OT: Thoughts on Little Caesar’s Arena?
I was there tonight for my first Pistons game there (free tickets) and I’m just not a fan.
Too much going on. The Joe may have been a dump but it was our dump. The prices are also outrageous. $15 for a pizza that I can get an actual Little Caesars for $5
They also replaced the red seats with black to hide the empty seats. There were maybe 9,000 people there tonight.
October 25th, 2018 at 10:34 PM ^
You know what makes an arena great? A really, really good team. I was at the joe in the early 80s when it was brand new and it sucked, because the product sucked.
I was there in the mid-2000s when they were winning cups. The condition of the arena sucked, but nobody cared because on the ice it was second to none.
October 25th, 2018 at 11:33 PM ^
Yup. Win a Cup and everyone will love that place
October 25th, 2018 at 10:35 PM ^
Not the first negative review I've read. The Palace was better IMO.
October 26th, 2018 at 9:20 AM ^
Yep, negative reviews from attendees, and negative reviews from Red Wing skaters, stating that the ice is too soft.
Conjures memories from the old Boston Garden: from fog over the ice, to condensation on the hardwood. Didn't hurt the Celtics though. Many championships won there.
Blown fuses and power outages spelled the end of the multi-use Garden after many historic decades of use. May the LC arena have better technical fortune, and illustrious Garden-like use for decades in the future.
October 26th, 2018 at 1:13 PM ^
The soft ice would make sense as to why the puck seems to jump around quite a bit at home.
October 25th, 2018 at 10:35 PM ^
LCA is awesome. People will start showing up if Pistons start to compete. Prices are pretty standard.
October 25th, 2018 at 10:38 PM ^
I’m not a pro sports person at all and that place is a big reason why. Venues are now about everything but the game in the NBA and MLB.
There’s a fucking merry-go-Round in Comerica Park.
October 25th, 2018 at 10:44 PM ^
Never really heard anyone complain about a merry-go-round before.
Those basterds!
October 25th, 2018 at 10:57 PM ^
Get off my lawn.
October 25th, 2018 at 11:12 PM ^
Maybe you would like it better if they had some maize & blue dildos mounted to it.
jk
October 25th, 2018 at 11:28 PM ^
Replace the saddles with dildos and he's game.
October 26th, 2018 at 11:52 PM ^
Never really heard anyone complain about a merry-go-round before.
Especially a fucking one. Who wouldn't enjoy that?
October 25th, 2018 at 11:00 PM ^
The Merry go Round and Ferris Wheel at Comerica are to help them be more family friendly. Younger kids get restless and bored at sporting events (the post the other day about taking a 5 year old to the Rutger game is full of parents giving the advice that the kid will get bored). Having attractions like the Tigers do that are completely non obtrusive gives the parents something that will hopefully entertain their kids. Encouraging parents to bring their children to a game helps the Tigers build a new generation of fan. It’s the same reason so many teams have kids fan clubs and things like kids run the bases.
Not that modern arenas don’t over do it, but the merry go round and ferris wheel at Comerica are bad examples of this
October 25th, 2018 at 11:06 PM ^
Who's fault is that though? Kids don't have an attention span because we've made them not have one with so much going on. It's like middle aged people who are now in charge have completely forgotten how they themselves became fans...all it takes it a good product on the field/court.
October 25th, 2018 at 11:09 PM ^
I've taken my kids to two games at Copa. They were rather young for the first and still pre-teen the second time. They enjoy going to baseball games and understand it pretty well.
Taking a break and riding the merry-go-round was a lot of fun last year when they were older, and a defining highlight five years ago.
Baseball in the regular season has a different rhythm to it. Even when you're trying to follow the game closely, where the pitcher is hitting and missing the plate, etc, you get up to get a snack. You might wander the concourse briefly, watching from a different perspective. It's relaxing and enjoyable. It's good that it's that way.
October 25th, 2018 at 11:53 PM ^
whose
October 26th, 2018 at 9:01 AM ^
New generations of fans don't start with merry go rounds at the venue.
My Dad frequently went to games at Tiger Stadium and Olympia as a kid. He and the other kids rode a streetcar to the game for a nickel, and bought bleacher seats for little more. All in, it cost about as much as going to a movie. That was way back when Detroit was a great city, on par with Chicago.
Pricing has turned people to TV with hundreds of channels of programming, at home or in bars. And between phones and computers, people have infinitely more options.
The Fan. The Fan. The Fan. They don't hear that. They hear The Dollar. The Dollar. The Dollar.
