Detroit Olympia
| Detroit Olympia | |
|---|---|
| The Old Red Barn | |
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| The Detroit Olympia Stadium | |
| Data | |
| place |
 Detroit , Michigan , USA
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| Coordinates | 42 ° 21 '17.8 " N , 83 ° 6' 2.6" W |
| owner | City of Detroit |
| opening | September 1927 |
| demolition | September 1987 |
| surface |
Parquet ice surface |
| architect | C. Howard Crane |
| capacity | 16,700 |
| Societies) | |
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| Events | |
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The Detroit Olympia , better known as the Detroit Olympia Stadium and nicknamed The Old Red Barn , was a 16,700-seat multi-purpose arena in Detroit , Michigan . The location of the stadium, designed by Charles Howard Crane and built in 1927, was 5920 Grand River Avenue until it was demolished in September 1987.
The Old Red Barn opened with a rodeo in September 1927, before the main tenants Detroit Cougars from the NHL moved into the stadium a little later. On November 22, 1927, the Ottawa Senators defeated the Cougars with 2-1 goals in the first game in the new hall. In addition to the Cougars also took advantage of Hockey Team of the Detroit Olympics from the CPhl or later, the IHL and the basketball team the Detroit Pistons in the NBA 1957-1961 the Detroit Olympia as a home ground. In 1959 the NBA All-Star Game was played here , as was the National Collegiate Athletic Association's ice hockey final series in 1977 and 1979 .
Also boxing , figure skating - or wrestling events were held here, as well as performances by the Harlem Globetrotters and concerts by renowned artists such. B. The Beatles , Wings , Led Zeppelin , Elvis Presley , The Rolling Stones , Frank Sinatra , Pink Floyd , The Monkees and Kiss .
In the mid-1970s, the Detroit Red Wings , as the Detroit Cougars were now called, were seriously considering moving to the suburbs, especially after the Detroit Lions American football team moved to the Silverdome in Pontiac , Michigan in 1975 . In addition, the area has been fighting for the stadium since the riots of 1967 in which 43 people were killed, two of them in the immediate vicinity, with a sharp decline in population. The city of Pontiac made the Red Wings a lucrative offer to move into a new arena, but the city of Detroit responded with a counter offer for the new Joe Louis arena on the riverside with adjacent parking garages, which the Red Wings are getting for a third of the rent of the Pontiac offer could. The city of Detroit's offer was then accepted by the Red Wings.
On December 15, 1979, three days after the first event in the new Joe Louis Arena, the Detroit Red Wings completed their last home game at the Olympia, which ended with a 4: 4 against the Quebec Nordiques . The Olympia was also used as part of the celebrations of the 32nd NHL All Star Games on February 5, 1980, which was played in the Joe Louis Arena. However, since the Red Wings contract with the city of Detroit prohibited commercial use of sports facilities other than the new Louis Arena, the building was shut down and the Detroit Olympia was finally demolished in September 1987 after 60 years. In its place is now the US National Guard's Olympia Armory, in whose armory there is a plaque commemorating the Olympics .
The Detroit Red Wings won seven of their eleven Stanley Cups to date at the Old Red Barn , the last in the 1954/55 season .
Web links
- Information on sports facilities (English)
- Video of the Detroit Olympia (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ hockey.ballparks.com: Dates and History of the Detroit Olympics (English)