The bottom line is that Ed Snider is a bottom line guy.

That’s how he got where he is today. Snider is one of the pioneers of Philadelphia sports. For decades he has been the moving force behind the Flyers, including delivering us from our time-honored reputation as losers by winning two Stanley Cups.

Snider, unlike the Eagles and Phillies, his corporate neighbors at the South Philly sports complex, did not go to the government or public with his hand out when the time came to build a new stadium.

OK, sure, he got the land where a crumbling JFK Stadium sat. But he didn’t hit up the taxpayers and with the kind of corporate welfare that was funneled into Lincoln Financial Field and Citizens Bank Park, and in fact now is being bandied about now amid talk of a soccer stadium in Chester.

Snider is a self-made man who now sits atop the vast holdings of Comcast-Spectacor, owner of the Sixers and Flyers, and the building he built for them, the Wachovia Center.

That’s not to say he does not have his emotional side.

Yesterday, Snider stepped to the microphones in South Philly to announce plans for “Philly Live!” The truth is, the glitzy series of shops, restaurants and entertainment joints has been 10 years in the making. Snider had his eyes on this type of development when he first envisioned building a new palace for his team to play in.

Didn’t work out then. It looks like it’s going to be a go now.

Comcast-Spectacor is teaming with the Cordish Co., a Baltimore outfit that specializes in these kind of sports-centric developments, to put a snazzy entertainment and shopping destination in the space that sits between the Wachovia Center and the Spectrum.

And that’s where the bottom line gets a bit emotional for the Comcast boss.
Much has been made about the legendary original home of the Flyers and Sixers. The Spectrum celebrated its 40th anniversary last year. It houses more than just championships. It houses memories. Of great athletic events. Of concerts. It is likely where a generation of those in the region saw their first big show.

But time marches on. The Flyers and Sixers no longer play there. It is now the home of the Flyers’ minor league affiliate, the Phantoms, as well as the Kixx, and some other shows.

One of the proposals being looked at for “Philly Live!” would include a luxury hotel that would sit where the Spectrum now resides.

In other words, break out the wrecking ball. And the tears.

Snider yesterday made no effort to hide his emotion at the prospect of knocking down the building where, for him, it all started.

He said it would pain him greatly to see it go. He said there are a number of different possibilities that are being considered. He said the Spectrum was his “baby” and that he would not be there if in fact the building was taken down.
In fact he said everything but this: He did not say the Spectrum would remain standing. A group of artist’s renderings of the development were rolled out. None of them showed the Spectrum still in its familiar spot at the corner of Broad and Pattison. It is the recommendation of the folks at Cordish, who should know, that the Spectrum should go.

It is not a decision Snider will make lightly.

But it is best for the bottom line.

Don’t bet on the Spectrum being part “Philly Live!” Instead, like one of the legendary bands who played so many shows there, it likely will join the list of the Grateful Dead.