The Red Wings with the opening of Little Caesars Arena are "skating into a state-of-the-art facility that puts them on par or better than the rest of the league," according to Ted Kulfan of the DETROIT NEWS. Olympia Entertainment President & CEO Tom Wilson said, "You never have to leave. Turn left (out of the locker room) and you go to the practice rink. Turn right and you go the real rink. Everything is here." The locker room area at Little Caesars Arena also is a "massive improvement." At Joe Louis Arena, the team had "one of the smaller home locker rooms in the NHL." Now the Red Wings are "moving into a locker room area that is approximately 23,000 square feet -- they had around 7,000 at Joe Louis Arena." As for the practice rink, it "eliminates the need for lugging equipment and making the journey to an area rink when the main rink is being used for a concert or any other event." Wilson: "This is a big step up" (DETROIT NEWS, 9/7). In Detroit, Helene St. James wrote the new venue will "seduce fans, players and entertainers" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 9/7). Also in Detroit, Rod Beard notes although the Pistons’ locker room is not yet completed and was not part of a media tour yesterday, the team "released some renderings and details about what the new digs will have." The Pistons’ locker room will be about 40% "larger than the one at The Palace" and "includes a space of about 1,250 square feet, making it one of the largest in the NBA." The Pistons also are "building their own practice facility in midtown Detroit, but that won’t be completed for about two more years." In the interim, the Pistons "will continue to practice in Auburn Hills" (DETROIT NEWS, 9/7).
PURE IMAGINATION: In Michigan, Ansar Khan noted Little Caesars Arena "will open for public tours on Saturday and host its first event on Tuesday -- the first of six shows by Kid Rock." The arena's "steep seating and large lower bowl, modeled after Montreal's Bell Centre, brings fans closer to the action." There are "9,000 lower-bowl seats for hockey, as opposed to 6,000" at Joe Louis Arena. There are "11,000 lower-bowl seats for basketball." Wilson said that the arena will have "seven clubs." Red Wings Senior VP/Sales John Ciszewski said that 54 of the building's 62 suites have been "leased long-term (seven-to-10 years)." He said that all Red Wings suites "sold out within 40 days of going on sale" in June '16 and that the "few remaining Pistons suites are expected to be sold before the season" (MLIVE.com, 9/6).
DOLLARS & CENTS: In Detroit, Joe Guillen writes, "Understanding the arena's final cost -- particularly the public's contribution -- will be essential to determining Little Caesars Arena's long-term economic impact in Detroit." The arena was "expected to cost" $450M. Since those plans were revealed in '13, the cost to build Little Caesars Arena has "nearly doubled" to just under $863M. The new price tag comes with an "increase in public funding," too, from an original estimate of $262M to $324M. The $324M public subsidy comes from taxes "captured by the Detroit Downtown Development Authority through a tax increment financing plan." The taxes "will be captured" until at least '51. The DDA also is "on the hook" for the $74M reimbursement to the Ilitches' Olympia Development of Michigan if Olympia follows through on a commitment of at least $200M in "additional development surrounding the arena within five years of its completion." The arena district "does not include" a new $83M practice facility and corporate HQ for the Pistons. That deal includes about $20M in "tax incentives" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 9/7).