October 27th, 2018 at 7:31 AM ^
I'm pretty sure I was never bored going to games at Tiger Stadium. I loved it. Not living in Michigan anymore and having been to Comerica a handful of times I can agree that the atmosphere is boring. It is the antithesis of Tiger Stadium. Maybe its just the nature of people that we are way less rowdy than we used to be. At Comerica everyone seems very relaxed and subdued. Don't get me started on Ford Field. Lions fans come across on TV as the most dispassionate and quietest fans in the country. I guess 40 years of sucking and playing football indoors will do that to ya.
October 26th, 2018 at 9:06 AM ^
This is why it pains me so much when I hear people say, "I don't like baseball but I like going to the games"
I hear this ALL the time. I'm not much of a baseball fan myself, but what in the hell would be the point of going if you're not going to watch baseball? If you'd like me to come to your house, flip on the Tigers game and then charge you $12 for a bud light and $7 for a hot dog I'd be happy to do it to give you that "authentic feel".
October 26th, 2018 at 9:52 AM ^
I am one of those people. The sights and sounds, and the atmosphere can make a non-baseball fan lose their mind. I was at a game where JV pitched into the 9th with a no-hitter in tact. It was insane. Any other day I wouldn't have even watched the game.
Sitting outside, drinking a cold beer on a hot day, the murmur of the crowd talking amonst themselves. Idk, you feel like a part of a bigger community which is often lost at home scrolling thru twitter. Plus it's something to do! You can't spend your whole life on the couch.
Same thing can't be said of a Pistons game for me though. I'd turn down free tickets 9/10 times and maybe even the tenth time.
October 26th, 2018 at 10:58 AM ^
Same here. I live in DC and only go to games if the Tigers are playing the Nats or Orioles. But the weather is nice. The Orioles play in downtown Baltimore and there is a great inner harbor area with a ton of clubs, bars, restaurants, a great aquarium etc. Catching a Saturday game there is fantastic with great weather...plenty to do afterwards. Price isn't a big issue for some folks, especially when you consider it's expensive to live here anyways and you only go maybe once or twice a year.
I really am not a big baseball fan at all, but I love the outdoors and the warm air..cold beer...decent hotdogs and good company.
October 25th, 2018 at 10:36 PM ^
I loved the place with the red seats and good luck getting a pizza for less than $15 at any arena in the country. Easy in and out, plenty of room in the concourses and the food options were top notch. I honestly loved my in arena experience.
October 25th, 2018 at 10:48 PM ^
We have never had so many food/drink options. Nobody goes there to save money anyway. LCA is great (pretty steep in the upper bowl as so many have pointed out). Just add good teams & will be all set.
October 26th, 2018 at 9:37 AM ^
$15 is ridiculous but that is the norm everywhere.
October 25th, 2018 at 10:47 PM ^
I was not impressed. It seemed sterile and the fans seem spread further from the action. It was built to be a giant entertainment center for revenue opportunities.
I miss the Joe immensely.
October 25th, 2018 at 10:48 PM ^
Saw Elton John and the Eagles there on a recent weekend. I thought it was a really good concert venue. I wouldn't go to a Pistons or Red Wings game even for the Dave Brandon special price. The product is just not worth the investment in time to see.
October 25th, 2018 at 11:01 PM ^
Pistons 4-0!!
October 25th, 2018 at 11:38 PM ^
"Saw Elton John and the Eagles there on a recent weekend."
Holy crap, did they come out using walkers? Those guys are all older than me for chrissakes.
October 26th, 2018 at 8:14 AM ^
I saw Ozzy last month at DTE, he looked pretty good and I think he was around 70!
October 26th, 2018 at 12:15 AM ^
Oh yes...David Brandon and the "dynamic pricing" model. He could charge $10 and still not draw.
October 25th, 2018 at 10:57 PM ^
October 26th, 2018 at 4:14 AM ^
For a four square 3 Meat pizza
October 26th, 2018 at 7:14 AM ^
October 25th, 2018 at 11:03 PM ^
All about lifting your wallet. Fuck pro sports.
I went to Olympia arena with my dad as a child. Also Tiger Stadium. Hot Dogs were $1 and tickets $5.
I hope they go bankrupt.
October 25th, 2018 at 11:10 PM ^
Ya, shit ain't cheap at The Big House either.
October 25th, 2018 at 11:16 PM ^
Times are changing, and it looks like there is starting to be a shift toward more affordable concessions at stadiums. Many franchises are looking at the success Atlanta has been having by dropping their concession prices, and slowly, some are starting to follow suit, including the Detroit Lions this year.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/25/sports/football/nfl-concessions.html
October 25th, 2018 at 11:31 PM ^
Believe it when I see it. $5 for a 20oz soda is ridiculous. $4.50 for a hot dog, even moreso.
October 26th, 2018 at 12:18 AM ^
Even worse, vs. inflation, than college tuition rates, is the rise in price of beer at sporting events.
I went to some Houston Astros games in 1980s. Box seats near visiting bullpen were $10. Beer was $1.50 to $2 (translates to about $4-$5 today) and better beer choices!
