Detroit Red Wings new arena

[mikecubs]

The old hotel in the way of the Detroit Red Wings new arena has been demolished today. Check out the video.


www.clickondetroit.com/news/park-avenue-hotel-imploded-saturday-demolition-part-of-new-detroit-hockey-arena-project/34110880

[mikecubs]

Sharp: Pistons should share downtown arena with Wings

It's the Hollywood in Tom Gores. He knows how to work a room. He passionately talked with fans attending the Pistons' draft night party Thursday night, posing for pictures while assuring all who listened that he is committed to delivering a product that would make them proud.

"When are you finally going to make the playoffs?" one fan asked.

"It can't be soon enough," Gores said. "We're getting there. We're moving forward, and we took an important step in that direction tonight."

The first step remains making the Pistons competitively relevant, erecting a foundation that wins playoff games while spurring ticket sales. Who knows when — or if — that happens? But it is the second step that still stirs much discussion and reaction.

Where will the Pistons play once that foundation's built?

"It's like having a great family," Gores said. "You can live in any house. You have to have the family right. You have to have the culture right. And if you move from one block to another, if you're doing the right things, you're still going to have a great family. I don't rule out (a downtown move). But at the same time, we've got to get the foundation right. We're making a lot of progress over the last 12-15 months."

Gores reiterated Thursday that he is keeping his options open regarding a possible move to the Wings' downtown Detroit arena that is tentatively scheduled for a late 2017 opening. His position really hasn't changed over the past two years. He is happy with a far-from-outdated facility that is already paid for. But he also sees the reality of a downsized automotive economic footprint in Detroit over the past six years.

It has become a greater challenge keeping the luxury suites and premium seats filled with fewer suburban car dealerships and auto suppliers. That means greater competition for those more limited corporate entertainment dollars. It certainly doesn't help with a basketball team that last made the playoffs six years ago at the height of General Motors' and Chrysler's bankruptcy worries.

But as I've long argued the past five years, Detroit no longer possesses a large enough business footprint to keep luxury suites regularly filled in four sports venues.

The smartest move is for the Wings and Pistons to share residency in a downtown arena.

But the real battle line between Gores' Palace Sports and Entertainment and the Ilitch family's Olympia Entertainment isn't basketball vs. hockey. It's about which venue will become the primary destination for the top-drawer concerts and other nonsports activities that fill an annual events calendar. That is a fight the Palace can't win against a revitalized downtown district with a new state-of-the-art arena that is a close walk or light-rail ride away from hotels, bars and restaurants.

Gores said he wasn't surprised by the constant chatter regarding the Pistons' future home.

"I'm surprised only to the extent that it's beyond just the city of Detroit," he said. "I think the whole state of Michigan needs revitalization and all that stuff. And we have a great home. Nothing's falling down here. We have a great home. But I also understand what a city brings. That's why we're trying to stay open-minded."

A better on-court product next season would provide Gores a little more leverage in talks with the Ilitches than he possesses now. But Gores also can't risk positioning himself on the wrong side of Detroit's redevelopment.

Don't be confused. Downtown consolidation isn't an economic savior for Detroit. It isn't a cure because there is no realistic cure for all of the city's ills. It is the equivalent of managing a chronic medical condition, masking the problems for as long as possible so the patient can comfortably exist.

Quite honestly, that's all Detroit can hope for. Creating an oasis within a barren perimeter in which private and public investment potentially can foster an environment where many can happily and safely live, work and, yes, play.

The Pistons must become part of that scenario.

www.freep.com/story/sports/nba/pistons/2015/06/26/drew-sharp-detroit-pistons/29380321/

[mikecubs]

Red Wings arena to have gondola seats, outdoor plaza

The Ilitch family's new hockey and events arena unveiled a slate of cutting-edge fan improvements, including gondola seating hovering close to the action, a practice rink for amateur hockey and a massive video wall on the exterior of the center.

The improvements will add an additional $95 million to the cost of the arena project, which is now under construction at its site on the northern edge of downtown with completion scheduled for fall 2017.

Tom Wilson, president and CEO of Olympia Entertainment, said the extra cost will be privately funded.

