Pistons-to-downtown gaining steam

[flow]

http://www.detroitbadboys.com/2016/9/30/13128472/detroit-pistons-move-downtown-detroit-negotiations

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20161001/NEWS/161009995/pistons-aim-at-downtown-but-sticking-points-remain

[Manocad]

Yes, please!
No offense to Auburn Hills and the Palace is still a top-notch arena, but there's just nothing to do there. You go to the game, you leave. When I go to Red Wings games with friends we always meet up somewhere before the game to hang out, go to the game, then hit the cigar bar, or the casino, and hang out afterward. And that will even get easier; the entertainment district and even Greektown are walking distance from the new stadium. No more taking shuttle buses or the People Mover to the Joe.

[Kilo]

If they do this, I just hope the bowl looks like a Piston Home game when the Pistons are with the playing and not the Pistons playing in a Red Wings Arena. I don't mind the concourses and the outside and the rest being Red Wing centric, but watching the game, in the bowl it should be 100% Pistons when BBall is being played. Have all additional basketball seats Piston blue, to go the red of the hockey seats, have the Piston Banners lowered and visible and the Red Wings out of line of sight etc. All Red Wing logo's and signage should be covered with Piston logo and signage.

[DBC10]

If they do this, I just hope the bowl looks like a Piston Home game when the Pistons are with the playing and not the Pistons playing in a Red Wings Arena. I don't mind the concourses and the outside and the rest being Red Wing centric, but watching the game, in the bowl it should be 100% Pistons when BBall is being played. Have all additional basketball seats Piston blue, to go the red of the hockey seats, have the Piston Banners lowered and visible and the Red Wings out of line of sight etc. All Red Wing logo's and signage should be covered with Piston logo and signage.

Considering the Clippers/Lakers arena are switched back and forth having polar opposite colors, I don't see how your request would be difficult. I'd imagine it would just take manual labor, but I'm sure they have plans in tow.

[The_Irony]

If they do this, I just hope the bowl looks like a Piston Home game when the Pistons are with the playing and not the Pistons playing in a Red Wings Arena. I don't mind the concourses and the outside and the rest being Red Wing centric, but watching the game, in the bowl it should be 100% Pistons when BBall is being played. Have all additional basketball seats Piston blue, to go the red of the hockey seats, have the Piston Banners lowered and visible and the Red Wings out of line of sight etc. All Red Wing logo's and signage should be covered with Piston logo and signage.

Pretty sure Boston, LA, all 4 NY teams(hockey/bbll), Toronto, Miami, etc dont have this issue and is something we wouldn't need to worry about.

[WC NBA Fan]

Yes, please!
No offense to Auburn Hills and the Palace is still a top-notch arena, but there's just nothing to do there. You go to the game, you leave. When I go to Red Wings games with friends we always meet up somewhere before the game to hang out, go to the game, then hit the cigar bar, or the casino, and hang out afterward. And that will even get easier; the entertainment district and even Greektown are walking distance from the new stadium. No more taking shuttle buses or the People Mover to the Joe.

Great post. You can't beat watching an NBA game in a downtown setting. Let's go Gores, let's close the deal!

[Pharaoh]

Having them play downtown is great and all but let's assume you owned the Palace:

You've now lost your permanent tenant...and all the additional jobs that go with it.

Unless/until Gores can fix that I don't think it's in his best interests to move the team downtown full time

[Phenomenonsense]

Having them play downtown is great and all but let's assume you owned the Palace:

You've now lost your permanent tenant...and all the additional jobs that go with it.

Unless/until Gores can fix that I don't think it's in his best interests to move the team downtown full time

Exactly. Gores OWNS the Palace. What is the incentive?

[detroitKG]

I've been on board with this idea for years now and it would pick up steam now that I've moved out of state...
I mean with Gores owning the Palace and it still being a viable venue for concerts and shows, its not like the Palace would just sit empty..I do like the idea of moving the Drive up there for example.
Moving them downtown not only centralizes the team to more surrounding suburbs, because lets be honest that drive up sucks..
There is infinitely more to do downtown than up in Auburn Hills.

[Manocad]

Having them play downtown is great and all but let's assume you owned the Palace:

You've now lost your permanent tenant...and all the additional jobs that go with it.

Unless/until Gores can fix that I don't think it's in his best interests to move the team downtown full time

Exactly. Gores OWNS the Palace. What is the incentive?

I'll tell you exactly what the incentive is--more money for Gores. I think what you're overlooking is that the Palace is available for events 365 days a year. The Pistons only occupy 41 of those days and moving downtown will increase attendance at the games regardless of how the team performs. Gores pays for the cost of the Palace whether the Pistons play there or not, so as long as the additional draw at Pistons games makes up for the rent downtown, Gores can make more money since the Pistons playing downtown means 41 more nights are available at the Palace for other events.

The Pistons drawing 10,000 people a game on 41 nights is NOT the big driver toward making the Palace a profitable venture. It's the other well over 41 events a year drawing more than 10,000 people that are.

It's a very simple equation. If A) the Pistons playing downtown draws enough additional attendance to cover the rent at the new arena and B) you can fill up those 41 nights at the Palace with other events, you move the team.

[Phenomenonsense]

Having them play downtown is great and all but let's assume you owned the Palace:

You've now lost your permanent tenant...and all the additional jobs that go with it.

