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 11:41 PM ^
There's an easy fix for what ails LCA...
Put Steve fucking Yzerman in the GM box.
October 26th, 2018 at 12:21 AM ^
Great comment. How we've missed bringing that man home is sickening.
I know people think of Joe D and the Pistons and the Darko fiasco - but Stevie is tailor made for this organization
October 25th, 2018 at 11:58 PM ^
The seats are uncomfortable, especially upper bowl. You can’t pay me to watch a game from up there again.
October 26th, 2018 at 12:12 AM ^
I saw a Wings game there, and LOVED it... going to black seats is a mistake..
October 26th, 2018 at 4:12 AM ^
Had to be done the red seats stuck out like a sore thumb on television.
October 26th, 2018 at 12:44 AM ^
The Arena is beautiful, but great sports venues are built on great fan atmospheres. Hard to tell what the place will be like during a big-time game with a sold out crowd because it has not happened yet. Maybe the Pistons this year? Hopefully once the novelty of the amazing concourse dies down and the teams get good again, LCA will be able to recreate the great atmospheres of the Joe and the Palace back when those teams were competing for championships every year.
October 26th, 2018 at 10:48 AM ^
Little Caesars Arena is set up for failure when there is a bad product.
Of the Joe's 20,070 seats, only 8,030 seats were in the lower bowl (40%). That left 12040 seats split between the Upper Bowl and Suites.
Of LCA's 19,515 seats, 10,500 of them are in the lower bowl (54%). That only leaves 9,015 seats which are split up between the upper bowl, the gondola, the suites, and the Mezzanine.
1. There are not enough affordable seats available game in and game out.
2. The lower bowl at the Joe priced out a lot of people, and this lower bowl is even more expensive. Say 6,000 people sat in the lower bowl of a Wings game on a random Wednesday night at the Joe, the lower bowl wouldn't look that empty. Now that there are more lower bowl seats, there isn't necessarily more people to fill those seats. So 6,000 people in a 10,500 seat section makes that bowl look like a ghost town.
3. The center sections of the arena are club seats (even pricier) and were targeted to commercial buyers who are filling the restaurants and the bars with clients instead of the seats. LCA doesn't care because they got money for those seats already. Who cares if they are actuallly filled (which is the reason for the $1,000,000+ investment they are putting into the stadium to switch to black seats..)
October 26th, 2018 at 12:48 AM ^
You lost me when you called Little Caesar's bread/ketchup/cheese concoction "pizza"
October 26th, 2018 at 12:51 AM ^
It’s a great arena in theory. Like if you were to design a sports arena this is what you would design. Except, it replaced an arena that had a lot of history and tradition (JLA) and an arena that was built 29 years ago but was still top notch and reached out to the often forgotten about northern burbs. Also, the product the Wings and Pistons put out currently is pathetic. For the record I am a south warren raised kid so the palace was always pretty far so I’m not here preaching for the northern suburbs, but it is important to recognize the impact the Palace had.
For how dated the Joe was, no one complained about it. Everyone loved it. Same with the Palace. It was the best entertainment venue around. The Joe and the Palace sold out when the teams were good.
LCA was something built with an idea that it was what the fans wanted. Fans would have gone to the Joe for another 20 years If the team didn’t take 5 years too long to rebuild. Also, The Palace showed no signs of decaying as a premiere concert venue for years to come.
Cut ticket prices, make concessions more affordable. Make the venue what people want to come to inspite of horrible teams and watch the attendance flourish.
October 26th, 2018 at 4:18 AM ^
I would disagree with the statement that no one complained about the Joe. Fans let a lot of things slide probably because of the history of the place, but there were complaints about everything from food options, small concourse, disgusting and insufficient bathrooms, etc. The Joe wasn’t that nice when it was first completed, let alone the past few years.
October 26th, 2018 at 2:49 AM ^
About the only compliment I can give it over The Joe is that there is actually room to move in the concourse, that's about it.
October 26th, 2018 at 3:02 AM ^
I can't speak to the LCA as I've never been, but the few pro arenas I have been to I find lacking.
