Photo by Michael Caples/MiHockey

District Detroit Preview Center gives an exciting look at the future of Hockeytown

Photo by Michael Caples/MiHockey
Photo by Michael Caples/MiHockey

 

By @MichaelCaples and @StefanKubus –

DETROIT – We get it, we get it.

You don’t like the name of the building.

After a tour of The District Detroit Preview Center, however, that would be the last thing on your mind.

A select group of Red Wings writers were given a tour of the preview center Tuesday evening – a first look at the display built within Comerica Park for many of the Red Wings’ main scribes.

And what we saw looked fantastic.

Sure, it was a collection of renderings and models and videos giving an idea of what’s coming for Detroit. For a project that’s just getting underway, that’s all one can see at this point.

Yet the ideas and the ambitions discussed throughout the visit – guided by Olympia Entertainment president and CEO Tom Wilson – outline a mission to dramatically improve the hockey scene in downtown Detroit.

A state-of-the art arena is only just the beginning. Imagine viewing parties and festivities outside of the arena in a plaza that can hold 4,000 people – and hold an outdoor ice arena when it’s cold enough.

  • Picture a youth hockey tournament utilizing both the practice sheet built under ground, and the one with 20,000 seats surrounding it.
  • Envision a Detroit Red Wings game where you actually want to spend time around the building before and after the contest.
  • Watch the Tigers’ game on the outdoor screen and then grab dinner at one of the many restaurants attached to the arena before taking a short walk inside for the game. And that’s only one idea.
  • It’s an area people can spend an entire day in without having to travel more than two blocks. But that just means there’s even more to discover and experience the next time around.
  • Wilson also said there will be a mobile app that will provide complete directions – and pinpoint where to park – for navigating downtown to get people in and out efficiently, a personal GPS if you will.
  • Imagine an all-day concert event, with lesser-known, up-and-coming talents performing outside in the plaza followed by the A-list artist performing inside the arena at night.

And that’s just outside. Inside the new Red Wings arena – yes, Little Caesars Arena – fans will have an incredible viewing experience.

Some notes:

  • A steep incline for the seats will create impressive sightlines for all fans in attendance. The bowl of the arena was modeled off the Bell Centre in Montreal.
  • Fans will have more legroom and more seat space – seats will be three inches wider than at The Joe, and they will all have cupholders built right in.
  • A new jumbotron will feature state-of-the-art imagery, but it won’t be overbearing; Wilson said that Olympia didn’t want a TV screen drawing more attention than actual game play.
  • Suites are two times bigger than The Joe and the Palace; there are 60 total, and they sold out in 40 days. The Wings were expecting that process to take an estimated nine months. Suiteholders will have access to their space at all times – they can host meetings or gatherings during the day, and even have the events catered.
  • The game (or concert) will be projected onto the concourse’s aluminum structure that wraps around said concourse, allowing for fans to see massive projections of the game feed so they don’t miss anything if they’re standing in line or heading to the bathroom.
  • Wilson said that the gondola seating that hangs over the stands is their attempt to create something unique, like the seats on the top of the ‘Green Monster’ at Fenway Park in Boston.
  • The architects minimalized empty space to boost noise levels as much as possible, so the new arena can be an intimating place for opponents to visit.

So yes, it’s going to be called Little Caesars Arena (speaking of which, we still need to come up with a nickname for the building). However, in one year’s time, we will have a new hockey cathedral in the heart of Hockeytown.

For that, we should all be excited. There a great times ahead for hockey in Michigan.