Unless/until Gores can fix that I don't think it's in his best interests to move the team downtown full time

Exactly. Gores OWNS the Palace. What is the incentive?

I'll tell you exactly what the incentive is--more money for Gores. I think what you're overlooking is that the Palace is available for events 365 days a year. The Pistons only occupy 41 of those days and moving downtown will increase attendance at the games regardless of how the team performs. Gores pays for the cost of the Palace whether the Pistons play there or not, so as long as the additional draw at Pistons games makes up for the rent downtown, Gores can make more money since the Pistons playing downtown means 41 more nights are available at the Palace for other events.

The Pistons drawing 10,000 people a game on 41 nights is NOT the big driver toward making the Palace a profitable venture. It's the other well over 41 events a year drawing more than 10,000 people that are.

It's a very simple equation. If A) the Pistons playing downtown draws enough additional attendance to cover the rent at the new arena and B) you can fill up those 41 nights at the Palace with other events, you move the team.

I don't know what you guys are all talking about. I go to like 5-10 games per year and I have no desire to go downtown to the games. I probably wouldn't to be honest. Games are already a 3 hour affair, I do not know why anyone would want to go do things before or after that either, so the "more things to do" is over my head.

[Manocad]

Believe it or not, there's this crazy thing called "socializing." Granted, it's an extreme activity but I suggest you try it sometime.

[TPA]

If you go to that many games, you probably live closer to the Palace. For many fans like myself, the drive is a consideration. Usually, the last thing I want to do is make the trip home at 10:30 (11:30 by the time I get out of Palace traffic). It would be great to be able to make a game, and have lodging and other entertainment options for a night.

[Pugz]

Yes, please!
No offense to Auburn Hills and the Palace is still a top-notch arena, but there's just nothing to do there. You go to the game, you leave. When I go to Red Wings games with friends we always meet up somewhere before the game to hang out, go to the game, then hit the cigar bar, or the casino, and hang out afterward. And that will even get easier; the entertainment district and even Greektown are walking distance from the new stadium. No more taking shuttle buses or the People Mover to the Joe.

adding to this, it'll be easier for me to get home after work(restoration bricklayer working mostly downtown), and then to a gake with time to spare.

[DCintheD]

I love the Palace and its proximity to my home but the Pistons belong downtown like every other professional franchise. It'll be more entertaining and exciting to go to games in a up and coming vibrant city. Plus the new Red Wings arena will be state of the art. We need the Pistons to be part of that.

[Manocad]

If you go to that many games, you probably live closer to the Palace. For many fans like myself, the drive is a consideration. Usually, the last thing I want to do is make the trip home at 10:30 (11:30 by the time I get out of Palace traffic). It would be great to be able to make a game, and have lodging and other entertainment options for a night.

Exactly. Literally never in my life have I just gone straight to a game and gone straight home after. I always make it a bigger event than just the game. Even for Pistons games I always go to Hoops or the Post/Venue/whatever it is now before the game for food/beers but then just go home after because there's nothing else to do.

[ImHeisenberg]

No offense to Auburn Hills and the Palace is still a top-notch arena, but there's just nothing to do there.

My thought exactly. Heck, you have to drive a while just to find a decent restaurant. Moving downtown may not make the most fiscal sense to Gores, it certainly is preferable to fans.

[Manocad]

No offense to Auburn Hills and the Palace is still a top-notch arena, but there's just nothing to do there.

My thought exactly. Heck, you have to drive a while just to find a decent restaurant. Moving downtown may not make the most fiscal sense to Gores, it certainly is preferable to fans.

As I laid out in my previous post, I think Gores can make MORE money if the Pistons move downtown. I'd be willing to bet that attendance at the new arena would be double what the Pistons are drawing at the Palace, so as long as the increased revenue for the team more than offsets the rent paid to the new arena and he can find 41 more entertainment events to put into the Palace (which most likely would outdraw the Pistons), he's golden. Gores is a businessman so I'm sure he figured this out, hence the discussions taking place.

I work with people from just about all the suburban areas and we all go to Detroit regularly for games and even non-game entertainment. I absolutely would pay the money to see a Pistons game if I was going down to the city anyway. I won't go to the Palace unless I've got free tickets, and I mean that literally.

[DBC10]

In the short run, it probably will hurt Gores and employees of the Palace who work exclusively for the Palace-Pistons related events and games. But I'd imagine with the Palace being turned into a full on concerts/events venue, it wouldn't mean much in the long run of jobs lost.

Unless this means that the Palace is closed in the near future, I don't see how it'll affect much in the revenue side, at least negatively. This essentially allows Gores to double dip like how Manocad laid out of filling more Palace days with events days while still having the Pistons play downtown with increased demand for seats since the market share is far greater than Auburn Hills.

At the end of the day, a vacant seat at the Palace during home games are loss of revenue if we're being pedantic, and I don't think Gores can completely ignore that, while the demand for the Pistons in downtown could be even greater than the Auburn Hills days.

[detroitKG]

^I imagine the practice facility would be somewhat close to the new arena downtown...wouldn't they just build the new offices into the practice facility and work out of there? Seems to make the most sense to me because I fully expect the Red Wings people to get first serve in the new arena.