GIVE US REASONABLY PRICED BEER is almost as old a slogan as give us liverty or give us death :>)
October 26th, 2018 at 8:29 AM ^
Dude I went to a concert at our po-dunk "biggest arena in town" (smaller than the Chrysler Center) and a beer (Bud or Bud Light) was EIGHTEEN DOLLARS. It was on the bigger end, maybe 24oz or so, but all I could do was laugh and say "I'll enjoy this concert sober then, thank you very much."
October 26th, 2018 at 10:02 AM ^
My only argument for high priced beer is maybe folks don't over indulge as much. You still see it, but if someone brings $50 for beer and drinks 4 20oz beers over a 2-1/2 hour period they can catch a good buzz. Someone downing 10 beers in that time might fall down those steep stairs in the upper deck. You shouldn't have to protect people from themselves, but alcohol and stadium liability insurance don't probably mix well.
Water, Hot dogs, nachos, pizza slices, and popcorn should be $2-3 max though. You need to sober up those drunk fans! Make your fans feel like they aren't being gouged for being at your arena.
October 25th, 2018 at 11:10 PM ^
Looking forward to getting there. Perhaps the GLI this year if I'm in town over the holidays, perhaps not.
FWIW I've heard at least one Minnesota Wild media guy on the radio call it the best arena in the League.
October 25th, 2018 at 11:11 PM ^
Olympia was great.
even the name great.
October 26th, 2018 at 12:19 AM ^
Went there in the late 70s when we had crappy teams, excl. the 77-78 team that won a playoff series, and loved the place. Dad loved the beer too.
October 25th, 2018 at 11:30 PM ^
LCA? Hate it. Mainly because it basically kneecapped the Palace and wrecked the concert scene in the northern Detroit 'burbs for big name acts. Now we have to travel down into the D to attend. The worst part, getting tickets in person to avoid online convenience fees now becomes an extreme pain to get them early or you risk missing seats/concerts by waiting for the other venues to open.
For sports? The Palace and the Joe had their own vibe. LCA is basically a desert when it comes to that vibe. They may have put the old Olympia sign outside but that doesn't mean it inherits any thing from it.
October 26th, 2018 at 12:12 AM ^
Seriously? You are in an extreme minority with that bitching and complaining. I can't think of a more lame and isolated place to see a concert than the 'north burbs'. Downtown Detroit is much more centrally located and convenient for everyone else including those in A2.
October 26th, 2018 at 11:46 AM ^
Yes, seriously. I'm not the only one in this boat. I may be on -this- board though. If you're in A2 there are plenty of options there. If you're upstream from there or the D then it becomes much more of a logistical push. The Palace has/had its own direct freeway access - LCA doesn't. It has/had several entry/exit points, LCA doesn't. The fact that it did what it did to the entertainment scene in the area cannot be dismissed. Centrally located? That is entirely based upon where you are. If you're in Holly, Fenton, Royal Oak, Pontiac, or Brighton the Palace is centrally located. If you're downriver or even as far away as A2 then LCA is centrally located.
As for 'bitching and complaining' - damn straight. This thread opened that Pandora's box.
October 25th, 2018 at 11:31 PM ^
Fucking loved the Joe. Saw tons of games there .... as well as the Red Hot Chili Peppers there right before it was torn down. I do really like LCA and it is was less dumpy. I have seen a few Red Wings games there.
Yea, beer/food is expensive but ....
a) I go in knowing that and take a few hundred bucks
b) go to The Detroiter. Order The Detroiter. $10 gets you a pint of domestic, a 1/2 lb burger with ham (Canadian bacon?) and bacon on it, with fries. Pitchers of domestic are $2. Everyone gets pretty good and wrecked. Take the free bus to the arena. Then you only need one 24oz beer at the arena each period to maintain the buzz. Wings lose and you take the free bus back to The Detroiter for more $2 pitchers.
October 26th, 2018 at 12:20 AM ^
Sign me up :>)
October 26th, 2018 at 10:57 AM ^
Love the Detroiter. When I worked at the Ren Cen I would get one every Friday for lunch. I live in Sarasota now and there is no equivalent so I get sushi on Fridays instead. Not quite the same. But for Red Wings pregame that hole in the wall right across the street from the Joe was the best. Can't remember the name but I remember Darren McCarty coming in after games. The Post maybe?
October 26th, 2018 at 11:46 AM ^
Across the street (Congress) is Tommy's Detroit Bar and Grill. That's probably the one you're thinking of. It has been there for a long time and is considered a "top bar" in Detroit. The building itself is cool was built in 1840. It has a tunnel supposedly used to smuggle liquor from the river during prohibition. Also believed to have been used for the underground railroad.