Pistons may be moving downtown in 2017-18
Per Crain's Detroit, it looks like the Pistons may be moving downtown in 2017-18 if final details can be worked out with Olympia Entertainment (owner of Little Caesars Arena).
I don't know about the rest of the MGoBlogeratti, but I would love that move. For folks closer to Ann Arbor, it's just too hard to trek up to Auburn Hills on most nights, especially if there's any kind of snow on the roads. A quick ride on 14/96 would be much faster and I'd probably go to a lot more games.
October 28th, 2016 at 1:56 PM ^
Is not going to happen past 8 mile, probably ever. OC has no interest in paying for it. We all have cars.
October 28th, 2016 at 2:25 PM ^
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October 28th, 2016 at 2:41 PM ^
And I'd be all for a regional rail system. But I can tell you OC isn't going to go for it, and I think you know why. The train runs both way.
In fact, I'll bet that regional transit plan that's on the ballot this year doesn't get a majority of the vote in OC (even if it passes otherwise).
October 28th, 2016 at 2:44 PM ^
have no interest in raising our taxes to subsidize it either
October 28th, 2016 at 9:53 AM ^
The 'building a new arena with public money' is a thing because the leagues blackmail the fanbases by threatening to move the team they love out of town. It's basically high level extortion
October 28th, 2016 at 9:25 AM ^
This quote from Brooks Patterson says it all.
County Executive L. Brooks Patterson tells WWJ-AM he was "not real happy" with the risk of owning a stadium "and not owning the team."
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2016/10/25/county-rejected-384…
Somebody is taking a loss on the Palace, and since Gores wants to move downtown it might as well be him.
October 28th, 2016 at 9:26 AM ^
October 28th, 2016 at 9:30 AM ^
You were right. I didn't believe you at the time, but you were right. Props.
October 28th, 2016 at 9:32 AM ^
October 28th, 2016 at 9:35 AM ^
I love this idea. After they move back, can we please not allow any more Detroit sports teams to leave the city limits?
October 28th, 2016 at 9:43 AM ^
It depends. If every new stadium built in Detroit requires taxpayer funds (the Palace did not use any), I'm not in love with a rule like that.
October 28th, 2016 at 9:53 AM ^
All have new facilities. There is NO reason why they can't make them last 100 years.
Michigan Stadium is holding up pretty well. And they still have events in the Roman Colosseum ffs.
October 28th, 2016 at 9:57 AM ^
Let's face it though, they don't build new stadiums because the old ones fell apart. See the Atlanta discussion above.
October 28th, 2016 at 10:05 AM ^
If cities started telling teams to go fuck themselves. You want a new arena? Build it yourself. If that's not acceptable, move to a different city. Let some other suckers pay for it.
October 28th, 2016 at 9:37 AM ^
It was a great location for those of us in the flint/sag area.
October 28th, 2016 at 9:39 AM ^
October 28th, 2016 at 9:42 AM ^
October 28th, 2016 at 9:51 AM ^
October 28th, 2016 at 10:40 AM ^
Chicago, Boston, NY, LA and all the big markets do it. Even the Leafs share an arena with the Raptors. If the ice was such a big issue, I'm pretty sure mighty Toronto would not be sharing an arena with an NBA team.
October 28th, 2016 at 1:35 PM ^
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October 28th, 2016 at 4:50 PM ^
Minneapolis is the other one (Target Center, Xcel Energy, US Bank, Target Field).
October 28th, 2016 at 10:14 AM ^
Do the Wings ever get credited for great ice in player surveys? I thought Edmonton always got that honor.
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October 28th, 2016 at 10:51 AM ^
" The Joe has some of the best ice in the league. If this happens, that would definitely not be the case anymore."
You realize the Wings won't be at The Joe anymore right? So this is a non-issue.
October 29th, 2016 at 4:12 AM ^
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October 28th, 2016 at 9:42 AM ^
I for one dont want the Pistons sharing the new Red Wings arena .
I know some people agree and some people dont . Its just the way I feel on it .
October 28th, 2016 at 10:11 AM ^
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October 28th, 2016 at 10:34 AM ^
Mostly i dont like basketball and dont want to see basketball related items at a hockey game .
In a Red Wings arena I want everything devoted to Hockey . I want to see statues of great Red Wings . Gordie Howe, Steve Yzerman , etc. I want to see Stanley Cup banners . I dont want to see a statue of Isaiah Thomas
I also feel like this whole thing was one big dupe .
The Pistons are sort of trying to slide in and get a new arena by sharing it .
Would people ok a new stadium in Detroit , just for the Pistons ? Separate and of itself ? I dont think they would, since the Red Wings just got so much money from taxes for theirs.