The Iitches' Olympia Entertainment announced the enhancements Wednesday saying the plans would create "a more dynamic ... interactive experience for fans."

"These enhancements will ensure we create a unique multi-use venue that brings the best in sports and entertainment to Detroit, while creating a destination for everyone in our community to enjoy," Wilson said. "We're completely focused on delivering an arena that hosts exceptional experiences for our community, players, fans and neighbors while driving additional investment and development in Detroit."

In its announcement, Olympia said the enhancements would include:

Enhanced video and sound capabilities for a more immersive experience, creative food-service options, a skin on the outside of the arena bowl that can display video and graphics, additional elevators and improved seating options, including the gondola seating suspended above the action.
An on-site practice ice for community hockey teams and an outdoor plaza featuring a massive video wall — along with more green spaces across the arena site — that will be regularly programmed with music and entertainment.
Operational improvements such as additional points of sale for concessions and merchandise.
"Our organization is committed to stepping up and making the new Detroit arena special for everyone in Detroit," Wilson said. "With this additional $95 million in privately funded enhancements, we know that we will deliver a world-class venue that our community will be proud of."

The large-scale development is one of the largest downtown-area developments in a generation.

The Ilitches also recently announced the family will donate $40 million to help build a new Wayne State University business school at the southwest corner of Cass and Temple near the new arena. The school would be renamed the Mike Ilitch School of Business for its largest benefactor.

The arena will complement the new M-1 Rail line and nearby attractions such as Ford Field, the Fox Theatre, MotorCity Casino Hotel, the Detroit Opera House and others. The arena and various buildings and residential projects will be built on what are now mostly vacant lots encompassing dozens of blocks along and near Woodward Avenue.

In addition to a roughly 20,000-seat arena, long-term plans call for new residential buildings and dozens of restaurants and retail stores, as well as a hotel, new parks and streetlights and other remade infrastructure. The Ilitch family has said the area will offer an intimate, festive with the feel of some European cities known for street life.

New retail connected to the arena structure will be open even when the arena is not in use, featuring a first-ever design for a glass-covered streetscape inside the complex with trees and other urban amenities. The below-ground-level playing surface and sleek building design are meant to give the arena a human scale unlike more imposing and monolithic arenas in many cities.

www.freep.com/story/sports/nhl/red-wings/2015/11/04/detroit-new-arena-red-wings/75146890/

[mikecubs]

Red Wings arena price up to $627M, player walk-through area details surface

After news broke Wednesday of an additional $95-million being poured into the new Detroit Red Wings Arena in Cass Corridor, a few more details came out.

In an interview with Crain's Detroit Business, Olympia Entertainment President and CEO Tom Wilson said there will be an exclusive access area for fans, which the players will walk through to get to the ice.

Think of what the Dallas Cowboys have at their stadium:


In addition to that perk, the massive 785,000-square-foot facility will house the entire Wings practice facility.

Wilson told Crain's that includes an ice rink, locker rooms, a track and training facilities. The new locker room is three times bigger than that at Joe Louis Arena.

In a statement released Wednesday from Olympia Development of Michigan, the development arm of the Ilitch family, a series of "significant fan and community enhancements" are planned for the $627-million arena.

The 20,000-seat facility will have "gondola" seating, a public plaza with a big video wall, practice and amateur hockey arenas and "additional video and sound capabilities. The additions will add an additional $95 million to the arena cost, according to the company.

Wilson explained the gondola seating, which will put fans out over the ice on both sides of the venue, according to Crain's. The gondola seating is separate from the 74 suites that have already been reported.

A 90-foot-wide concourse will go around half of the arena, which will have bars and retail in it.

Crain's reports that the massive LED screen on the top of the arena, currently shown in renderings, is still up in the air.

Wilson said it's still being studied.

All told, the newly-announced additions bump the arena price to the most expensive ever for a hockey rink.

"Our organization is committed to stepping up and making the new Detroit arena special for everyone in Detroit," Wilson said in a statement. "With this additional $95 million in privately funded enhancements, we know that we will deliver a world-class venue that our community will be proud of."

On Monday, Olympia announced the the first pieces of structural steel had been placed at the rapidly transforming site.

