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Joe Louis Arena

Coordinates: 42°19′31″N 83°3′5″W / 42.32528°N 83.05139°W / 42.32528; -83.05139
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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 75.95.146.217 (talk) at 03:07, 7 February 2014 (→New arena for the Red Wings: Added a space). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Joe Louis Arena
"The Joe"
Map
Location19 Steve Yzerman Drive, Detroit, Michigan 48226
Coordinates42°19′31″N 83°3′5″W / 42.32528°N 83.05139°W / 42.32528; -83.05139
OwnerCity Of Detroit
OperatorOlympia Entertainment
CapacityIce hockey:
19,275 (1979–1996)
19,983 (1996–2000)
19,995 (2000–2001)
20,058 (2001–2003)
20,066 (2003–present)
Basketball: 20,153
Professional wrestling: 18,735
Concerts: 21,666[4]
Construction
Broke groundMay 16, 1977[1]
OpenedDecember 12, 1979
Construction cost$57 million
($239 million in 2024 dollars[2])
ArchitectSmith, Hinchmen and Grylls Associates
General contractorBarton Malow[3]
Tenants
Detroit Red Wings (NHL) (1979–present)
Detroit Pistons (NBA) (1984–1985)
Detroit Drive (AFL) (1988–1993)
Detroit Compuware Ambassadors (OHL) (1991–1992)
Detroit Junior Red Wings (OHL) (1992–1995)
Detroit Rockers (NPSL) (1996–2001)
Detroit Turbos (MILL) (1989–1994)
The electronic scoreboard at Joe Louis Arena, during a game between the Detroit Red Wings and the Los Angeles Kings on March 9, 2007
Inside Joe Louis Arena.
The retired numbers of former Detroit Red Wings players displayed at Joe Louis Arena.
Panorama of Joe Louis Arena in April 2008.
The Detroit Shock practice at Joe Louis Arena before Game 5 of the 2006 WNBA Finals.

Joe Louis Arena, nicknamed The Joe, is a hockey arena located in downtown Detroit, Michigan. It is the home of the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League. Completed in 1979 at a cost of $57 million, the venue is named after boxer and former heavyweight champion Joe Louis, who grew up in Detroit.[5] Only two other NHL arenas—Madison Square Garden in New York City and Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Long Island—are without corporate sponsorship names. The fourth oldest NHL venue after the two named above and Rexall Place in Edmonton, Joe Louis Arena is owned by the city of Detroit, and operated by Olympia Entertainment, a subsidiary of Ilitch Holdings.[6] JLA replaced Olympia Stadium. It sits adjacent to Cobo Hall on the bank of the Detroit River and is accessible through its own station on the Detroit People Mover.

Detroit Red Wings

Joe Louis Arena replaced Olympia Arena, where the Red Wings had played since 1927. The neighborhood around the Olympia gradually deteriorated, especially after the 1967 riots. After two murders took place near the Olympia, Red Wings owner Bruce Norris seriously considered moving to a proposed arena in suburban Pontiac. However, the city of Detroit countered with a proposal for a new riverfront arena at one-third of the rent Pontiac was offering. The package also gave the Red Wings operational control of both the arena, nearby Cobo Arena and nearby lots.

The Red Wings played their first game at Joe Louis Arena on December 27, 1979, hosting the St. Louis Blues.[7] Later that first season it hosted the 32nd NHL All-Star Game on February 5, 1980,[8] which was played before a then-NHL record crowd of 21,002. The event was made memorable when Gordie Howe of the Hartford Whalers was introduced on the Wales Conference line-up and received a ten-minute standing ovation.[9] The 51-year-old Howe had played 25 years in Detroit and at the time was the NHL's all-time leading scorer. Joe Louis Arena was the site of the 1987 NHL Entry Draft, which marked the first NHL Entry Draft to be held in the United States.

The Red Wings have been very successful since the move to Joe Louis Arena, winning four Stanley Cup championships (1997, 1998, 2002 and 2008), and playing in two additional Stanley Cup Finals (1995 and 2009). The 1997 and 2002 Cups were clinched at Joe Louis.

In 1990, color matrix boards were installed on the scoreboard; these were replaced by four Sony JumboTron video walls three years later, when the matrix boards were placed in the corners of the fascia. In 2006, LED video screens replaced the JumboTrons. The screens debuted November 22, 2006, when the Red Wings played the Vancouver Canucks. That same day, the arena's West Entrance was named the "Gordie Howe Entrance" in honor of the legendary Red Wing player, and a bronze statue of Howe was placed inside the entrance.

Other uses

Joe Louis Arena was the site of the 1980 Republican National Convention where Ronald Reagan was nominated as the Republican candidate for President of the United States.

In 1995, the Detroit Junior Red Wings won the Ontario Hockey League's J. Ross Robertson Cup, defeating the Guelph Storm.

Joe Louis Arena hosts college hockey events as part of College Hockey at The Joe and Great Lakes Invitational.

