The roof came off!

In mid-February 1968, during an Ice Capades performance, a high wind tore off part of the roof of Philadelphia's then-new arena, the Spectrum. (A patch proved ineffective.) The two resident franchises, the NBA Sixers and the NHL Flyers, were forced to seek alternate venues.

The Sixers were able to go to make-do quarters in the Philadelphia Civic Center in University City, where the erstwhile Warriors had played. It was serviceable on the short term, but a comedown nonetheless. But I digress.

The Flyers sought NHL-grade venues in Toronto (Maple Leaf Gardens) and New York (Madison Square Garden) for their home games, as well as the Quebec Coliseum, home of their AHL affiliate Quebec Aces. The latter had a seating capacity of just over 10,000 for hockey then.

But suppose the Flyers had looked instead to the Baltimore Civic Center, only about 95 miles to the southwest? That venue at the time was perhaps six years old, and although cursed with a somewhat primitive layout (all seats faced straight ahead; the south end was occupied by a rarely used stage more suited for a high school auditorium), it seated perhaps 11,000 for hockey. What might have resulted had several Flyers home games been played there, if decent (8500-10000) attendance figures had resulted? Would Baltimore, instead of, say, Buffalo or Atlanta, gotten the nod for a future NHL team?
 
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