The Ilitch family, who own Olympia and the Red Wings, late last week announced a $40-million gift to Wayne State University to be used to build a brand new Mike Ilitch School of Business to be located just north of the new arena on Woodward Avenue.

Christopher Ilitch, CEO of Ilitch Holdings, said last week that the companies will exceed a promised $200 million in private development around the site.

The arena will sit on a plot of land along Woodward Avenue just north of downtown Detroit. Retail, restaurants, offices, living space, parking garages and a park will all be pieced into the current planned development zone.

According to the District Detroit website, the planned neighborhoods will all back up to a major property affiliated with the Ilitch family. "Columbia Street" encompasses The Fox and the future site of the Little Caesar's headquarters; "Columbia Park" sits behind that, covering the Cass Avenue approach to the back of the future arena site; "Woodward Square" holds the arena development; "Wildcat Corner" ropes in Comerica Park and the site of future apartments planned for the parking lots that touch Woodward Avenue.

And it's "Cass Park Village" -- currently known as a part of Cass Corridor, and part of which has already been redubbed as "Midtown" -- that the most recent reports of land buys circle around.

The Village would connect the arena district to MotorCity Casino, which looks over The Lodge at some new housing, but a lot of vacant land.

The $650 million development is to be funded with a mix of $365.5 million in private investment and an estimated public investment of $284.5 million.

www.mlive.com/business/detroit/index.ssf/2015/11/red_wings_arena_price_up_to_62.html

[mikecubs]

Originally the arena was supposed to cost $450M so the Red Wings have actually kicked in an extra $177M dollars NOT $95M like both articles state. Other than Madison Square Garden which got a $1B renovation and Barclays Center which cost $1B the Detroit arena is the most expensive ever in either the NHL or NBA beating the Edmonton Oilers arena which cost $606.5M counting the winter gardens. The new San Francisco arena(if approved) for the Golden State Warriors(NBA) will cost $800M all private. The only thing the Detroit arena now needs is to make a fair deal with the Detroit Pistons and get them to move in too!

All in all here is how the funding breaks down for the new Detroit arena with what the team added

Arena Cost-$627M

Public-$284.5M (45.37%)
Private-$342.5M

Other

Stuff around the arena-$200M+(all private)

So overall counting everything total costs were $827M+ with the public on the hook for $284.5M dollars. No bad at all as far as these types of deals go but as Bruinsfan always says it would have been even better if the Pistons moved in from the beginning and covered even more/all of the public costs.

[mikecubs]

Gores: Downtown move for Pistons still a possibility

The Palace remains the venue of choice for the Pistons until further notice.

Owner Tom Gores, however, reaffirmed that a move to downtown Detroit remains a possibility despite recent upgrades to the Auburn Hills arena.

“We’ve talked about this for a long time,” Gores said. “I think you’ve got to respect the home you are in. Whatever home you are living in you’ve got to make it the best possible.

“So I don’t rule out downtown, but for now this is our home. I can’t have guests in the house and not take care of this house.”

Former Detroit Mayors Dennis Archer and Dave Bing support a move to the unnamed Red Wings arena, which is under construction west of Woodward and east of Clifford and scheduled to open in 2017.

“I am biased and I am not afraid to say it, the Pistons belong downtown,” Bing said. “Basketball is a city game, and (Gores) understands that. You are losing a lot of opportunity from the population standpoint by staying where he is. You don’t see a lot of people from Detroit, Canadians, Downriver people, people from Ohio or Ann Arbor. Downtown Detroit is a much easier place to get to.”

Archer, who served as mayor from 1994-2002, agrees with Bing, even if it’s for just a few games a year.

“Mr. Gores has encouraged his folks to have discussions with the Red Wings, if nothing else than to play several games in the new area,” Archer said. “I am encouraged by that.”

The Pistons played at Cobo Arena from 1961-78 before moving to the Pontiac Silverdome. Late owner Bill Davidson then built The Palace in Auburn Hills, where the Pistons have played since 1988.

Bing believes a window of opportunity to move the team downtown will happen in the next 2-5 years.

“I think there are conversations going on internally but once again until an arena is built they don’t have a place to play downtown,” Bing said. “(Gores) has to build a good team so he has a good product. That is not going to happen overnight.”