I live in SF and AT&T Park, god I hate calling places corporate names, is okay as far as newer venues go. The new 49ers stadium (I forget whatever corporate sponsor name it has....Levi's?) in Santa Clara is an absolute shithole. Sterile, corporate, zero character or class, or any kind of defining style or substance. It is in the middle of nowhere, you ride an escalator up and in and from there you buy stuff and see a game. Half of it you can't even bear to sit in on a hot day. No neighborhood to hang out in before the game, nowhere to go to celebrate/commiserate afterward, hell....maybe just put a plant out or something? No history, no tradition, yadda, yadda, yadda.
If LCA is anything like that, I don't care how many games a team wins, it is still a crappy venue.
October 26th, 2018 at 8:56 AM ^
The best part about that shithole in Santa Clara is they are hosting the college football national championship this year!
October 26th, 2018 at 4:10 AM ^
Was there tonight as well...the arena itself is very nice! They just have to find away to attract people to the games.
October 26th, 2018 at 4:27 AM ^
Big or little, I still haven't been paid for the name, so they can all go to hell.
October 26th, 2018 at 5:49 AM ^
saw one wings game this year at LCA, the night we crushed T a &m in the NCAA tourney. thought the arena was pretty well designed, good food options, etc.
my one knock (besides the wings are way bad right now) was the volume/strobe lights. my hearing and eye sight are just fine, and that strobe light and beat combo before the wings came out would have an autistic child in panic, and it seems like it'd be seizure inducing to other folks.
October 26th, 2018 at 6:08 AM ^
Seats are uncomfortable, impossible to walk through a row. Security process going into the restaurants is stupid, and said restaurants are too small. Mike Illitch is 0-2 in building stadiums/arenas
October 26th, 2018 at 7:45 AM ^
True...if you're over 6 feet tall leg room is an issue
October 26th, 2018 at 7:45 AM ^
They put on a great pre-game show, the facility is first rate and it has an excellent flow plan for people. It is a pricey night out (which it is pretty much everywhere unfortunately). But as others have said, until the product on the ice/floor is a winner I doubt they'll be able to sell the joint out.
The Palace is a great facility was sorry to see the Pistons move out.
October 26th, 2018 at 7:56 AM ^
I don't think I like any recently built stadium / arena that I've been to. They're all bland, corporate, assaults on good taste. Designed for the purpose of separating the visitor from as much of their money as possible, and pretty much nothing else.
I don't understand why new stadiums are needed every 30 years. Ours is 90 years old and it's great.
October 26th, 2018 at 9:14 AM ^
Yeah it's not bad if your under 6' 200 lbs. Being crammed for 4 hrs is not enjoyable to me. It's like riding in an airplane with below average legroom.
October 26th, 2018 at 8:08 AM ^
Last season we had gondola seating for a Wings game...let me just say it was the best view every to watch a hockey game. That experience was awesome...right at the glass looking down. Cant beat it.
October 26th, 2018 at 8:10 AM ^
I am still something of a believer in "winning solves issues", and right now, the Pistons and Red Wings are simply not serious contenders, although the Pistons could stumble into the playoffs if they stayed healthy, but as a 7 or 8 at best.....maybe. As for pricing, I think it is fair to say that it is not worth it everywhere you go in there, so be choosy about where you eat / drink. While I am sure I would appreciate a little more room, particularly in the upper bowl, it's not a terrible experience for a game. I think the overarching problem right now - for the most part anyway - is the underwhelming on-court / on-ice product.
October 26th, 2018 at 9:01 AM ^
I loved the new arena for a Wings game. Went to a pre-season game last year, sat in the Mezzanine. I thought it felt like sitting in HD Television. Crisp, bright, good sight lines.
October 26th, 2018 at 9:03 AM ^
Too much going on. The Joe may have been a dump but it was our dump.
That about sums it up for nostalgic people. You know the new arena is improved in SO MANY fan friendly ways. It just doesn't have the memories....and the teams CURRENTLY suck.
Your post has almost nothing to do with evaluating the new arena fairly. Just an emotional vent for the old place.
October 26th, 2018 at 9:31 AM ^
Typical Illitch facility designed with the sole purpose of separating you from as much of your money as they can. Everything from tickets to parking to concessions is overpriced. Too loud, too much non-sports stuff going on, advertising is everywhere. Everything that is bad about pro sports. Yost is getting like this with the constant advertising and the blaring music.
