Little Caesars Arena: Detroit Welcomes an Innovative New Star
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E CAESARS AREN LITTL A: DETROIT WELCOMES AN INNOVATIVE NEW STAR SEPTEMBER 4-10, 2017 SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION ❘ STREET & Smith’S SPORTSBUSINEss JOURNAL 1A LITTLE CAESARS ARENA: DETROIT WELCOMES AN INNOVATIVE NEW STAR LITTLE CAESARS ARENA ntertainment E MPIA Y Michigan Made, Detroit Built L O Opening Sept. 12 with the first of six Kid “When it came to designing and in an area as big as Greenwich Village. But standard arena Rock concerts, Little Caesars Arena is a constructing the arena, we approached it Mr. I was very comfortable dreaming big.” blueprint and expanded it into distinctive major milestone in the long-cherished vision as more than a building, more than a The first move was to dig. elements to create a streetscape that of Mike and Marian Ilitch, owners of the venue,” said Christopher Ilitch, president and Little Caesars Arena’s event level is reflects the best of Detroit’s heritage and 11-time NHL Stanley Cup champions, the CEO of Ilitch Holdings. “From every aspect, 40 feet — four stories — below grade, future. Detroit Red Wings, and co-founders of Little we wanted Little Caesars Arena to deliver a effectively blending it into the surrounding “It’s truly deconstructed,” Wilson said. Caesars Pizza. The Detroit natives dedicated memorable, world-class experience. From cityscape. Fans enter at street level, then “We took the box office, the restaurants, their energy to the revitalization and restora- the hockey stick panes on the windows, to descend into the bowl. The Belfor Training retail and team office space out of the tion of downtown Detroit since buying the the Coney dogs at the Detroit House con- Center, the team’s practice facility and AAA arena and put them into two four-story Red Wings in 1982 and moving their family cession stand to the exceptional views of youth hockey development center, is multi-use buildings that front the street. The of businesses to the Fox Theatre and Office the Detroit skyline from the upper con- directly below the expansive Chevrolet arena is tucked behind the two buildings in Building in the late 1980s. Mike Ilitch, also course, we have worked hard to give every Plaza. such a way that you don’t necessarily know owner of the Detroit Tigers, passed away aspect of Little Caesars Arena the attention The design and ownership team, includ- an arena is there.” earlier this year at the age of 87. it deserves.” ing Heapes and architect George Heinlein, The new arena, home of the Red Wings, “From the very beginning, Chris Ilitch HOK’s lead designer for the project, took the SEE LITTLE caesars ARENA, PAGE 4A the Detroit Pistons and Detroit’s storied musi- said, ‘Let’s think differently,’ said Tom cal heritage, is the cornerstone of their vision Wilson, president and CEO of Olympia Enter- for The District Detroit, a $1.2-billion-plus, tainment. 50-block multi-use entertainment district that And the development team did. is undergoing redevelopment with dynamic “The typical arena has traditionally been retail, office and residential units. designed by fitting elements like smaller As the clock winds down, crews are work- concourses, clubs, the team store and ing 24/7 to put together the final touches. By team offices within the footprint of the arena the time construction is complete, crews will bowl,” Ilitch said. “Our goal was to do more have clocked 3 million man hours since than that, to really have an impact on this construction began, according to Hunt key part of our community.” Construction, part of the Barton Malow/Hunt/ “The Ilitches saw that they had an oppor- White construction joint venture. tunity like no other,” said Richard Heapes, The arena is already booked with more co-founder and partner of Street-Works, than a hundred events the first year, includ- which served as part of the master plan- ing the first and second rounds of the 2018 ning, development and design teams. NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament and top “Wayne State University, the Lions, the Tigers, musical entertainment such as Paul McCart- Fox Theatre, other venues were already in ney, Jay Z, Lady Gaga, Ed Sheeran, The the area; the Ilitches saw they had the Eagles, Janet Jackson, The Weeknd and underpinnings of a great sports and enter- Harry Styles. tainment ntertainment Detroit now boasts all four major sports district. But someone needed to be the E MPIA Y L franchises — the NHL Red Wings, the NBA leader to bring a consistency of thinking to O Pistons, the MLB Tigers and the NFL Lions the whole project. It was a big, audacious Four entrances welcome arena-goers at ground level with cutting-edge Daktronics technology. The within a single, walkable downtown. idea, that we could jumpstart development arena bowl is dug 40-feet into the ground. 