Bing said the new stadium should be a boost to the city’s economy if the proposed 45-block area around it also is developed.

“If they do all the other things around the stadium, all the development they are talking about,” Bing said. “That is permanent. It’s long term. You are going to have people living there.”

Archer agrees.

“It is going to be outstanding,” he said of the new arena and its impact. “This is going to be spectacular. This city is going to come back in ways we never dreamed of and it will give new hope for the city.”

Archer said cities need pro sports. He was mayor in Detroit when Cleveland lost the Browns to Baltimore in 1996.

“That city was devastated,” Archer said. “All of the mayors worked together and told the NFL it was not appreciated and not respected and demanded to do something.”

The NFL eventually replaced that team with the current Browns.

www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/nba/pistons/2015/10/29/gores-downtown-move-pistons-still-possibility/74831890/

[mikecubs]

Detroit Red Wings new home to be Little Caesars Arena
New building to replace Joe Louis Arena, opened in 1979

The new home of the Detroit Red Wings will be Little Caesars Arena.

The name was announced Thursday by Little Caesars and Olympia Entertainment. They say a 20-year naming rights agreement averages more than $6.25 million per year. Mike Ilitch and his family own the Red Wings and the pizza chain as well as the Detroit Tigers.

Red Wings unveil 3D tour of new $450M downtown arena
New Detroit Red Wings $450M arena approved by council
With the deal, Little Caesars Arena branding will be on the roof of the 20,000-seat arena, on the exterior, at entrances and at centre ice.

The arena has been known as the "Detroit Events Center" during construction and will host other events. The Wings currently play at Joe Louis Arena, which opened in 1979. The new arena is part of a broader entertainment district being built north of downtown.

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/detroit-red-wings-little-caesars-1.3557350

[mikecubs]

Wings fans face price hikes in new arena

Thousands of Detroit Red Wings season ticket holders are beginning to discover how much more it will cost to move into Little Caesars Arena, scheduled to open for the 2017-18 NHL season.

Details presented to the customers at meetings that began late last month and will extend into the summer reveal that the lower bowl of the new arena will sweep back and up from the ice at almost precisely the same angle as the lower bowl of Joe Louis Arena, affording much the same sight lines.

Next season, the last for the Red Wings in Joe Louis Arena, those tickets will cost mostly $92-$120, up from $90-$109 last season.

In Little Caesars Arena, lower bowl tickets not in the center ice area will cost $100-$130. The center ice lower bowl tickets will be classified as the premium club area and tickets will cost from $240-$330.

Some fans can afford the new seats. Others have complaints.

Joe Pirronello of Westland has had season tickets since the 1950s at the old Olympia and he said he’s satisfied with his new circumstances.

“I locked in a pair of tickets,” he said. “... The way it all ended up, it really was not as bad as I thought.”

Tom Wilson, the president of Olympia Entertainment, said it’s been somewhat easier to keep people in approximately the same areas, moving from building to building.

“What we do have is 9,000 seats in the lower bowl versus 6,000 at The Joe, so we have a lot more great seats to offer,” Wilson said. “But certain people are going to have to move back a little.”

Seats start closer to ice

The top price at Little Caesars Arena is for two large club sections stretching from ice level to the top of the lower bowl and from just inside one blue line to just inside the other blue line on both sides of the ice, a total of 1,400 seats. Parking and all food, beer and wine are complimentary, and access to the seats is available only through the club entrances.

In the mezzanine and upper bowl of Little Caesars Arena, the seats will rise more abruptly than in Joe Louis Arena as they sweep back from the ice. They also start closer to the rink. The plan is to provide improved sight angles from those locations, and they are similar to the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh and Montreal’s Bell Centre.


Next season, at Joe Louis Arena, season tickets in similar areas will range from $33 to $95, up from $30 to $89 this season.

In the first season in Little Caesars Arena, season tickets in the mezzanine will begin at $65 and increase to $70 in rows two through five. A seat in the first row is $98.

And another club at that level will cost $126 and include parking, but not concessions.

In the upper bowl of the new arena, tickets will range from $40 to $65.

The cheapest season ticket at Joe Louis Arena last season was $30.

