Thanks to everyone for your help. Just wanted to give an update on our visit - mainly for any other first time visitors (particularly those worried about visiting Detroit for the first time).
After a long drive from Maryland, we arrived in Detroit shortly after 3pm on Friday and parked on the COBO Center roof. We called ahead to make sure they had parking available at that time because another lot we called near Ren Cen was full and had 30 on the waiting list (I guess people had not yet left work and the parking lots were crowded). The guy I talked to at COBO parking was very friendly and helpful and gave me good directions. We came off the Lodge Freeway (M10S from I-75) at the Howard St exit, didn't turn onto Howard but instead kept going straight onto 5th St, left on Fort St, right on 3rd St and the entrance to COBO roof parking was on the right immediately after 3rd St curved left into Congress St. A bargain $10 for what looked like very secure parking. There were a few open spaces but it also looked like some workers were leaving at that time so I'm sure more spaces opened up later.
The view from the COBO roof was great. We took some photos there and headed down the elevator into the COBO Center which is a huge, impressive building. Took a photo of the Joe Louis statue and made our way to the COBO People Mover station. From there we headed to Greektown People Mover station and wandered around the streets near the casino. At a sports store we asked the clerk if there was a good bar nearby that we could have pre-game drinks at. He suggested The Old Shillelagh at the corner of Monroe Ave and Brush St. That was a good choice - although the Guinness was only so-so for an Irish bar. Plenty of people eating the food too but we weren't hungry as we'd eaten a big lunch on the road. There were lots of Red Wings fans there and the bar ran shuttle buses to the Joe (you could also take your drinks on the shuttle apparently). We didn't wait for the shuttle buses to run (they said they started about 6:45pm) because we wanted to get to the Joe earlier so we could get down to ice level for the pre-game warm-up. So we took the People Mover (along with other Red Wings fans) from Greektown to the Joe which has its own station.
The People Mover dropped us right outside the Gordie Howe entrance. We got hot dogs inside the Joe which were good. We got down to ice level behind the goal where an usher told us the Red Wings would be warming up. The warm up was awesome. It was great to be right down at ice level with the players just feet away on the other side of the glass. Probably the highlight of the trip. The game itself was also good. Although the Red Wings were struggling against the Canucks, they managed to tie it 3-3 late in the 3rd but then lost in a shootout. The fans were really into the game and the atmosphere was excellent. We really enjoyed our visit to the Joe.
After the game, we found our way back to the COBO roof parking easily enough (we saw a few shuttles from The Old Shillelagh waiting outside the Joe - so that might be an option for next time). We had to skip the elevators which were busy and took the stairs back up to the COBO roof. Lots of Red Wings fans had parked up there. Getting out wasn't too bad. We took the tunnel over to Windsor, Ontario and it was a breeze - very little traffic in the tunnel. We had booked a hotel room in Windsor and found the hotel (Stonecroft Inn - clean & quiet) easily enough. The hotel had free parking, wifi and breakfast.
We are so glad we went to Detroit and to the Joe before it closes. We didn't see the bad areas of Detroit of course but downtown was much safer and cleaner than we thought it would be. I found Detroiters to be warm and friendly and proud of their city. There are some great old buildings in the city and it must have been a magnificent city in its heyday. I hope something approaching those days will return soon.
Thanks Detroit! We'll be back!
