The Palace of Auburn Hills, former home of the NBA's Detroit Pistons, is seen in this 2015 photo. Photo courtesy Ken Lund/Wikipedia.The Palace of Auburn Hills, former home of the NBA's Detroit Pistons, is seen in this 2015 photo. Photo courtesy Ken Lund/Wikipedia.
Windsor

Palace of Auburn Hills to be demolished Saturday morning

Another former home for a Detroit sports team will soon be no more.

The Palace of Auburn Hills, hailed as a model for new sports arenas and the former home of the NBA's Detroit Pistons, is scheduled to be imploded Saturday at 8 a.m.

The demolition is the final phase of a demolition process that began in February. Crews had been working to gut the interior of the arena, remove seats, and demolish much of the outer walls, leaving the roof and the steel supports.

The Palace is the third former Detroit-area sports venue in three years to face demolition. The Pontiac Silverdome, former home of the NFL's Detroit Lions, was imploded in late 2017. Joe Louis Arena, former home of the NHL's Red Wings, is nearing the end of its demolition process.

According to WDIV-TV in Detroit, Pistons owner Tom Gores has been working with a real estate company on a plan to completely redevelop the site, to include corporate offices as well as research and technology firms.

The Palace was completed in 1988, with the primary tenant being the Pistons, who owned the arena. The team had previously played at the nearby Silverdome, which could accommodate big crowds as the Pistons became an elite NBA team. However, sightlines for basketball were poor, and a new arena was sought. The Palace was built for just $90 million, all with private money.

The arena was praised for its design and its operations. It included a then-whopping 180 luxury suites upon opening, but the team managed to lease all of them with no trouble. Underground luxury suites were added over the years. The Palace became a model for future arenas in the areas of design and amenities.

Since the opening, the Pistons won three NBA titles while playing there, in 1989, 1990, and 2004. The WNBA's Detroit Shock also won three league titles before relocating to Tulsa, Oklahoma, hence the arena's mailing address, 6 Championship Dr.

The arena was also a venue for concerts, with Madonna, Barbra Streisand, Michael Jackson, and Aerosmith among the most significant acts to play there. The Palace was also home to conventions, circuses, religious rallies, and other events.

The Palace was also the scene of one of the most infamous moments in NBA history. During a November 2004 game between the Pistons and the Indiana Pacers, tempers flared on the court between the two teams late in the fourth quarter. Soon after, someone in the crowd threw a cup at the Pacers' Ron Artest, who then proceeded to jump into the seats and attack fans. Officials called the game with 45.9 seconds remaining and awarded it to Indiana, who was leading by 15 points. A total of nine players from both teams were suspended for a total of 146 games. Five fans faced criminal charges and were barred from attending events at the Palace.

The Pistons moved to Little Caesars Arena in downtown Detroit after the 2016-2017 season, marking the first time since 1974 that all four of Detroit's professional sports teams played home games within the city limits. The team kept its corporate office and practice facility at the Palace until a state-of-the-art practice facility opened in 2019 in Detroit's New Center neighbourhood.

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