The plans behind Little Caesars Arena and the surrounding 50-block development in downtown Detroit are bold and audacious -- by design. “This project is going to be something that people are going to be writing a thesis on in college because it’s such a renaissance,” said Olympia Entertainment President & CEO Tom Wilson at the end of a 30-minute preview of the impressive project during the '16 AXS Sports Facilities & Franchises Conference. Wilson was joined by HOK Senior VP George Heinlein in showing the early plans as well as the latest visual attached to the new Red Wings arena and related development. Wilson cited the influence of Cavaliers Owner Dan Gilbert for starting the reinvestment of downtown Detroit, as well as the Ilitch family for the plans to revamp “The District” area along Woodward Avenue in the city’s downtown.
DECONSTRUCTING AN ARENA: Wilson said, "We had plans, but we started to think differently about our ideas. So we threw out those plans, ate the initial costs and started really thinking differently.” Heinlein came up with the idea of “deconstructing” an arena, breaking it down into its parts and re-imagining it so it would blur the lines between indoor and outdoor spaces. He showed the audience some of the first sketches that were done, allowing fans to flow through an arena that could be opened up 24/7 throughout the day, all in an effort to make Woodward Avenue a dynamic, energetic street in the city’s downtown. “Every great development has a great street as part of it,” Heinlein said. “Every great development has a great outdoor space.” The buildings attached to the arena will function like an indoor street with daylight flowing inside. “When you are walking down Woodward Avenue, you won’t be able to see the arena,” Wilson said. “You will see the outer buildings and it will be like a great reveal when you go into that building into the arena. Detroit is changing. It’s becoming a walkable city.”
"FAIRLY AUDACIOUS": The development will include six new restaurants, a five-star hotel and Wayne State Business School, a $60M structure. “Doing 50 blocks in a major American city is fairly audacious and bold, but because it’s been so bold, we have had interest from top designers from all over the world who want to be a part of this project,” Wilson said. It will also include an outdoor piazza, modeled after the grand piazzas in Italy, that can be programmed 300-plus nights a year with everything from yoga classes to a farmers market to concerts. “You can do a lot of things,” Heinlein said, noting that it will hold 3,000-4,000 people.
QUICK HITS
* The venue, a year away from opening, could change the fortunes for the Red Wings. Wilson: “It puts us back in the hunt for the major free agents in our sport.”
* The wrap of the arena can be completely transformed visually, depending on the content in the space. “It will be a unique way to do sponsorship,” Wilson said. “It will be great to use the perimeter of the building -- the size and scale of it is unique, and it will be a great way to activate any product. It’s a pretty remarkable canvas for us to do anything and everything."
* There are only 60 suites in the building, and they were sold in 40 days at more than $300,000 each.
* A brief video that was presented shows the size and scale of the project and how it is connected to Ford Field and Comerica Park. “Just to editorialize a bit, we constantly read about, ‘What do these venues do for the community? They don’t make an impact,’” Wilson said. “Well, if you look around, whether it’s LoDo in Denver, or Washington, DC, with Verizon Center, or the Barclays Center in Brooklyn -- these arenas certainly bring a certain amount of traffic and comfort to areas that previously didn’t have any. I think these arenas bring a great deal of economic impact to these communities.”
* Total investment in the arena and adjacent space was projected to be between $1.5-2B. The total amount of investment with the entire 50 blocks will be $4-5B.
