On Joe Louis Arena
Motown was a sports haven in the 20th century. Joe Louis Arena would host the Detroit Redwings for its tenure. On December 12, 1979, Joe Louis Arena broke ground. At the time it cost $57 million to build. That’s $239 million in 2023 dollars. The seating capacity for Joe Louis Arena ranged from 20,000 seats for hockey games and nearly 21,000 seats for concerts.
This Arena would be the home to several Redwings Stanley Cup Championship teams. Even the Pistons would play a brief part of their history in this arena. The Pistons would play one playoff game in 1984 and the first 15 games of the 1984–1985 season.
Other events hosted at Joe Louis Arena included the 2006 WNBA Finals championship game, which the Detroit Shock won. “The Joe” would be the home for the Detroit Rockers’ soccer games, World Wrestling Entertainment events, many concerts, the 1980 Republican National Convention, and three NCAA Frozen Four college hockey finals. Joe Louis Arena was also the site of the infamous Nancy Kerrigan attack just before the 1994 U.S. Figure Skating Championship.
Very few arenas had as much history as Joe Louis Arena. The “Joe” closed down in July 2017. The demolition would begin in early 2019 and would be completed by mid-2020.
