Olympia Entertainment put a premium on history and club seating in its construction of Little Caesars Arena, and that was on full display during a tour of the venue to cap off the AXS Sports Facilities & Franchises conference Thursday. Olympia partnered with Heritage Werks and President & CEO Keir Walton to incorporate the lengthy and storied history of both the Red Wings and Pistons throughout the 22,000-seat venue. More than 200 artifacts are on display throughout the arena, which opened last fall and was the recipient of SBJ/SBD’s ’18 Sports Facility of the Year award. Some artifacts include game-worn equipment from Red Wings players of the past, as well as championship trophies from both the hockey squad and Pistons teams. Also on display are hand-painted murals in the arena’s lower levels, and in the concourses, statues brought over from Joe Louis Arena. More than 1,000 pieces are on display in total, officials said.
SUITE LIFE: Naturally, premium seating was a major selling point when ground was broken in ’14 for the venue, initially intended for the Red Wings. The venue was designed with the mindset that it would be competing with The Palace of Auburn Hills for concerts, Olympia Senior VP/Marketing & Communications Craig Turnbull said. There are 62 club suites in total, from the Comerica Players Club at ice level to a LaBatt Blue-sponsored club on the north end of the venue, designed with millennials in mind, Turnbull said. Olympia worked with Salt Lake City-based Infinite Scale Design Group on branding in the club spaces. But with the premium seating comes an issue that many new venues are facing; keeping fans in their seats during the game. Turnbull said Olympia tried a number of different strategies in Little Caesars’ first year of operation, even to the point of turning off TVs in the club areas at the end of each intermission. “We’ve gotta get butts in the seats,” Turnbull said.
LITTLE CAESARS ARENA
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