October 26th, 2018 at 10:15 AM ^
The Little Caesars Pizza at the LCA taste so much better than just the usual LC pizza. The price tho has gotten out of hand as at the Joe it was $15 but came with 2 deep dishes instead of 1.
The best food now is the BBQ Mac and Cheese. They stuff the bowl with Mac n Cheese and either Beef Brisket or Pulled Pork covered in BBQ sauce. It's easily my go to food each visit.
October 26th, 2018 at 11:35 AM ^
I have gotten that too and it’s delicious. And I’m comparison it’s cheaper than pizza and you get much more food. My wife and I were able to share it and be satisfied
October 26th, 2018 at 10:18 AM ^
LCA sight lines are good in the lower bowl (obviously), terrible in the upper bowl. It's similar to the United Center in Chicago, where you need an oxygen tank if you aren't sitting in the lower bowl. That was the nice thing about the Joe, even if you were the upper bowl, you still felt close to the ice.
I never really buy anything at the venue (overpriced) go to Bucharest Grill that just opened up by LCA, Founders Beer Garden by the Masonic, or Jolly Pumpkin in Midtown. All better price/value/food options than the Sysco crap they truck in.
October 26th, 2018 at 10:21 AM ^
I fly up from Clearwater, FL for the Red Wings last Saturday home game of the 2017-2018 season. I felt completely the opposite. I thought it was easily the most impressive pro hockey stadium to which I had been.
I loved the look of the stadium, the layout and all the food and drink options. The video boards and presentation were top notch. Honestly, the only thing I did not like was the play of the Wings. With Founders Detroit not too far away, it made for a really great Saturday afternoon despite the cold.
October 26th, 2018 at 10:47 AM ^
Funny name.
October 26th, 2018 at 10:51 AM ^
I thought LCA was great, but may be biased off unique experience. Last year I got two unique opportunities for free. One to attend a Pistons game at LCA with "club" seats, and another court-side at Pacers/Cavs in Indianapolis. I should add I went to many Pistons games at the Palace in the early 2000's, both regular season to playoffs. My fun fact is I had tickets to every clinching series playoff game in 2003, and my father (as I was only 18 at the time) even had tickets available to purchase for game 5 of the finals and he cheaped out because he thought "they're not beating the Lakers" could have been at every series clinching win that year, but anyway.....
At LCA, wasn't sure what to expect, the seats were pretty great about 20 rows up mid court, was a great view, and the Pistons won. However, the best part was free food, and I mean a LOT of free food, and hospitality when inside the "club" area. Wasn't just stadium food, it was good. Brick fire pizza, wings, little bbq sandwhiches, olive and cheese assortments, nachos, salads, cookies, soda, I'm sure I'm forgetting things. Also had a club only bars that weren't free but were only in the club area so no waits, could walk right up and order an adult beverage. All in all the about $200.00 ticket to sit in the club seats, come hungry, the amount of food you'll eat will almost make up for the price. I'm sure if the Pistons become good these will go up in price. Litterally when I walked into the club area, and I asked the "chef" if I had to pay and he goes "all of this is part of your ticket" my eyes must of lit up like a child on Christmas day. I left so bloated and feeling bad about my diet... So worth it.
Compare to court-side seats I went to in Indianapolis for a Pacers/Cavs game last year. No free food, the Pacers court-side club sucked, same inflated prices in bar, and really nothing "special" aside from being courtside. Again, I didn't have to pay for these tickets, so I cannot complain, just comparing it to LCA. Not being a Pacers or Cavs fan it was still neat to sit courtside, but as far as anything "additional" there was nothing special.
October 26th, 2018 at 11:15 AM ^
2003 was when the Pistons were swept by NJ in the East finals. Did you mean 2004?
October 26th, 2018 at 12:17 PM ^
Heading to the rink tonight - LGRW
October 27th, 2018 at 12:49 AM ^
I kinda have the same feeling about Toledo storm leaving the "our shithole " sports arena and vecomibg the "Toledo walleye " at the new corporate arena in Toledo
That said, been to LCA only for dead and company last November . Had pit tickets . It was a nice venue for a show but I'd hate to ve in the uppers for a concert