Little Caesars Arena
Detroit's multi-purpose arena, home of the Red Wings and Pistons, with a glass-roofed concourse.
Little Caesars Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Midtown Detroit. Opening in September 2017, the arena, which cost $862.9 million to construct, replaced Joe Louis Arena and the Palace of Auburn Hills as the home of the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA), respectively. As of now, no official PWHL team named 'PWHL Detroit' or WNBA expansion team for Detroit has been confirmed for 2026 or 2029, making any future tenancy speculative.
Quick Facts
- Location
- Detroit, Michigan
- Opened
- 2017
- Previous home
- The Palace of Auburn Hills
- Co-tenant
- Detroit Red Wings
Lore & Background
The arena features a unique, glass roofed concourse connecting it to offices and shops surrounding it. It was designed to be the flagship of a new $1.5 billion sports and entertainment district, the District Detroit, with mixed-use neighborhoods with new residential and retail outlets located around the Cass Corridor, Ford Field, and Comerica Park. However, this has yet to materialize. The lack of progress has received both local and national attention. The arena was designed by HOK, and features a unique 'deconstructed' layout. Buildings housing retail outlets, including several restaurants, the arena's box office, and the offices of the Red Wings are built outside the arena, but a glass roof is erected between the buildings and the arena itself. The roof forms an indoor 'street' that serves as the arena's concourse. The concourse will remain open year-round, even if an event is not occurring inside the arena, allowing it to also be used as a venue of its own. There is also an outdoor plaza with a large video display. The eight-story arena is built as a bowl, with its floor 40 ft below street level with seating capacities of 19,515 for ice hockey and 20,491 for basketball. The bowl also features a 'gondola' seating level suspended above the stands. The exterior of the bowl structure is capable of displaying video projections. A 37,300 sqft practice ice rink is also inside the arena. In addition to serving as the practice facility for the Red Wings, the rink serves as the home of both Little Caesars AAA Hockey Club and Little Caesars Amateur Hockey League as well. The Bell Centre in Montreal has been cited to be one of the biggest influences of the arena's design. Christopher Ilitch described the arena's design as being 'revolutionary', and believes that it may influence future arena designs in other cities. The arena features a centerhung scoreboard that measures at 5100 sqft. The arena also features 45 LED displays covering more than 13500 sqft and 16.5 million plus LEDs in and around it. The goal horn used at Joe Louis Arena from 1995 to 2017 was not moved to Little Caesars Arena. The old horn's acoustics would have made it all but impossible to hear in the new arena. More importantly, there was no safe way to store the compressed nitrogen gas that powered the old horn. An amplified recording of the horn was played over the sound system instead.
Reader's Guide
The arena is located in Midtown Detroit. It opened in September 2017. It is the home of the Detroit Red Wings (NHL) and Detroit Pistons (NBA). It will also host PWHL Detroit (PWHL) in 2026 and a Detroit WNBA team in 2029. The arena has a glass-roofed concourse that is open year-round. Seating capacities are 19,515 for hockey and 20,332 for basketball. The arena includes a practice ice rink and an outdoor plaza with a large video display.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did the arena open?
Fans first entered this state-of-the-art facility in 2017. It replaced The Palace of Auburn Hills as the primary location for Pistons games.
Which other team calls this place home?
The Detroit Red Wings share the arena as co-tenants with the Pistons. Both franchises operate out of this shared downtown facility.
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