Choices, choices

Pirronello said he faced a tough decision: Would he pay a 100 percent increase from the $120 next season at Joe Louis Arena for similar seats, but with complimentary parking, food and light alcohol at Little Caesars Arena? Or would he pay just $10 more for a seat that puts him farther from the action, without the freebies?

Pirronello’s new seats are only two rows higher and about five yards farther from center ice, for which he will pay $130.

His six decades of seniority helped.

Others may be less fortunate.

Lou Giroux, of Dearborn Heights, bought season tickets at the Olympia in 1974, about 20 years after Pirronello. Giroux said he cannot afford $240, and the $130 seats likely to be offered him will be farther away from center ice than Pirronello’s.

He said he is considering moving up the mezzanine, if he can stay near center ice, or not making a purchase.

“I’m just a hockey fan. I’m not a big corporation or a doctor or a lawyer or an accountant or anything like that,” Giroux said.

“They are trying to turn the center area on both sides into a corporate area, resold every year, and eating 2,000 meals every year. They can do what they want, but I don’t have to pay it.”

Face-to-face talks with fans

Ticket prices rise every time a stadium or arena in professional sports is replaced.

New seats offering new amenities cost more for season ticket buyers. Premium seating helps raise revenue needed for construction, the continuing operation of the franchise and to enhance profitability.

Red Wings officials knew they would face some issues with the team’s passionate, longtime season ticket customers. They say they are helped by advantages in the new building and strong direction from the Ilitch family.

“In most buildings, they’ll go from goal line to goal line with their club seats,” said John Ciszewski, senior vice president of sales. “What was most important to our ownership was: Displace as few people as you possibly can.

“They also wanted the tightest bowl possible.

“Now, it’s a reality when you have a new arena that you’re going to have beachfront property and you’re going to try to get as much as you can out of the beachfront property. But they were really adamant, so our club seats are just beyond in the blue lines.”

Special attention is required, Wilson said, when about 1,500 of the 14,000 season ticket customers have at least 38 years of seniority and 50 percent have 20 years.

“That’s why John made the decision, we want to bring them all in one at a time,” he said. “No emails. Nothing impersonal.”

“We’ve had people here since the ’30s,” Ciszewski said. “We were not naive enough to believe that we weren’t going to have some tough conversations. We didn’t want to hide behind a computer. We wanted to have those conversations face-to-face.

“I will tell you, we’ve had people come in here with no color on their face because they were expecting the worst, and by the time you take them through and get them into the conference room and they see the price, you can see their shoulders just relax.

“We’ve had a couple of people walk out without getting their seats. They were a little upset.

“We said, ‘Hey, we’re just starting the process. Give us a chance. Don’t close us out, yet. We’ll get back to you.’ ”

www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/nhl/red-wings/2016/06/02/price-hikes-waiting-wings-new-arena/85273590/

[mikecubs]

[mikecubs]

The cost of this has now risen to $862.9M!!!!!

[mikecubs]

I didn't post this at the time because of lawsuits that were pending(they are now resolved) and the need for NBA approval(gotten in August), but last November 22nd the Detroit Pistons announced they reached a deal to move into the Red Wings arena. $34.5 million dollars of public money was given for arena updates for basketball(a locker room/taller doors for tall NBA players etc)

www.freep.com/story/sports/nba/pistons/2016/11/22/detroit-pistons-downtown/94279874/

The reasons for this move were the following

1. The Pistons old arena the Palace of Auburn Hills was built in 1988 and was going to lose out on concerts to the new downtown arena(It's different competing with old broken down Joe Louis Arena vs. a new one)

2. The Pistons arena was the ONLY suburban arena left in the NBA(30 miles north of downtown) The NBA is now the ONLY sport without a suburban facility. The NHL has 4(Ottawa and Arizona want new arenas) MLB has 4(Tampa wants to move downtown) and the NFL has 10(not counting the 2 New York teams and 2 LA teams double sharing/12 teams are suburban)

3. While the Pistons historical attendance at the Palace finished at an average of 18,950 and were above average 20 of 29 seasons the last 7 they were well below average getting only 15,538 per game. The Pistons mostly won until their last 7 years. Once the winning stopped people wouldn't travel to that remote of an arena.

