Joe Louis Arena

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Joe Louis Arena
The Joe
The Joe Louis Arena logo
The main entrance to the Joe Louis Arena
The main entrance to the Joe Louis Arena
Data
place 19 Steve Yzerman Drive Detroit , Michigan 48226
United StatesUnited States
Coordinates 42 ° 19 ′ 31 ″  N , 83 ° 3 ′ 5 ″  W Coordinates: 42 ° 19 ′ 31 ″  N , 83 ° 3 ′ 5 ″  W
owner City of Detroit
operator Olympia Entertainment, Inc.
start of building May 16, 1977
opening December 12, 1979
demolition 2019
surface Parquet
ice surface
artificial turf
costs 57 million US dollars
architect Smith, Hinchmen and Grylls Associates
capacity Ice hockey
20,027 places (since 2014)
20,066 places (2003–2014)
20,058 places (2001–2003)
19,995 places (2000–2001)
19,983 places (1996–2000)
19,875 places (1989–1996)
19,275 places (1979–1989)
Basketball
20,153 seats
Wrestling
18,735 seats
Concert
21,666 seats
playing area NHL ice hockey
60.96 × 25.91 m (200 × 85 ft)
Societies)
Events

The Joe Louis Arena was a multi-purpose hall in the US city ​​of Detroit in the state of Michigan . It was the home of the ice hockey teams of the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to 2017 .

history

The arena was built from 1977 to 1979 in close proximity to the Detroit River in downtown Detroit . The hall replaced the legendary Detroit Olympia from 1927 that the Red Wings used for 52 years. It was named after heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis , who grew up in Detroit. The Joe Louis Arena was next to New York's Madison Square Garden, the last NHL arena whose naming rights were not sold to a sponsor. The Red Wings' first game took place on December 27, 1979. The arena is owned by the City of Detroit. The hall, which is directly adjacent to the TCF Center , is operated by Olympia Entertainment, Inc. With 20,027 seats, after the Center Bell in Montreal with 21,273 seats, it was the second largest NHL venue. But it was also the second oldest venue of the National Hockey League after Madison Square Garden (1968).

Since the Red Wings missed the play-offs of the 2016/17 season, the last game of the regular season on April 9 (local time) against the New Jersey Devils is the farewell performance of the Detroit Red Wings in the arena. The home team defeated the Devils 4-1.

use

The Joe was regularly used by the Detroit Red Wings ice hockey team, which won eleven Stanley Cups . The Detroit Pistons played a few home games there because the roof of the Pontiac Silverdome was damaged in 1985 . From 1988 to 1993, the Detroit Drive team from the Arena Football League (AFL) was based in the Joe Louis Arena. From 1996 the indoor soccer team of the Detroit Rockers ( NPSL ) also played in the arena, but the team was disbanded in 1999. The Detroit Turbos of the Major Indoor Lacrosse League (MILL) played their games in the arena from 1989 to 1994. The Detroit Compuware Ambassadors of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) were based at The Joe from 1991 to 1992 . In 1992 they became the Detroit Junior Red Wings and stayed until 1995.

Shortly after the opening in February, the NHL All-Star Game 1980 was played in the new arena in front of 21,002 spectators. The All-Stars of the Prince of Wales Conference beat the All-Stars of the Campbell Conference 6: 3. For Gordie Howe , then 51 , it was his 23rd and last All-Star Game after 32 years. In contrast, 19-year-old Wayne Gretzky celebrated his first of a total of 18 All-Star Games.

In July 1980, the Republican National Convention of the Republican Party took place there and Ronald Reagan was nominated as a presidential candidate. Furthermore, the arena u. a. used for concerts , circuses , shows , musicals .

Little Caesars Arena

Given the age of the Joe Louis Arena, efforts to rebuild it had been going on for years. In July 2014, the Detroit Red Wings presented plans for a new venue. The Little Caesars Arena designed by the HKS architecture firm for 450 million US dollars (330 million euros ) is expected to offer over 20,000 seats and be ready for occupancy in summer 2017. The entire construction project is expected to cost around $ 650 million (€ 480 million). The groundbreaking ceremony for the building took place on September 25, 2014 as part of a grand ceremony. The site of the Arena is not far from Comerica Park of the Detroit Tigers ( MLB ) and the Ford Field the Detroit Lions ( NFL ) away. In 2016, the Detroit Pistons also announced that they would move to the Little Caesars Arena and give up their previous home, the Palace of Auburn Hulls . The arena was officially opened on September 5, 2017.

Closure and demolition

With the opening of Little Caesars Arena and the relocation of the Red Wings and Pistons there, both Joe Louis Arena and the Palace of Auburn Hills closed. The last official event at Joe Louis Arena was a WWE wrestling match on June 27, 2017. In April 2019, the demolition work began and should be completed by the end of 2019 or early 2020.

gallery

  • Inside view with ice surface

  • The video cube under the roof

  • Banner with the jersey numbers of the Red Wings that are no longer assigned under the hall ceiling

  • Practice prior to Game 5 of the 2006 WNBA Finals

Web links

Commons : Joe Louis Arena  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ redwings.nhl.com: Arena History and Facts (English)
  2. ↑ nhl.com: The End of the Joe Louis Arena Article from April 9, 2017
  3. ↑ nhl.com: Boxscore Detroit Red Wings vs. New Jersey Devils
  4. ↑ nhl.com: 32nd NHL All-Star Game (English)
  5. ↑ stadionwelt.de: Spectacular arena plans presented Article from July 22, 2014
  6. ↑ stadionwelt.de: Groundbreaking for new arena in Detroit Article from September 29, 2014
  7. ↑ freep.com: Ground broken for new Red Wings arena Article from September 25, 2014 (English)
  8. ↑ Matt Durr: Brock Lesnar wrestling in rare WWE match Saturday in Detroit. July 28, 2017, Retrieved September 3, 2019 (American English).
  9. ^ JC Reindl: Joe Louis Arena demolition to start soon: Here's what's coming down. Retrieved September 3, 2019 .