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About Wachovia Center
The Wachovia Center, formerly known as the CoreStates Center and the First Union Center, is an indoor arena located in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is the home arena of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League, Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association, and the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League. The arena was completed in 1996 on what was once the site of John F. Kennedy Stadium at a cost of $206 million. The building lies at the southwest corner of the South Philadelphia sports complex, which includes Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia Eagles,) Citizens Bank Park (Philadelphia Phillies,) and the Wachovia Spectrum, current home of the Philadelphia Phantoms and The Wachovia Center's predecessor as home to the Flyers, 76ers, and Wings.
About The Name: The arena was originally named for CoreStates Bank, which agreed to pay $40 million for the naming rights. The naming rights, however, were taken by First Union Bank in a merger in 1998 and then by Wachovia Bank in a 2003 merger with First Union. While under the First Union name, the arena was affectionately referred to as the "F.U. Center" by Philadelphians. Due to this, a name alteration was considered, the "First Union National Center," projecting the nickname "The FUN Center." However, this was met with much derision from fans and athletes who played in the facility, such as former Philadelphia Flyers forward Brantt Myhres, who said the name change would make the building sound like a "circus venue."
The arena officially seats 21,600 for basketball (NBA, NCAA) and 19,519 for hockey (NHL, AHL) and indoor lacrosse (NLL), although with additional standing room admissions available in suites for purchase by their lease holders the total paid capacity is actually somewhat greater. The Wachovia Center has 126 luxury suites, 1,880 Club Box and Super Box seats, and a variety of restaurants and clubs (both public and private) available for use by patrons. In addition the offices, studios, and production facilities of Comcast SportsNet are all located in the facility.
On May 31, 1997, the building set the record for the highest attendance for a hockey game in the state of Pennsylvania (20,291) when the Philadelphia Flyers played the Detroit Red Wings in Game 1 of the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals. The building also set a record for the highest attendance for a college basketball game in the state of Pennsylvania on February 13, 2006, when Villanova University played the University of Connecticut before a crowd of 20,859.On August 1, 2006, Comcast-Spectacor announced it would be installing a new center-hung scoreboard to replace the original one made by Daktronics. The new scoreboard, manufactured by ANC Sports is similar to other scoreboards in new NHL & NBA arenas. An additional linear LED display lining the entire arena was also installed between the suite and mezzanine levels.
Notable Events and Performers at Wachovia Center:
Host of Philadelphia's Annual Sports Radio 610WIP Wing Bowl hosted by Angelo Cataldi and the Morning Team. 2008 marked the 16th Wing Bowl, an eating competition created by Philadelphia Sports Analyst Al Morganti. When Morganti conceived the idea for Wing Bowl, Philadelphia sports were going through a considerable championship drought while The Buffalo Bills of the NFL appeared in four consecutive Super Bowls. Morganti thought the only way to bring a Bowl to Philadelphia was to start a new one and host it the Friday before the Super Bowl.
In 1998, Wachovia Center hosted 19,082 guests for the US Figure Skating Olympic Trials and ultimately sent Michelle Kwan to the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. 2008 will mark the second time a US Olympic trial event takes place in Philadelphia when Alicia Sacramone and the rest of the US Gymnasts make their bid to compete in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
Other future events include the 2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament and the 2011 NCAA Wrestling Championships.
Legendary recording artists who have performed at Wachovia Center include Aerosmith, Christina Aguilera, David Bowie, Beyonce, Bon Jovi, Garth Brooks, Mariah Carey, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, Coldplay, Hannah Montana Miley Cyrus, Dave Matthews, Neil Diamond, Celine Dion, Genesis, Green Day, Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige, Billy Joel, Elton John, Metallica, Pearl Jam, Prince, P.Diddy, Rolling Stones, Britney Spears, Bruce Springsteen, U2, Van Halen, and The Who. In 2000, Wachovia Center hosted the Republican National Convention which sent then Governor George W. Bush into the general election to take on Vice President Al Gore. Wachovia Center has hosted a number of WWF and WWE events including WWE Raw and Smackdown as well as major exhibitions like WWE Wrestlemania, WWE Summer Slam, and WWE Survivor Series.
76ers Franchise History
The 76ers are the NBA's oldest franchise. They began in 1939 as the Syracuse Nationals, an independent professional team. In 1946, they joined the National Basketball League, becoming the largely Midwest-based league's easternmost team. In 1949, the Nationals were one of seven NBL teams that merged with the Basketball Association of America to form the NBA. In 1955, the Nationals won the NBA championship.
By the early 1960s, the NBA's Nationals were struggling. Syracuse was the last of the medium-sized cities, but it was too small for a professional team to be profitable. Paper magnate Irv Kosloff bought the Nationals from Denny Biasone and moved them to Philadelphia in 1963. The NBA thus returned to Philadelphia one year after the Warriors had left for San Francisco. A contest was held to decide on their new name and the winner was the late Walt Stahlberg. Their name was changed to the "76ers," after the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia in 1776. The nickname was quickly shortened to "Sixers" by headline writers.
For their first four years in Philadelphia, the Sixers played mostly at the Philadelphia Arena and Civic Center-Convention Hall, with an occasional game at The Palestra at the University of Pennsylvania. In the 1964-65 season, the 76ers acquired the legendary Wilt Chamberlain from the Warriors; Chamberlain had been a high school legend in Philadelphia and began his career with the Warriors while they still played in Philadelphia.