So this is really the only shot they have to get back to Detroit anytime soon . I dont feel they earned it on their own . The new owner just seems to be another greedy Millionaire who wants people to give him what he wants . He can afford to do it on his own. He just wont . Like most other Sports Franchise owners .
October 28th, 2016 at 10:53 AM ^
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October 28th, 2016 at 1:06 PM ^
October 28th, 2016 at 2:48 PM ^
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October 28th, 2016 at 10:36 AM ^
Let the hockey guys have their own space. Don't mix the banners.
October 28th, 2016 at 11:00 AM ^
I'm just confused why they waited this long to decide this. Wouldn't it have made more sense to include the basketball facilities from the ground up, instead of less than a year from completion? Maybe it doesn't matter since they always had the plan to make it basketball-convertible (for Horizon league, NCAA, and maybe Big Ten tournament games).
Still seems to me that this could have been worked out a while ago.
October 28th, 2016 at 11:07 AM ^
Rumor has it the design for the Pistons practice facility has already been awarded to Rossetti and will be built next to MCC. It sounds like Ilitch wants this to happen and Gores is getting land for development around the practice facility and team headquarters.
October 28th, 2016 at 11:09 AM ^
another stadium with tax-payer money. If they do move, then maybe the Little Caesars Arena won't end up being such a collossal financial disaster for the city.
October 28th, 2016 at 11:21 AM ^
I think this is great news. Putting another, what, 40-50 nights of events downtown is a plus for everyone. The Pistons in the far corner of suburbia, as nice as the Palace was/still is, never made sense. Transition the Palace into the area's fulltime large-capacity concert venue and special events center, and it stays afloat, too. Everyone wins.
October 28th, 2016 at 11:50 AM ^
People keep saying this, but I don't see the Palace being able to sustain itself as a concert venue. I never much liked the Palace for shows in the first place, the sound really isn't great and sitting in a chair for a concert isn't ideal. Especially with how close both DTE & Meadowbrook are to it. I don't think you can be the fulltime concert venue when people and bands prefer to go a few miles away too play outside. There will always be bands who want to play in the city and Ford Field has a much larger capacity for mega shows as well.
I guess its possible but it just doesnt seem likely that it will be affordable to upkeep and staff the Palace for concerts alone. I think it is far more likely that it falls apart and becomes Silverdome 2.0.
October 28th, 2016 at 12:22 PM ^
One thing you're forgetting though (and is not being touched on in this thread): The Palace isn't in competition with Pine Knob and Meadowbrook, because they're all owned by the same entity. Staffing can be done by the same people. If Gores sells the Palace, no buyer is going to take just the building and leave the other venues.
And I don't think the new Joe can handle all the concerts that the Palace handles. Not with an extra 35-ish nights a year, not couting playoffs, out of commission if they host the Pistons. And the place would be ripe to host a minor league team of some kind. Remember, the Detroit Vipers didn't fold because people lost interest, they folded because the league folded.
October 28th, 2016 at 12:43 PM ^
I see where you're coming from and its a fair point. I still don't think there will be enough shows to go around to make the Palace viable as a concert only venue. Regardless of ownership the Palace isn't going to draw much action in the warmer months as promoters and fans prefer to be outside for the shows. Will it be fiscally possible to keep the Palace in good enough condition for a run of winter shows? Maybe. At least for a few years. After that eh...
While a minor league team would certainly help.. my memory of the Detroit Vipers was being offered more free tickets to games than I had the time to attend. I don't remember too many folks actually purchasing Vipers tickets. Sure once they get you in there youre probably going to buy a drink or some food but Im once again doubting the sustainability of that.
October 28th, 2016 at 1:14 PM ^
Regardless of ownership the Palace isn't going to draw much action in the warmer months as promoters and fans prefer to be outside for the shows.
Eh, it never really did anyway, though. What the Palace is really losing as a venue is 41 nights of basketball. I think that's replaceable - not completely, but to some extent, with a mix of maybe minor league sports, extra concerts, and maybe some convention business.
What I don't know is if the Pistons subsidize the concert venues for Palace Sports and Entertainment as a whole. Would splitting the Pistons off from the rest of PSE cause the venues to go under? My guess is no - there's probably a firewall of sorts between NBA team finances and the venue finances.
October 28th, 2016 at 12:41 PM ^
October 28th, 2016 at 12:47 PM ^
October 28th, 2016 at 1:34 PM ^
Well, the NBA sucks, so...
October 28th, 2016 at 12:54 PM ^
getting out is easy
go out the back way, take Brown down to Joslyn and hop on the freeway
easiest in and out for any of the areans
October 28th, 2016 at 4:42 PM ^
All of them?
October 28th, 2016 at 4:57 PM ^
I moved away from Detroit in 2013. I figured that when post-college girls who normally move to Royal Oak start seriously considering Detroit as an option, the city has turned the corner. Getting closer, I imagine.