The deconstructed arena design sinks 40 feet below ground. (Photo by Olympia Entertainment Group)
REPORTING FROM DETROIT — The city’s motto has never seemed more applicable than it does now. Speramus Meliora; Resurget Cineribus. We hope for better things; it shall rise from the ashes. Father Gabriel Richard wrote those words after a fire leveled Detroit in 1805. With the city’s recent bankruptcy, followed by major renovations to Cobo Center and a new private arena plan, the words ring true once again.
The most ambitious facet of Detroit’s renaissance comes from the Illitch family and Olympia Entertainment Group. The company’s plan includes a 45-block redesign crowned by a $450-million arena to be the new home of the National Hockey League’s Detroit Red Wings in 2017. The family, at the helm of the Little Caesars Pizza franchise, has also committed to contributing at least $200 million for mixed-use development in the first full year of the project.
“It’s nice to be in a position where you have people behind you with the wherewithal and the will to do the right thing,” said Tom Wilson, president & CEO of Olympia Entertainment Group. “This is going to change the city so dramatically that I don’t even think people can get their arms around it right now.”
The $650-million number is comprised of 56-percent private investment and about $283 million in public investment through existing economic development funds. The project will generate an estimated $1.8 billion in economic impact, including the creation of 8,300 construction jobs and 1,100 permanent jobs.
Location, Location
Currently, certain geographic sections of Detroit are on an economic upswing, which Wilson referred to as “little green shoots growing up.” The midtown area is strong, supported by Wayne State University and Midtown Medical Center; while casinos have kept Greektown vibrant. Quicken Loans-Chairman and National Basketball League’s Cleveland Cavaliers-owner Dan Gilbert owns more than 9 million sq. ft. of the city and has moved thousands of his employees into the downtown business district.
“You have the south part of downtown which is booming for the first time in decades, then you have all of this exciting stuff going on in midtown, but you have this huge gap in between, which is where we’ll be,” said Wilson.
The new Detroit arena and surrounding development will serve to connect Downtown and Midtown on Woodward Avenue.
“I have this vision that we’re going to transform this area by connecting those pieces that are doing so incredibly well,” he added. “To take on something of this scope and this magnitude at one time is bold and audacious, but it’s a difference-maker.”
He called it positive happenstance that concurrent with the Illitch’s investments, Gilbert continues to develop other sections of the city, and the 3.3-mile M1 RAIL is being built to connect the city in a public-private partnership funded by private business, philanthropy, and local government, the State of Michigan, and U.S. Dept. of Transportation.
Creating The District
Ford Field, as well as Olympia Entertainment Group facilities including Comerica Park, Fox Theatre, City Theatre and Sound Board at Motor City Casino Hotel also fit into the new downtown district. With the 175 events estimated at the arena annually, there will be many opportunities for people to come downtown.
Wilson said that all of the development is energizing “everybody who’s been sitting on the fence saying, ‘someday, when it’s right, maybe I’ll move my company down there.’”
Now it’s right.
“When you see these things happening as an entrepreneur and think that there are going to be 1,000 events happening in this 45-block area, it’s easy to decide where you want to put your company,” he added.
The arena is the final and most widely appealing piece of the district.
“I say the last piece because it’s the one that will draw every demographic,” said Wilson, who added that football stadiums bring football fans and baseball stadiums bring baseball fans, “but everybody goes to something at an arena.”
Even though construction is in the preliminary stages, with land being cleared and “needing to thaw” before work can begin in earnest, the arena has already secured its first major booking. In November, the city was selected as one of the host sites for first and second-round 2018 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship games, with events at the new arena March 16 and 18, 2018.
“That’s a real coup because they don’t typically do that with buildings that haven’t come out of the ground yet,” he said.
Deconstructed Design
The arena itself is looking to change the model, incorporating itself into the neighborhood with a design that begins 40 feet below ground so that you walk down into the arena bowl with the lower bowl seating about 50 percent of the house. Also, basically everything but the seats has been removed from the bowl, with the box office, merchandise store and offices, as well as food and beverage options including restaurants, pulled out and connected to the arena by an atrium.
“The idea is for the restaurants and concourse to be open 365 days a year,” said Wilson.
The 20,000-seat arena will feature about 60 suites (less than the 66 at current Red Wings home, Joe Louis Arena) and four to five different experience options or packages for club seat holders.
Final designs are nearing completion by architect HOK, which recently acquired 360 Architecture.
“These buildings need to knit themselves into the urban fabric in a way that can be experienced on nonevent in a very meaningful way, and Detroit is embracing that,” said Brad Schrock, director of HOK’s Sports + Recreation + Entertainment practice. “There’s something about being able to take some of the programming that you normally stick inside these buildings, extract it out and put it on the perimeter and part of the development that frees you up for the design of seating.”
The arena is currently scheduled to open in Fall 2017, in time for the October NHL season.
Mission-Driven Family
A Detroit native who grew up about six miles from the new arena’s location, Wilson can’t help getting emotional when discussing the impact that this project will have on the city.
“To be a part of this is what excites me most. I’m looking forward to watching the crowd come in the first night because that means we did it,” he said. “Everyone that’s been part of this is part of a miracle.”
Bill Borenstein, VP of Entertainment & Theater Operations at MotorCity Casino Hotel, said that the Illitch family connects with their properties, and the people who run them, on a personal level, bringing their passion for the city to the forefront.
“Mr. and Mrs. ‘I’ and their initial business of Little Caesars started in Detroit — they’re not just taking out, they’re giving back,” said Borenstein. “When you look at what’s going on here, there’s no question of their commitment to the city.”
Wilson said that commitment to and goal of making a difference is a great rallying point for everyone who works for the company and in this industry, “particularly at those times when it’s seven events in seven nights and you’re really looking for a cause, getting home at 1 a.m. and setting the alarm for 6 a.m.”
Knowing that he’s making a difference for his city makes it all worthwhile.
“The biggest thing I think we’re giving people is hope, and hope has been missing from this city for a long time. Hope, and a belief and confidence that it’s going to be okay,” said Wilson. “There are no false promises — this is real.”
Interviewed for this story: Tom Wilson, (313) 471-3436; Brad Schrock, (314) 982-7778; Bill Borenstein, (313) 309-4561