The cost of the new Red Wings arena being built now has gone up to $627M, which is $177M "more than the original estimate," as team Owner Mike Ilitch "continues to add major upgrades to the state-of-the-art venue," according to a front-page piece by Louis Aguilar of the DETROIT NEWS. Some of the upgrades to the 20,000-seat arena "include a large LED screen in the outdoor public space, a practice and amateur hockey ice, and additional video and sound capabilities." The money for the additional upgrades "is not coming from public taxpayer money but through private funding." Parent company Olympia Entertainment President & CEO Tom Wilson said that the new price tag "may be not the ultimate construction cost" because the Ilitch family "continues to explore more potential changes." Wilson: "We keep looking at everything at other arenas and wonder if that will enhance the experience here.” Aguilar notes the arena "will be surrounded by an atrium and street-like walkway, with store fronts facing fans along the concourse." The design also means "other key elements of arena operations, such as a ticket office or team store, are developed outside of the traditional venue structure." The arena "is a bowl-like structure." The ice will be "well-below street level in order to lessen the profile of the massive structure." The venue also will have a “'deconstructed' design with a glass-roofed concourse, offices, retail shops and restaurants in separate buildings outside the arena." The ancillary shops and restaurants "will be open even when the arena isn’t being used for hockey or events" (DETROIT NEWS, 11/5).
CATERING TO THE FAN EXPERIENCE: In Detroit, Bill Shea noted the new arena will "offer fans access to a club that will have players walking through it to and from the ice during games." Wilson said that the premium-access club is "one of five planned" at the arena. The players club "will be similar" to what the Lions "added in the past year: Premium areas in which fans are inches away from players at they enter and exit the ice." Wilson said that glass walls "will be raised when the entire team comes or goes, but when individual players run back and forth during the game, they’ll be exposed to club patrons." The visiting team will also "be visible from the far end of one side of the club." Another aspect of the arena is a "pair of two-level 'gondolas' that will sit almost directly over the ice on either side of the venue." Wilson said that one side will be "for media use during games, and the other will be for fans." A "large area for up to 400 people will be in front of approximately 20 eight-seat units over the ice." Wilson said that fans "will be able to buy a single seat or up to eight in each unit." He added that the seating experience "will be unique, and likened it to the left field wall at Boston’s Fenway Park." Wilson said that "another new detail" in the arena’s upper level "includes plans for a two-story brew pub aimed at Millennials." He said that "about half the arena will be encircled with a 90-foot-wide concourse called the Via." It will "have a clear plastic roof and look like a city street with restaurants and bars and retail, including street seating for food and drink" (CRAINSDETROIT.com, 11/4).