2A SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION ❘ STREET & Smith’S SPORTSBUSINEss JOURNAL SEPTEMBER 4-10, 2017 LITTLE CAESARS ARENA: DETROIT WELCOMES AN INNOVATIVE NEW STAR SEPTEMBER 4-10, 2017 SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION ❘ STREET & Smith’S SPORTSBUSINEss JOURNAL 3A LITTLE CAESARS ARENA: DETROIT WELCOMES AN INNOVATIVE NEW STAR OLD VS. NEW OPENING 1979 YEAR 2017 SEATING CAPACITY ntertainment (APPROX.) E MPIA Y L 20K 20K O CONCOURSE This original sketch of the deconstructed design was first presented in June 2014. MAX. WIDTH 30 FT. 90 FT. LITTLE caesars ARENA, FROM PAGE 4A wall of sound and people. Seats are pushed forward and up, as close as possible to the “Putting The District Detroit foremost in the ice, bringing an ominous wall of fans over SQUARE vision drove all conversation about design,” the opposition. The roof is specifically built to FOOTAGE said Ryan Gedney, vice president and (MAIN BLDG.) reflect the roar back onto the ice. The sky senior project designer for HOK. “Little Cae- deck’s grid system seems to push the ceil- sars Arena is something you discover as you 440K 819K ing down, making the space as intimidat- walk through The District Detroit. It’s a proces- ingly tight as possible. sion, where you don’t see everything at It’s one of the most intimate viewing PUBLIC once. That culminates in a very explosive ESCALATORS experiences in sports. The lower bowl seats moment when you enter the arena.” 9,000 for hockey and 11,000 for basketball. Between the arena and buildings is the And then there are the Michigan First Via, a unique concept that turns the con- NONE 3 Gondolas. Hanging above the ice, and course into a transparent-roofed street. accessed by catwalks, the two gondolas While letting in light, the ETFE roof protects PRACTICE bring the press and fans the most com- fans from Detroit’s cold and snow. plete, unique perspective in hockey. Arena restaurants and retail are accessi- RINK “You can’t see into the bowl at all from ble from both the street and the Via con- the concourses and that’s by design,” said course. NO YES Wilson. “Once you’re inside the bowl, you’re “The Via will function as an active street INSIDE the bowl in every sense. You will never that stays active, even when there’s no want to be late to your seat.” RED WINGS event in Little Caesars Arena,” said Gedney. “The bowl is an intentionally sealed envi- 7,630 25,800 “The Via, the retail and office buildings and LOCKER ronment,” said Gedney. “Just like in old the plazas mean that 50 percent of the are- hockey venues, when fans get to their seats, ROOM na’s footprint can be open to the public.” SQ. FT. SQ. FT. they know it’s time to get serious about the The Via is built as a blending of multiple Red Wings.” architectures, reflecting the cultural Infinite Scale was engaged for the look heritage of Detroit’s unique design. Home to of Little Caesars Arena to ensure jazz clubs in the early 1900s, Woodward a comprehensive brand strategy. This pro- Avenue by 1926 was the busiest street in 60-80 TICKETED 175-200 cess started by creating the naming rights America. The uniqueness is reflected in the EVENTS/YR. partner logo in collaboration with Olympia buildings’ elegant facades combined with Entertainment and Little Caesars. The new a straightforward Midwest sensibility, Heapes Little Caesars Arena logo created the foun- said. dation for the wayfinding signage system PRIVATE The upper concourse, inspired by New and heritage treatments, in addition to cor- York City’s high line, gives patrons upstairs a EVENT porate partner programming and activa- 4 SPACES 12 chance to be part of the Via experience. Ringing the arena side of the Via is the SEE LITTLE caesars ARENA, PAGE 6A “jewel skin,” a one-of-a-kind video system using 12 laser projectors to turn the fabric of OUTDOOR the building itself into a EVENT constantly changing media panorama. NO SPACES YES “The technological consideration for the arena is incredible,” said Greg SUITES Hammaren, senior vice president and gen- eral manager of Fox Sports Detroit. “I’ve never seen anything like the jewel skin. Peo- ple are going to be amazed.” 65 62 “When people come to Little Caesars Arena, they’ll feel at home and not necessarily know why,” Heapes said. “It’s CLUBS because it says ‘Detroit’ and isn’t an idea imported from somewhere else.” “At last count, we’ve hand-laid 20 2 7 different kinds of brick in the Via,” said Sean Hollister, senior project director for Barton Malow/Hunt/White. “It truly reflects a tradi- tional Detroit streetscape. The attention to ON-SITE detail and finishes is unlike any project we’ve ntertainment RESTAURANTS ntertainment E E seen.” MPIA MPIA But, how’s the hockey? Y L Y L O NONE 4 O Perfect.