October 31, 2009: The Spectrum Closes

October 31, 2009: The "grunge rock" band Pearl Jam sell out The Spectrum, in the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. It is the last event at the 42-year-old arena.

The Spectrum, a new sports arena, opened in South Philadelphia on September 30, 1967, with the Quaker City Jazz Festival. It was home to the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers until 1996; hosted the NBA All-Star Game in 1970 and 1976; the NHL All-Star Game in 1976 and 1992; the NCAA Final Four in 1976 and 1981; the Stanley Cup Finals in 1974, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1985 and 1987; the NBA Finals in 1977, 1980, 1982 and 1983; and concerts by Elvis Presley in 1971, 1974, 1976 and 1977.

Unlike most arenas, The Spectrum was not replaced due to it being technologically outdated, or in poor condition, or being in a bad neighborhood (it was an island in a sea of parking, therefore it was in no neighborhood). It was because Spectator, the company owned by the Snider family to operate the arena and the Flyers, was booking more events than it could handle.

So in 1992, JFK Stadium was torn down, and what was originally named Spectrum II was built on the site. The idea was that the new arena would host the headline events -- the 76ers, the Flyers, and the major concerts -- while the original Spectrum would host smaller events.

The 76ers' last game at The Spectrum was on April 19, 1996. They lost to the Orlando Magic, 112-92. The Flyers' last game there was in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, on May 12. They were eliminated from the Eastern Conference Semifinals by the Florida Panthers, 2-1. Mike Hough scored the winning, and last, goal at 8:05 of the 2nd overtime.

The Spectrum continued to hold public events until a series of Pearl Jam concerts from October 27 to 31, 2009. The building was torn down the following year. Xfinity Live! Philadelphia, a dining and entertainment complex, opened on the site in 2012.

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October 31, 2009 was a Saturday. It was also Halloween. At the same time as the concert, Game 3 of the World Series was also held at the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. The New York Yankees beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 8-5 at Citizens Bank Park.

These notable college football games were played:

* Rivalry: Number 1 Florida beat Georgia, 41-17 at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium (now EverBank Stadium).

* Number 3 Texas beat Number 13 Oklahoma State, 41-14 at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

* Number 4 University of Southern California (USC) were upset by Number 10 Oregon, 47-20 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon.

* Number 5 University of Cincinnati beat Syracuse, 28-7 at the Carrier Dome (now the JMA Wireless Dome) in Syracuse, New York.

* Number 6 Boise State beat San Jose State, 45-7 at Bronco Stadium in Boise, Idaho. As an undefeated team and Champions of the Western Athletic Conference, the Broncos got invited to the Fiesta Bowl.

* Number 7 Iowa beat Indiana, 42-24 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa.

* Number 8 Texas Christian University (TCU) beat the University of Nevada at Las Vegas (UNLV), 41-0 at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas. As an undefeated team and Champions of the Mountain West Conference, the Horned Frogs got invited to the Fiesta Bowl. They came in at Number 6, while Boise State were Number 8. Since neither the WAC nor the MWC, which grew out of the WAC, is a "Power Five" conference, this was a consolation prize: Whoever won was still going to be undefeated, but wouldn't get to be called National Champions. It was, essentially, college football's version of the NIT. Boise State won, 17-10. Despite remaining undefeated, they only rose to Number 4 in the polls.

* Rivalry: Number 9 Louisiana State University (LSU) beat Tulane, 42-0 at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

* Number 21 South Carolina were upset by Tennessee, 31-13 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee.

* Number 24 Mississippi lost to  Auburn, 33-20 at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama.

* Number 25 Notre Dame beat Washington State, 40-14 at the Alamodome in San Antonio. I don't know why the game was played there, but it was part of "the Shamrock Series," where Notre Dame plays "home away from home games."

* Illinois beat Michigan, 38-13 at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois.

* Among the service academies, Army had the week off; Navy lost to Temple, 27-24 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland; and Air Force beat Colorado State, 34-16 at Hughes Stadium in Fort Collins, Colorado.

* And Rutgers beat Connecticut (a.k.a. UConn), 28-24 at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut.

There were 7 games played in the NBA. Appropriately, 1 was a win by the 76ers, beating the New York Knicks, 141-127 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Othella Harrington scored 42 points for the Knicks, while Andre Iguodala led the Sixers with 32. The other games:

* The New Jersey Nets lost to the Washington Wizards, 123-104 at the Verizon Center (now the Capital One Arena) in Washington.

* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Charlotte Hornets, 90-79 at the Quicken Loans Arena (now the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse) in Cleveland.

* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Detroit Pistons, 96-85 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.

* The Houston Rockets beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 111-107 at the Toyota Center in Houston. Brandon Roy scored 42 for the Blazers, while Trevor Ariza led the Rockets with 43.

* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Sacramento Kings, 113-94 at the AT&T Center (now the Frost Bank Arena) in San Antonio.

* And the Dallas Mavericks beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 93-84 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.

There were 11 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Islanders beat the Buffalo Sabres, 5-0 at the Nassau Coliseum.

* The New Jersey Devils beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 2-1 at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa.

* In the opener of Hockey Night In Canada's Saturday night doubleheader, there was an Original Six matchup: The Montreal Canadiens beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 5-4 in a shootout at the Bell Centre.

* The Boston Bruins beat the Edmonton Oilers, 2-0 at the TD Garden Boston.

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Carolina Hurricanes, 6-1 at the Wachovia Center (now the Wells Fargo Center) in Philadelphia.

* The Atlanta Thrashers beat the Ottawa Senators, 3-1 at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa.

* The Minnesota Wild beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 2-1 at the Mellon Arena (as the Civic Arena was then known) in Pittsburgh.

* The Nashville Predators beat the Dallas Stars, 4-2 at the Sommet Center (now the Bridgestone Arena) in Nashville.

* The Florida Panthers beat the St. Louis Blues, 4-0 at the Scottrade Center (now the Enterprise Center) in St. Louis.

* The Phoenix Coyotes beat the Anaheim Ducks, 3-2 in a shootout at the Jobing.com Arena (now the Desert Diamond Arena) in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona.

* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Calgary Flames, 3-1 at the Saddledome in Calgary.

* And the New York Rangers, the Chicago Blackhawks, the Los Angeles Kings, the Vancouver Canucks, the Washington Capitals, the Colorado Avalanche, the San Jose Sharks and the Columbus Blue Jackets were not scheduled.

And in English soccer, a North London Derby was held at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal beat Tottenham Hotspur, 3-1.