inside the videoscreens were General Electric projectors located 15 feet (4.6 m) away from each screen. The Flyers won their first Stanley Cup at the Spectrum on May 19, 1974, defeating the Boston Bruins , 1–0, in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals in front of a then-capacity crowd of 17,007. Perhaps the most important and emotional hockey game—or sporting event of any kind—ever held there, however, came at
18480-584: The world record for the fastest conversion from Hockey to Basketball. The Spectrum, along with the Met Center and The Forum , was one of the first sports arenas to have a scoreboard with a messageboard. Furthermore, the messageboards on the Spectrum scoreboard were the first dot matrix screens in pro hockey or basketball, capable of photos, animation, and replays as well as messages. This was replaced in 1986 with ArenaVision, which consisted of six 9-by-12-foot (2.7 by 3.7 m) rear-projection videoscreens at
18620-409: Was announced that the St. Louis Blues were for sale. During the 2011 off-season, the team signed many key free agents, including Brian Elliott , Scott Nichol , Kent Huskins , Jason Arnott and Jamie Langenbrunner . They fired their head coach, Davis Payne, and named Ken Hitchcock as his replacement on November 6, 2011. David Backes was also announced as the new team captain. On March 17, 2012,
18760-553: Was announced that, after going much of the season without a captain, defenseman Eric Brewer was chosen as the team's 19th captain. The team later traded veteran defenseman Bryce Salvador to the New Jersey Devils for enforcer , and St. Louis native, Cam Janssen . He made his debut two days later, wearing number 55 against the Phoenix Coyotes . After spending the first half of the 2008–09 season at or near
18900-529: Was brought back on a free agent deal, while defenseman Alex Pietrangelo was named team captain. The team started the season by posting a record of 10–1–2 in their first 13 home games. However, they only won three games on the road during the first two months of the season. Despite defeating the Blackhawks in the 2017 Winter Classic by the score of 4–1, the Blues fired Hitchcock and promoted Yeo to head coach on February 1, 2017. Despite an impressive run into
19040-471: Was imploded on March 21, 2004, the almost half-year process of demolishing the then-44-year-old arena, done without the use of explosives, was completed in May 2011. This was done to protect its other sports facilities from dust. Water was used to prevent dust from spreading. A 300-room hotel is planned to eventually be built on the demolished Spectrum's site, which is now occupied by a parking lot, as an adjunct to
19180-556: Was introduced the following season, thus retiring the previous set. Like all NHL teams, the Blues updated their jerseys for the 2007–08 season with new Rbk Edge jerseys. The Blues simplified their design, with only the blue note logo on the front; there were no third jerseys for the season. The Blues announced plans for a navy third jersey featuring a new logo, with the Gateway Arch with the Blue Note superimposed over it inside
19320-407: Was not deemed "art," it was moved around the corner of the museum on Kelly Drive. Other statues that stood in the arena area included: The statues have been incorporated into the design of Xfinity Live! . Indoor arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre , musical performances , and/or sporting events . It is composed of
19460-604: Was not helped by the decision to keep the Eagles in the Canadian Division to keep the divisions balanced, which left the team with unaffordable travel expenses to games in Toronto and Montreal. The team finished last in the division and disbanded after one season. Following further contraction, the league stabilized at six teams after 1942. During this period, the NHL rebuffed attempts at further expansion. Eventually,
19600-437: Was rumored to be among the acts to commemorate the closing of the arena. "It is our hope and intent to bring back many of the musical acts and entertainers who have made the Spectrum 'America's Showplace. ' " Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band played two shows at The Spectrum on April 28 and 29 as part of their Working on a Dream Tour , and returned on October 13–14 and 19–20 for their Spectrum swan song. Springsteen debuted
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