Pistons' Lease At New Arena Heads To NBA Owners For Approval

The lease agreement between the Pistons and Olympia Entertainment for the team's move to downtown Detroit "will be presented to NBA owners" today at the league's BOG meeting in Las Vegas. The lease was signed yesterday and is "now fully documented." The team "remains on track and fully pointed toward its Oct. 4 exhibition opener at the new Little Caesars Arena." In addition to the lease deal, Olympia and Palace Sports & Entertainment have "reached agreement on a joint venture combining their entertainment businesses"(DETROIT FREE PRESS, 7/11).

Meanwhile, the legal dispute over whether $34.5M in public funding should be used to finance the Pistons' move "took another twist" yesterday when the NBA, Olympia Entertainment and Palace Sports & Entertainment were "added to a federal lawsuit seeking to force a vote on the issue." The plaintiffs are arguing that the arena project and the team relocation "should not be funded with public dollars without a vote of Detroit residents" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 7/11).