4. The Red Wings get increased foot traffic out of this deal for all their developments around the arena.

5 The Red Wings eliminate their only arena competition. Joe Louis Arena is going to be torn down this year and it's very likely the Palace will be torn down. A Bob Segar concert is on the 23rd this month then the Palace closes and they will figure out what to do with it. It's likely a high tech park will be built. Auburn Hills land is worth a lot of $$$ because of high tech stuff going there.



Also Olympia Sports and Entertainment(The Illitches/Red Wings) and Palace Sports and Entertainment(the Pistons/Tom Gores) are merging companies in this deal. Properties both companies own/run include Clarkston’s DTE Energy Music Theatre(Pistons owned), Meadow Brook Amphitheatre in Rochester Hills,(Pistons have operating agreement though 2024) Freedom Hill Amphitheatre in Sterling Heights(Pistons have operating control) and downtown’s Comerica Park(Red Wings owned) and Fox Theatre(Red Wing owned), as well as Detroit’s City Theatre(Red Wing owned) and the Sound Board at Motor City Casino(Red Wing owned).

www.detroitnews.com/story/entertainment/music/2016/11/22/palace-olympia-merge-entertainment-operations/94312946/

Overall they expect (counting games) 225 events at the arena per year.

The Pistons and Red Wings are going to split the suite revenue(the arena has 62 suites and 24 mini boxes). One sports inside thinks the Pistons will make up to 500,000 more per game in the new arena.


www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20170305/NEWS/170309917/pistons-olympia-to-split-revenue-from-suite-sales-at-little-caesars

Both teams have 35 year leases.

[mikecubs]

Leaving the Palace was a good move for the Pistons and Detroit in general because of remote location and not needing/being able to handle 2 arenas but in a way it's a little sad. The Palace was the 1st modern arena in either the NBA/NHL. The idea of mid level luxury suites between the upper deck came from the Palace. It influenced literally EVERY NBA/NHL current arena(not counting Calgary). Madison Square underwent a $1B renovation that added mid level suites. The "oldest" arena in the NBA not counting MSG is Target Center(1990) in Minnesota. The "oldest" NHL arenas(not counting MSG/Calgary) are Anaheim/San Jose(both 1993).

Note-This don't count Milwaukee(1988) or Golden State(1966) in the NBA because they are getting new arenas in 2018/2019.

[mikecubs]

One other thing to look at and keep in mind. Markets with NBA/NHL teams usually share the arena because

1. There's only so many concerts to go around
2. Costs. Both in terms of public and what the teams will pay.

Yet the guys on HF boards make it sound like it's almost a 100% impossible idea(mostly because of being jealous of the NBA)

There are currently 15 shared NBA/NHL markets.

Shared arenas/How it works

1. Madison Square Garden(New York Knicks/New York Rangers) Same owner MSG

2. Staples Center(Los Angeles Lakers/Los Angeles Clippers/Los Angeles Kings)- The ONLY 3 team set up. 3 different owners. AEG owns the Kings and 25% of the Lakers. The Buss family owns the rest of the Lakers. Steve Balmer owns the Clippers and they are a tenant. The Lakers are the 2nd richest NBA team, the Clippers are in the top 10. There's talk of an privately financed Inglewood Clippers arena but this might be leverage for a better deal for the Clippers once their lease expires in 2024. The Ducks are in Anaheim but there's no way 4 teams can share an arena so I don't count that as separate.

3. United Center(Chicago Bulls/Blackhawks) -2 different owners Jerry Reinsdorf and Rocky Wirtz. They are equal partners. They split costs of construction/revenues.

4. Scottiabank Arena(Toronto Raptors/Maple Leafs) - Same owner MLSE. This arena was originally for the Raptors only ala Barclays and they changed plans mid construction when MLSE bought the Raptors.

5. Capital One Arena(Washington Wizards/Capitals)- Same owner Ted Lenosis. Lenosis bought the Wizards after Abe Pollin died in the early 2000's. The arena opened in 1997.

6. Little Caesars Arena(Detroit Pistons/Red Wings) 2 different owners Tom Gores and Chris Illitch. The merged businesses.

