The Palace of Auburn Hills
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Palace of Auburn Hills | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Location | 5 Championship Drive
Auburn Hills, Michigan 48326 |
| Opened | 1988 |
| Owner | William Davidson (majority owner) |
| Operator | Palace Sports and Entertainment |
| Construction cost | $70 million |
| Tenants | |
| Detroit Pistons (NBA) (1988–present) Detroit Shock (WNBA) (1998-present) Detroit Vipers (IHL) (1994-2001) Detroit Safari (CISL) (1994–1997) Detroit Rockers (NPSL) (1997-2000) Detroit Fury (AFL) (2001-2004) |
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| Capacity | |
| Basketball: 22,076 End-stage concerts: 23,000 Center-stage concerts: 24,276 |
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The Palace of Auburn Hills (a.k.a. The Palace) is a large sports and entertainment venue in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA, a suburb located 33 miles (53 km) north of downtown Detroit. Since its completion in 1988, it has been the home of the Detroit Pistons of the NBA; since 1998 it has also hosted the Detroit Shock of the WNBA. It was also the home of the now-defunct Detroit Vipers of the IHL (1994 - 2001), Detroit Safari of the CISL (1994 - 1997), and the Detroit Fury of the AFL (2001 - 2004). It has also hosted numerous concerts and other special events throughout its history.
[edit] History
Before the Palace opened, the Pistons had lacked a suitable home venue. From 1957 to 1978, the team competed in Detroit's Olympia Stadium and Cobo Arena, both considered undersized for NBA purposes. In 1978, owner Bill Davidson elected not to share the new Joe Louis Arena with the Detroit Red Wings, and instead chose to relocate the team to the Pontiac Silverdome, a venue constructed for football, where it remained for the next decade. While the Silverdome could accommodate massive crowds, it offered substandard sight lines for basketball viewing. A group led by Davidson built the Palace for the relatively low cost of $70 million, using entirely private funding.
The Palace's large seating capacity (22,076 for basketball; up to 23,000 for end-stage concerts and 24,276 for center-stage concerts) and suburban location have also made it very popular for large concerts and, to a slightly lesser degree, major boxing matches. The Palace was built with 180 luxury suites, considered an exorbitant number when it opened, but it has consistently managed to lease virtually all of them. In December 2005, The Palace added five underground luxury suites, each 450 square feet and renting for $450,000 per year. Eight more luxury suites, located below arena level, were opened in February 2006. They range from 800-1,200 square feet and rent for $350,000 annually.
The Palace has been used as the basis for the development of other luxury sports arenas elsewhere in North America, but the majority of these were built in downtown locations rather than suburban ones.
[edit] Trivia
- The Palace of Auburn Hills is currently the largest arena in the NBA. This has helped the Pistons to achieve the highest fan attendance in the league since 2002.
- The Palace is one of five arenas in the NBA that doesn't have a naming rights deal. Pistons owner William Davidson holds a controlling interest in the arena.
- The Palace was the site of the Pacers-Pistons brawl in which a massive brawl broke out between the Detroit Pistons and the Indiana Pacers on November 19, 2004.
- The Palace changes its address when one of its teams win a championship. For instance, when the Pistons won back-to-back titles in '89 and '90, it was 2 Championship Drive. It stayed that way until the Shock won the WNBA title in 2003 and the Pistons won the NBA title in 2004. With the Shock winning another WNBA Title in 2006, it has been renamed 5 Championship Drive. The Vipers' 1997 Turner Cup championship has never been officially recognized in the address.
[edit] External links
- Official site of The Palace of Auburn Hills
- Aerial view from Google Maps
- Aerial View from Microsoft TerraServer
| Preceded by Pontiac Silverdome 1978–1988 |
Home of the Detroit Pistons 1988–present |
Succeeded by current |
| Preceded by none |
Home of the Detroit Shock 1998-present |
Succeeded by current |
| Current arenas in the Women's National Basketball Association |
||
| Eastern Conference | Western Conference | |
|---|---|---|
| Conseco Fieldhouse | Madison Square Garden | Mohegan Sun Arena | The Palace of Auburn Hills | UIC Pavilion | Verizon Center | ARCO Arena | AT&T Center | KeyArena | Staples Center | Target Center | Toyota Center | US Airways Center | |
Categories: 1988 establishments | Basketball venues in the United States | Detroit Pistons | Detroit Shock | Indoor arenas in the United States | Indoor ice hockey venues in the United States | Ontario Hockey League arenas | National Basketball Association venues | Sports in Detroit | Sports venues in Michigan | Oakland County, Michigan
