My Red Wings Hope

[MikeyinBrooklyn]

I continue to hope that the Red Wings will build an arena downtown [[behind the Fox, with a front on Grand River is my dream); but, anywhere downtown would be great.

Having read reports here and elsewhere that Mr. I's team has made inquiries to both the Palace and Ford Field, my hope- not quite a prediction yet- is that they will announce the arena right after this hockey season ends, with the Wings playing the first half of the next two years in Auburn Hills, and then moving into Ford Field for the second half [[after the NFL season ends) and- God willing- the post-season. This keeps them partly downtown, provides a good tenant for the other 2 venues, and lots of money flowing into all three operations, which is good.

I bet there are a lot of Olympia people checking out the Frozen Four.

My other real hope about the Wings: ANOTHER CUP.

And I do wish Olympia would buy the Pistons. Love the Ilitches or hate them, it would mean they'd play downtown forever...

[LodgeDodger]

Speaking of the Frozen Four, my little cousin's team, Miami of Ohio, lost last night.

[TKshreve]

For as many games as I go to [[huge hockey/Wings fan), and as much as I love going downtown to a game:

I would most likely not attend Wings games in Auburn Hills. I'd probably piss myself waiting to get out of the parking lot!

I wouldn't even think about buying a ticket to that log-jam, exurban arena. They need to keep the team downtown where they belong. It also brings a lot of commerce into the city 41+ nights a year. The bars are filled with diners and drinkers before the games. If the wings win, it usually turns into an extended evening of drinking at many CBD bars. As for Auburn Hills, everyone more or less has to bounce out after a game. Even Big Buck Brewery couldn't ride out the Pistons traffic and eventually had to close it's doors. What a tale of two cities -

The more I think about how it would go down for the Wings in Auburn Hills, the more depressing the issue becomes to me.

[esp1986]

from the look and sound of things, it could be a while. It appears Ilitch is still trying to assemble the land for the arena and surrounding development. It appears the holdouts behind the Fox have shifted his focus north of I-75. With a lot of land deals going down for big sums recently, and many under confidentiality agreements, it has Ilitch written all over it, with everything they do surrounded by a clout of secrecy. However, one thing that is surprizing is the fact that a couple of them carry mortgages... hmmm...

Hopefully it won't be too much longer, but if they are trying to put land together, it may not be too soon.

[Hamtragedy]

The Joe and access to it is just an urban planning nightmare. However, it's on the riverfront. A major overhaul would not solve the mooing in the tubes, but imagine if they somehow knocked out a section of the side wall facing the river, put the shops in there, an elongated concourse, and tons of womens' bathrooms. Then open up the lower concourse, [[which is there, but closed to the public, except for the VIP seating at the police station) which would allow access to the lower bowl.

Pie in the sky, I realize, but where is Ilitch going to find 300+M in funding to build yet another arena?

[FlyingJ]

TKshreve, that's what killed the NHL's Cleveland Barons, playing 40 odd miles out in the boonies

[esp1986]

The Joe and access to it is just an urban planning nightmare. However, it's on the riverfront. A major overhaul would not solve the mooing in the tubes, but imagine if they somehow knocked out a section of the side wall facing the river, put the shops in there, an elongated concourse, and tons of womens' bathrooms. Then open up the lower concourse, [[which is there, but closed to the public, except for the VIP seating at the police station) which would allow access to the lower bowl.

Pie in the sky, I realize, but where is Ilitch going to find 300+M in funding to build yet another arena?

Problem with JLA is space. There are a lot of things that JLA lacks, a lot. Being landlocked on every side of the building prevents much of anything from being done. You can't move the shops, because there is nowhere to move them, you can't expand the concourse without eliminating the shops. Opening up the side and putting in a glass wall of windows facing the river, which I have personally heard would be done if the team stayed at JLA, would eliminate shops. The arena desparately needs restrooms, both mens and womens, and there is simply no space for any of this. This is just the root of the problems that are on the concourse. The seating area is another story. There is virtually no way to get mid level suites in there, with all of the ammenities they command, the way JLA is designed. For this to happen, the concourse would need to be expanded, again, and with a road on one side and Cobo Center on the other, this whole thing becomes virtually impossible.

While renovating JLA would be cheaper, the extent of the renovations would likely be limited. There is a big question as to whether all of the modern ammenities and additional facilities and infrastructure can be squeezed into a poorly designed and dilapidated arena, and if that really makes any sense at all.

The numbers for a renovation that have been thrown around have been upwards of $200 million, likely with a 20 year lease, as the modifications to the arena, would likely require that much of it be entirely gutted. However, a new arena would be $300-$400 million over a period of 30-40 years. So either way, once you factor the cost per year down, there isn't a whole lot of difference between the two. The difference is merely the building itself. A new building allows for all of the modern ammenities, with no compromises, whereas a renovation, at least of JLA, would likely require some compromises to get the most important things in, possibly at the cost of more restrooms, for example.

I think it is already pretty clear, that the Red Wings will be playing in a new arena within 10 years. It is common knowledge that the team is continuing negotiations with the city regarding a new lease, whose term is expected to be in the 5-10 year range, just long enough to plan and build a new arena. With all of the land that the Ilitches continue to amass in the Foxtown area, there should be little discussion about a new arena happening, the only question is where.