7. TD Garden(Boston Celtics/Bruins) - 2 different owners Wyc Grousbeck and Jeremy Jacobs. The Celtics are tenants but still the 5th richest NBA team. They don't pay any rent in exchange for the concessions and they split the advertising of Celtics games

8. Pepsi Center(Denver Nuggets/Colorado Avalanche)- Same owner Josh Kroenke(in name only) Stan Kroenke is the real owner but under NFL rules you can only own teams in your NFL city in other sports. So he could only own other LA teams since he owns the LA Rams.

9. American Airlines Center(Dallas Mavericks/Stars)- 2 different owners, Mark Cuban and Tom Gaglardi. This is the same set up as Chicago. They are equal partners. They split costs of construction/revenues. The arena was about 30% publicly funded.

10. Wells Fargo Center(Philadelphia 76ers/Flyers) 2 different owners Josh Harris and Comcast Spectacor. They both used to be under comcast but they sold the 76ers a few years ago. The 76ers are tenants. Their deal isn't a favorable as compare to the Boston Celtics.

11. Barclays Center(Brooklyn Nets/New York Islanders)- 2 different owners Mikhail Prokhorov and on the Islanders side Jon Ledecky, Scott Malkin. The Islanders are tenants. They are paid the play here and aren't pulling their weight. They might be kicked out or leave on their own. The arena is a horseshoe NOT built for hockey.

2 different arenas

1. Golden State Warriors/San Jose Sharks- The Warriors play in a 1966 crap arena in Oakland. They are moving to a new privately funded $1B arena in San Francisco in 2019(It's NOT hockey compatible ala Barclays). The Sharks play in San Jose and just renovated their arena and extended their lease though 2024-25. The Bay area is over 8M people so the 2 arena set up works great in this rare case.

2. Minnesota Timberwolves/Wild- These 2 cannibalize each other for concerts. The was talk about 5 years ago of the Timberwolves moving in with the Wild but instead the Timberwolves went ahead with a $138-141M renovation that is just finishing up this month with the public paying 57% of it. The Timberwolves extended their lease through the 2034-35 season. Not a good set up but it can be MUCH MUCH worst(see below)

3. Miami Heat/Florida Panthers- The Heat have a downtown arena opened in the last day of 1999. It's a nice arena and they extended the lease through 2034-35 in exchange for minor renovations. I never found an info on if it has an ice plant or if it is a horseshoe or not. I'm almost certain it's not hockey compatible. The Panthers play in Sunrise(Aligator alley) and don't draw. They are over 36 miles from downtown Miami and over 19 miles away from Fort Lauderdale. At least both arenas do draw good for concerts but hockey LOL. I doubt the Panthers would draw much better downtown. They need to leave the market!

4. Phoenix Suns/Arizona Coyotes- The Suns are in a 1992 downtown arena. It needs a renovation. It's the NBA's last arena problem left(not counting Seattle not having one). The Coyotes are in Glendale and are a money losing joke. To get a new downtown shared arena it must pass public vote. A renovation needs no vote but probably wouldn't be hockey compatible. The Suns owner sounds like he's leaning towards renovation. The Coyotes would draw a bit better downtown or east valley but not nearly enough. The area can't support 2 arenas concert wise yet the Coyotes/NHL want a 3rd to be built if no deal with the Suns. LOL SICK SICK SICK They need to leave the market!

If the Islanders get a new arena in Belmont or leave the market then you'd have to count the Nets and Devils as separate. The Devils offered to share Prudential Center long term(the Nets played 2 seasons there before Barclays opened) but the Nets didn't want Newark or New Jersey at all.

[mikecubs]

Remember old Olympia Stadium in Detroit the Red Wings home before Joe Louis arena? An original 6 arena!



When it was torn down the put the original letters on the outside of the arena saying Olympia in storage. The Red Wings have taken it out of storage and put it in the concourse of the new arena.

[DowntownBooster]

Sept 7, 2017 1:50:13 GMT -6 mikecubs said:

Remember old Olympia Stadium in Detroit the Red Wings home before Joe Louis arena? An original 6 arena!



When it was torn down the put the original letters on the outside of the arena saying Olympia in storage. The Red Wings have taken it out of storage and put it in the concourse of the new arena.

That was a good idea. Nice tribute to the past!