Report: Illitch to buy Pistons
http://detnews.com/article/20101005/SPORTS0102/10050385/Report--Ilitch-…
Pizza mogul Mike Ilitch will buy the Detroit Pistons and Palace Sports & Entertainment, Inc., according to a report today by Crain’s Detroit Business.
October 5th, 2010 at 11:59 AM ^
The Palace is also old. 20 years is an eternity in sports arenas these days.
October 5th, 2010 at 12:06 PM ^
The Palace is old but Bill Davidson put a lot of money into upkeep. The Palace is in better shape than a lot of other 20 year old venues. However I think this would actually send the Pistons to the city instead of the Wings to Detroit. The Palace would continue to be a venue for concerts, shows, etc. Then again he would save quite a bit of money moving the Wings to Auburn Hills and holding off on building a new stadium for a while.
The Tigers despite going 81-81 which isnt too bad...still continue to have very good attendance. One thing Illitch can vouche for is that people in Michigan love and are loyal to their sports.
October 5th, 2010 at 12:15 PM ^
It's true that the Palace is 21 years old, but it has undergone significant renovations in the last 5 years (e.g., it's main concourse was renovated in 2008), and it has been well-maintained, so they could get another 20 years out of that sucker easy. Plus, it was built for cash (i.e. suites) right from the get-go, so it doesn't suffer from the "Hey, how do I make money here?" syndrome that other arenas (e.g., Key Arena in Seattle, which is why the Sonics moved) suffer from.
http://www.nba.com/pistons/history/thepalaceofauburnhills.html
The only problem with the Palace is the location is not ideal, as it's not centrally located in the Metro Detroit area, but b/c of the quality of the venue itself, along with aggressive programming (besides Pistons, they have tons of concerts, Disney on Ice, etc), they are very successful.
October 5th, 2010 at 1:00 PM ^
And it has an event almost every night of the year. That's why the arena can still be profitable even if the Pistons move downtown.
October 5th, 2010 at 12:39 PM ^
When it was bulid, the Palace was way ahead of its time. Its bigger than most NBA arenas, it has a ton of suites, and they've done a couple of major additions and renovations on it. It may be 20+ years old, but its still a lot better than many NBA arenas.
October 5th, 2010 at 3:43 PM ^
The Palace is the arena that broke the mold. It has way more luxury suites than any arena built before it. Basically, every arena before it is outdated, while the ones built after all followed its blueprint.
October 5th, 2010 at 4:28 PM ^
I totally agree. During telecasts, seemingly every national announcer points out how the arena still looks good and has the feel of a "modern" arena. Compare that to the O-rena in Orlando, which was outdated almost as soon as it was completed and has already been bypassed for a new arena. I think that a downtown arena makes sense for the Wings and Pistons, but the Palace is still a fine venue (as compared to MSG, which is historic but definitely showing its age).
October 5th, 2010 at 12:15 PM ^
One of the big hold ups in getting a new arena for the Wings was that since the City was was unwilling to pony up bucks or incentives, Illitch couldn't find enough collateral to secure enough funding for an arena from private lenders.He can't technically list his wife's holdings in Motor City Casino due to sport leagues' rules. So if this is true and he is buying the Pistons it means:
1) The credit market has eased up enough from the 2007-2010 recession to allow Illitch to get affordable financing for the Pistons and a new arena.. meaning Karen Davidson didn't push a hard sell.
2) He's just fronting enough cash to get lead ownership role in a mutli-owner purchase (controlling interest)
3) CONSPIRACY THEORY ALERT: He's buying the Pistons long enough to get a downtown arena agreement signed and contracted then will flip it over to Dan Gilbert who rumor is shopping his interest in the cavs now that they're LeBron-less. Think Expos-Red Sox like management swap back in the 90's...
October 5th, 2010 at 2:50 PM ^
I wish the Pizza buisness would buy the Lions
October 5th, 2010 at 2:51 PM ^
long before this Illitch was in talks with the city of Detroit to build a new downtown arena for both the Wings and Pistons to play in and now that he actually owns both of them his position just got much stronger I think we'll see a new arena in the next few years he already owns enough property around the fox to put it in
October 5th, 2010 at 3:02 PM ^
And the other thing is that when the Joe is torn down, that will allow Cobo Hall to be expanded, which is necessary if the city is to keep the Auto Show.
October 5th, 2010 at 3:00 PM ^
I'm basically pleased with this, but I fear that we'll have to go down this road again in a few years' time. Mike Ilitch is no spring chicken. I would not be surprised to see at least one of the three franchises sold when he passes away.
October 5th, 2010 at 3:56 PM ^
But keep in mind that it's not really accurate to be talking about his empire simply in terms of him. His wife has always been very involved in the business. And I believe that some of their children are also involved in Ilitch Holdings Co. The Ilitch clan appears to be much closer to a family dynasty than the Davidsons.
October 6th, 2010 at 11:32 AM ^
He wants to build a multi-purpose stadium for hockey and basketball........makes sense financially.