In Chamberlain's first full year back in Philadelphia, the Sixers ended the Boston Celtics' eight-year reign as Eastern Division regular-season champions. The 76ers would push the Celtics to seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals, with the 76ers trailing 110–108 in Game 7. After Hal Greer's pass was stolen by John Havlicek — an infamous blow to 76ers fans, rubbed in by fabled Celtics announcer Johnny Most when he yelled into the microphone "Havlicek stole the ball!" — the Celtics went on to beat the 76ers and win another NBA Championship.
During the 1976-77 season the 76ers acquired Julius Erving from the New York Nets, while the team was purchased by local philantrophist F. Eugene "Fitz" Dixon, grandson of George Dunton Widener and heir to the Widener fortune. With them, the 76ers began an exciting ride for the fans of Philadelphia, beating their long-time nemesis from Boston in a seven-game playoff slugfest to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals
Harold Katz bought the 76ers from Dixon in 1982. On his watch, the final piece of the championship puzzle was completed before the 1982-83 season when they acquired center Moses Malone from the Houston Rockets. Led by Hall of Famer Julius Erving and All-Stars Maurice Cheeks, Andrew Toney, and Bobby Jones they dominated the regular season, winning 65 games in what is still the second most winning year in franchise history. Malone was named League MVP, and when reporters asked how the playoffs would run, he answered, "four, four, four" — in other words, predicting that the Sixers would sweep all three rounds to win the title, with the minimum 12 games. Malone's deep voice made his boast sound like "fo', fo', fo'."
The Sixers backed up Malone's boast. They made a mockery of the Eastern Conference playoffs, first sweeping the New York Knicks and then beating the Milwaukee Bucks in five games. The Sixers went on to win their third NBA championship (and second in Philadelphia) with a four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers, who had defeated them the season before. Malone was named the playoffs' MVP. The Sixers didn't quite fulfill Malone's prediction, as their run was actually "fo', fi', fo" ("four, five, four")--a loss to the Bucks in game four of the Eastern finals being the only blemish on their playoff run. Nonetheless, their 12–1 playoff record is the second-best in league history after the 2000-2001 Lakers, who went 15–1 en route to the NBA Title coincidentally beating the 76ers in the finals.
Charles Barkley arrived in Philadelphia for the 1984-85 season. In 1989-90, Barkley finished second in the league's MVP voting, as the 76ers won the Atlantic Division title. After defeating Cleveland in the first round of the playoffs, Philadelphia faced Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the second round. The 76ers fell to the Bulls in five games, and would do the same in 1991 after sweeping the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round. Some people feel the two postseason losses to Chicago were the beginning of the end of Barkley's stay in Philadelphia. In 1991-92, the 76ers missed the playoffs for the just the second time during Barkley's eight seasons in Philadelphia. On June 17, 1992, Barkley was traded to the Phoenix Suns for Jeff Hornacek, Tim Perry, and Andrew Lang, a deal met with harsh criticism.
Starting with the 1990-91 season, and ending with the 1995-96 season, the 76ers had the dubious distinction of seeing their win total decrease each year. The nadir was the 1995-96 season, when they finished with an 18–64 record, the second-worst in franchise history. It was also the second-worst record in the league that year, ahead of only the expansion Vancouver Grizzlies but behind the Toronto Raptors, who were also in their inaugural season. Katz, unpopular among fans since the 1986 trades, sold the team to Comcast-Spectacor, a consortium of Philadelphia Flyers owner Ed Snider and Comcast Corporation, at the end of the 1995-96 season. Snider had been the Sixers' landlord since gaining control of the Spectrum in 1971.
With new ownership and the selection of the first overall pick in 1996, Allen Iverson and the 76ers moving into the Wachovia Center, things seemed to finally be heading in a positive direction. Croce fired Lucas as both coach and general manager. Johnny Davis was named head coach, while Brad Greenberg took over as general manager. Iverson was named Rookie of the Year, but Philadelphia's overall improvement was minimal, as they finished with a 22–60 record. 76ers top brass felt changes had to be made after the 1996-97 season. Changes came in the form of the firings of Davis and Greenberg and the unveiling of a new 76ers team logo and jerseys. To replace Davis, Larry Brown was hired as head coach. Known for a defense-first approach and transforming unsuccessful teams into winners by "playing the right way",
During the 2000-01 season, the 76ers got off to a hot start by winning their first ten games, and their record would eventually swell to 41–14. Larry Brown coached the Eastern Conference All-Stars, and Allen Iverson was named MVP of the All-Star Game. The Sixers eventually made it to the NBA Finals and played the fearsome LA Lakers led by Shaq, Phil, and Kobe. The 76ers stunned the Lakers by winning game 1 of the NBA Finals only to lose the next four consecutive games.
On Tuesday, December 5, 2006, disappointed with the direction the team was headed, Allen Iverson gave the 76ers management an ultimatum: find players who will help support me or trade me. This was confirmed via an in-game interview with team owner, Ed Snider. On December 19, 2006, Allen Iverson, along with Ivan McFarlin, was sent to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for guard Andre Miller, forward Joe Smith, and two first-round draft picks.
Much to the surprise of the local media who criticized the move, Andre Miller has become a true court general and the leader of the 76ers. Miller’s passing ability and clutch shooting have led the 76ers to success in a year that was expected to be a “rebuilding year.” Andre Miller’s veteran abilities in combination with the raw talent of young players like Andre Igoudala, Samuel Dalembert, Thaddeus Young have made the 76ers a force in the Eastern Conference.
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