The Detroit Pistons of the NBA used the arena for Game 5 of their 1984 playoff series against the New York Knicks when the Pontiac Silverdome was unavailable due to a scheduling conflict. In the game, Piston star Isiah Thomas scored 16 points in the final 1:34 of regulation to send the game into overtime before the Pistons lost. The Pistons were forced to return to Joe Louis Arena for 15 games during the 1984–85 season, after the roof of the Silverdome collapsed during a snowstorm.

Joe Louis Arena was the site of the decisive Game 5 of the 2006 WNBA Finals between the Sacramento Monarchs and Detroit Shock on September 9, due to the Palace of Auburn Hills (the Shock's usual home arena) already being used for a Mariah Carey concert on the same day. The Shock won the game 80–75 to clinch the championship.

Former Arena Football League team the Detroit Drive also had success during their time at the arena, playing in six consecutive ArenaBowls from 1988 to 1993 and winning four of them. Four of the games (ArenaBowl III, ArenaBowl IV, ArenaBowl V and ArenaBowl VII) were played in Joe Louis Arena.

In addition, Joe Louis Arena is also a concert venue. Until the Palace of Auburn Hills was built in 1988, Joe Louis Arena was Michigan's largest indoor arena for concerts. The first concert to take place there occurred on February 19, 1980, in which Max Webster opened for the Canadian rock group Rush. To compensate for most of JLA's concert business being moved north following the opening of the Palace, the Red Wings began a tradition of playing a home game on New Year's Eve which continues today.

Recent additions

Joe Louis Arena currently houses 86 premium suites.[10] In 2008, the arena introduced the Comerica Bank Legend's Club, a 181-person private seating location in the southeast corner of the arena.[5] The Legend's Club is also the site of a pilot program called the SkyBOX. St. Louis-based Vivid Sky introduced the SkyBOX into the Legend's Club in January 2008. The SkyBOX gives Champion's Club patrons the ability to view instant replays and statistical information via a wireless device in the Skybox.

New arena for the Red Wings

In 2009, the Red Wings announced that they would not renew their 30-year Joe Louis Arena lease with the City of Detroit (which also included the rights to Cobo Arena).[11] In May 2012, it was reported that the Red Wings had hired a pair of architects, HKS and NBBJ, to design a new arena.[12] In December 2012, Olympia Entertainment announced the intention to develop a new district in downtown Detroit composed of offices, residential facilities, and "a new state-of-the-art, multi-purpose events center". The project has an estimated cost of $650 million.[13]

In June 2013, the city of Detroit's Downtown Development Authority officially announced the location of the new Detroit Red Wings arena and entertainment district. The new arena will seat 18,000, with a total event center space of 650,000 square feet. There will be 10,000 square feet of retail space on the ground level, 105,000 square feet of office space and 35,000 square feet of retail. According to the Detroit Economic Growth Corp., $285 million of the $650 million cost will be public, with $365.5 million in private funding.[14] On July 24, 2013 the Michigan Strategic Fund approved the Detroit's Downtown Development Authorities request for $650 million in funding.[15]

Miscellaneous information

References

  1. ^ "Begin Work on Stadium". The Ludington Daily News. May 17, 1977. Retrieved December 8, 2012.
  2. ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  3. ^ "JLA Construction". Detroit Red Wings. October 1, 2011. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
  4. ^ "Arena Info: General Information". The Detroit Red Wings. Retrieved December 8, 2012.
  5. ^ a b Wojnowski, Bob (August 10, 2010). "Competitive Spirit Makes Mike Ilitch Perfect Fit for Pistons". The Detroit News. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
  6. ^ "About Olympia Entertainment". Retrieved March 2, 2011.
  7. ^ Khan, Ansar (December 26, 2009). "Red Wings Celebrate 30th Anniversary of Joe Louis Arena". Michigan Live. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
  8. ^ "NHL All-Star Game Summaries/Results by Year". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
  9. ^ 1980 NHL All Star Game Intro. YouTube. Event occurs at 00:01:28. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
  10. ^ "Joe Louis Arena". Ballparks.com. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
  11. ^ Khan, Ansar (June 26, 2009). "Red Wings Won't Extend Current Lease on Joe Louis Arena, Hopeful of Negotiating a New Lease with City". Mlive.com. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
  12. ^ Muret, Don. "Red Wings closer to new arena with pair of architects". Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  13. ^ van Meek, Sandra (December 4, 2012). "Ilitch Organization Exploring Development of New Residential, Retail, Office and Events Center District in Downtown Detroit" (PDF). Ilitch Holdings. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
  14. ^ Shea, Bill. "DDA, Red Wings unveil $650 million arena and entertainment complex". Crain's Detroit Business. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  15. ^ http://www.mlive.com/business/detroit/index.ssf/2013/07/650_million_detroit_red_wings.html
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Joe Louis Arena.
Events and tenants
Preceded by Home of the
Detroit Red Wings
1979 – 2015 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Host of the
NHL All-Star Game
1980 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Host of the
Frozen Four
1985 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Host of the
Frozen Four
1987 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Host of the
Frozen Four
1990 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Home of the
Royal Rumble
2009 		Succeeded by
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