Detroit's Little Caesars Arena prepares for grand opening
– HOK vice-president Ryan Gedney
Almost 2,000 people have attended a private opening event for the Little Ceasers Arena; a 20,000-capacity sports and entertainment venue located in the heart of Detroit.
Politicians, athletes, media personalities and business and civic leaders attended the event on Tuesday (5 September) to take a first look at the hotly-anticipated venue – the new home of National Hockey League (NHL) franchise the Detroit Red Wings and National Basketball Association (NBA) team the Detroit Pistons.
Designed by sports architects HOK, the arena covers a 895,000sq ft (83,000sq m) site and stretches 460 ft (140.2m) from north to south. It has been conceived as the anchor of a wider leisure district of shops, restaurants, bars, cafes, which is being developed at an estimated cost of US$1.2bn (€998.4m, £916.3m).
To help integrate the arena with the surrounding community, the lower main concourse is completely at grade – meaning district and concourse activities both take place at street level.
“Construction teams have faced a host of challenges, from tracking sustainability for multiple buildings to creating an arena with one of the steepest bowls ever built – which creates an intimidating wall of people,” said HOK vice-president Ryan Gedney, in an interview with Engineering News-Record.
“The big, bold ideas incorporated into the design are what make the new arena incomparable. We’re not the first to do what we’re doing, but we’re definitely the first to do it on this scale. The simple size of it puts us on a whole new level.”
The project is being funded by both private and public investment, and the Little Caesars pizza chain recently agreed a 20-year naming rights agreement worth more than US$6m per year for the arena – one of the largest sponsorship investments ever made for a hockey stadium.
The Red Wings played at their previous home, Joe Louis Arena, since 1927.
The Little Caesers Arena will officially open with six Kid Rock concerts starting on 12 September. The Red Wings' first game is a preseason meeting with the Boston Bruins on 23 September, while the Pistons will play its first friendly fixture in on 4 October.
It has been a busy few weeks for HOK, who are currently overseeing the completion of the US$1.5bn (€1.24bn, £1.14bn) Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta following a preseason exhibition between the Atlanta Falcons and the Arizona Cardinals.
Detroit Little Caesars Arena NHL NBA HOK Detroit Red Wings Detroit Pistons architecture design Ryan GedneyConstruction gathers pace for Detroit sports and entertainment district and HOK hockey arena
GoCo Health Innovation City in Sweden plans to lead the world in delivering wellness and new science
Aman sister brand Janu debuts in Tokyo with four-floor urban wellness retreat
€38m geothermal spa and leisure centre to revitalise Croatian city of Bjelovar
Two Santani eco-friendly wellness resorts coming to Oman, partnered with Omran Group
Kerzner shows confidence in its Siro wellness hotel concept, revealing plans to open 100
Ritz-Carlton, Portland unveils skyline spa inspired by unfolding petals of a rose
Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners are just one of the names behind The Emory hotel London and Surrenne private members club
Peninsula Hot Springs unveils AUS$11.7m sister site in Australian outback
IWBI creates WELL for residential programme to inspire healthy living environments
Conrad Orlando unveils water-inspired spa oasis amid billion-dollar Evermore Resort complex
Studio A+ realises striking urban hot springs retreat in China's Shanxi Province
Populous reveals plans for major e-sports arena in Saudi Arabia
Wake The Tiger launches new 1,000sq m expansion
Othership CEO envisions its urban bathhouses in every city in North America
Merlin teams up with Hasbro and Lego to create Peppa Pig experiences
SHA Wellness unveils highly-anticipated Mexico outpost
One&Only One Za’abeel opens in Dubai featuring striking design by Nikken Sekkei
Luxury spa hotel, Calcot Manor, creates new Grain Store health club
'World's largest' indoor ski centre by 10 Design slated to open in 2025
Murrayshall Country Estate awarded planning permission for multi-million-pound spa and leisure centre
Aman's Janu hotel by Pelli Clarke & Partners will have 4,000sq m of wellness space
Therme Group confirms Incheon Golden Harbor location for South Korean wellbeing resort
Universal Studios eyes the UK for first European resort
King of Bhutan unveils masterplan for Mindfulness City, designed by BIG, Arup and Cistri
Rural locations are the next frontier for expansion for the health club sector
Tonik Associates designs new suburban model for high-end Third Space health and wellness club
Aman sister brand Janu launching in Tokyo in 2024 with design by Denniston's Jean-Michel Gathy
The Peninsula London unveils Peter Marino-designed spa inspired by London’s famous parks
First glimpses revealed of Mandarin Oriental, Mayfair's subterranean spa retreat
"Architecture is alive" says Ma Yansong, as Shenzhen art museum opens exhibition showcasing work of MAD Architects
From parks designed to mitigate the effects of flooding to warming huts for one of the world’s coldest cities, these projects have been designed for increasingly extreme climates