PHILADELPHIA— The Wachovia Spectrum, the former home to the Philadelphia 76ers and Flyers, will close and be demolished next year.

Arena owner Comcast-Spectacor, which announced the plan Tuesday, wants to replace it with a complex of retail space, bars, restaurants and a hotel. The 42-year-old arena, slated to shut down next spring, had been used for Philadelphia Flyers and 76ers games until the adjacent Wachovia Center was built and opened in l996.

The Spectrum is currently home to a minor league hockey team, the Philadelphia Phantoms, and an indoor soccer team, the Philadelphia Kixx.

Comcast-Spectacor is in discussions to relocate the Phantoms to another facility in time for the 2009-10 season.

The future of the Kixx is clouded by the fact that its league, the Major Indoor Soccer League, shut down in May. The league is trying to restart in a new form sometime before the 2008-09 season.

Comcast-Spectacor, a unit of cable giant Comcast Corp., owns the Flyers, 76ers, Phantoms, the Wachovia Center and the Wachovia Spectrum. It also runs arenas around the country and has food service, ticketing and advertising interests.