Joe Louis Arena

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Joe Louis Arena
The Joe
Joe Louis Arena.svg
Detroit December 2015 59 (Joe Louis Arena).jpg
Address 19 Steve Yzerman Drive
Location Detroit, Michigan
Coordinates Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Owner City of Detroit
Operator Olympia Entertainment
Capacity Ice hockey:
19,275 (1979–1989)
19,875 (1989–1996)
19,983 (1996–2000)
19,995 (2000–2001)
20,058 (2001–2003)
20,066 (2003–2014)
20,027 (2014–2017)
Basketball: 20,153
Concerts: 21,666[1]
Construction
Broke ground May 16, 1977[2]
Opened December 12, 1979
Construction cost US$57 million
($186 million in 2021 dollars[3])
Architect SmithGroupJJR
General contractor Barton Malow[4]
Tenants
Detroit Red Wings (NHL) (1979–present)
Detroit Pistons (NBA) (1985)
Detroit Drive (AFL) (1988–1993)
Detroit Turbos (MILL) (1989–1994)
Detroit Compuware Ambassadors (OHL) (1991–92)
Detroit Junior Red Wings (OHL) (1992–1995)
Detroit Rockers (NPSL) (1996–2000)
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 is a multi-purpose arena located in 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 former heavyweight champion boxer Joe Louis, who grew up in Detroit.[5] Only one other NHL arena, Madison Square Garden, is without a corporate sponsorship name. The second oldest NHL venue after Madison Square Garden, Joe Louis Arena is owned by the city of Detroit, and operated by Olympia Entertainment, a subsidiary of Ilitch Holdings.[6] Built as a replacement for the Detroit Olympia, it sits adjacent to Cobo Center on the bank of the Detroit River and is accessible via the Joe Louis Arena station on the Detroit People Mover.

History

Joe Louis Arena replaced the Detroit Olympia, where the Detroit Red Wings had played since 1927. The neighborhood around the Olympia had gradually deteriorated, especially after the 1967 Detroit riot. 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 arena hosted its first event on December 12, 1979: a college basketball game between the University of Michigan and the University of Detroit.[citation needed] 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. 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. In 1980, the arena hosted the Republican National Convention where Ronald Reagan was nominated as the Republican candidate for President of the United States.

The electronic scoreboard at Joe Louis Arena, during a game between the Detroit Red Wings and the Los Angeles Kings on March 9, 2007

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. Joe Louis Arena currently houses 86 premium suites.[9] 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]

On July 20, 2014, following the July 2013 approval of a $650 million project to build a new sports and entertainment district in Downtown Detroit,[10][11] Christopher Ilitch unveiled designs for Little Caesars Arena near Comerica Park and Ford Field to be completed by 2017, which will succeed Joe Louis Arena as the future home of the Red Wings. Joe Louis Arena will be demolished following the completion of the new arena, and its site will be redeveloped.[12] On October 16, 2014, lawyers involved in the ongoing Detroit bankruptcy case disclosed in court that after demolition (which will be paid for by the city and state), the land on which the arena currently stands, along with an adjacent parking lot, will be transferred to the Financial Guaranty Insurance Company (FGIC), a bond insurer with a $1 billion claim against the city.[13] The Red Wings final game in Joe Louis Arena is scheduled for April 9, 2017 against the New Jersey Devils.

Other tenants and events

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, the Great Lakes Invitational, and the Big Ten Conference hockey tournament in 2015 and 2017.[14]

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, Pistons 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.

The Detroit Red Wings of the NHL hosted the Stanley Cup Finals at the arena six times; 1995, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2008, and 2009. The Red Wings won two of their Stanley Cup championships at the Joe Louis Arena; 1997 and 2002. The 1998 Stanley Cup championship was won in Washington, D.C.'s MCI Center and the 2008 championship was won in Pittsburgh's Mellon Arena. The Red Wings lost in the Finals to New Jersey in 1995 at the Meadowlands Arena and lost on home ice in the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals to Pittsburgh.

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.

Joe Louis Arena hosted the World Wrestling Federation's (now WWE) annual Survivor Series pay-per-view on November 27, 1991. WWE returned to the arena on January 25, 2009 with another of its annual PPVs, the Royal Rumble.[15] One notable event was at Survivor Series in 1999 when Stone Cold Steve Austin was run down in the back parking lot of the arena by a mysterious driver, later revealed to be Rikishi, while looking for Triple H. The arena hosted its final WWE Raw on March 13, 2017.

Joe Louis Arena was the site of the 2013 edition of the Skate America figure skating competition. In addition, Joe Louis Arena hosted the 1994 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, best known for the pre-competition attack on Nancy Kerrigan by associates of Tonya Harding.

It was announced on May 7, 2015, that the Horizon League Men's Basketball Tournament would be held in Detroit beginning in 2016 under a five-year deal; the 2016 and 2017 tournaments were held at Joe Louis Arena.[16]

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 17, 1980,[17] in which Max Webster opened for the Canadian rock group Rush. To compensate for most of Joe Louis Arena'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. Aside from lockouts cancelling part or all of the 1994–95, 2004–05, and 2012–13 seasons, the Red Wings have left the New Year's Eve date open in years they've been scheduled to participate in the NHL Winter Classic. For New Year's Eve 2012 and 2013, the Zac Brown Band held concerts at the Joe. The 2012 date was already open due to the planned 2013 Winter Classic that was postponed by lockout until 2014.

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 1634 to 1699: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. 1700-1799: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. 1800–present: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ http://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=34649
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Events and tenants
Preceded by Home of the
Detroit Red Wings
1979–present		 Succeeded by
Little Caesars Arena
Preceded by Host of the
NHL All-Star Game
1980		 Succeeded by
The Forum
Preceded by Host of the
Frozen Four
1985		 Succeeded by
Providence Civic Center
Providence, Rhode Island
Preceded by Host of the
Frozen Four
1987		 Succeeded by
Olympic Center
Lake Placid, New York
Preceded by Host of the
Frozen Four
1990		 Succeeded by
Saint Paul Civic Center
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Preceded by Home of the
Royal Rumble
2009		 Succeeded by
Philips Arena
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