Jared 0 Report post Posted June 30, 2009 Interesting idea, if only for a year. http://blog.mlive.com/its-just-sports/2009...tchs_opted.html Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stevkrause 1,247 Report post Posted June 30, 2009 (edited) interesting idea... I'd be ok with it, although I'd rather them tear down, let the Cobo expand and build a new "Joe" behind the Fox, along with a brand new parking structure that connects to Comerica and the new Joe as a heated closed off walkway over Woodward and *gasp* maybe eventually stores below... (kinda like Van Andel in downtown GR) EDIT - forgot to add this - It would also stimulate the area and add jobs to build a new one and to add stores.... Edited June 30, 2009 by stevkrause Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Opie 308 Report post Posted June 30, 2009 Great Idea, trust me keep the tradition. I tell this story a lot when it comes to this discussion, but here it goes anyways: The Garden to Fleet Center transition was horrible, the feel of being in an old building was gone, the Garden was uh the Garden. Fenway continues to remodel and find ways to get more people in and increase the conditions in the park each year. Granted it is the most difficult ticket and one of the most expensive, they are doing tremendous things with that park. Year by year a new section gets new seats, each year they have added seats to landmarks. The seats on the monster where better than anything that can be accomplished by a new building, you can't replicate the monster, and then to be able to sit atop of it! OH MAN! The Fleet Center Bank of America Center TD Banknorth Garden TD Garden can not replicate the history and is such a standard pro venue that there is no history of its own to make. The feel is gone when there, the building and environment is the same as going to the Manchester Monarchs here in NH, Going to Fenway is like going no where else on earth! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Big Red Machine 0 Report post Posted June 30, 2009 (edited) I bet the writer of this article wanted to save Tiger Stadium in its dilapidated state too. The Wings need a completely new arena, not a renovation of the Joe. The Joe has so many problems, next to no bathrooms for one, that it would probably be more economical to build a new arena. Also, this guy is an absolute moron if he thinks the Red Wings are going to move to Windsor. That's not even a plausible speculative statement, it's simply a moronic one. "And on a personal note, I don't want to see Joe Louis disappear -- it's a part of Red Wings history and tradition." It seems that a lot of people have trouble moving on from old stadiums to new ones in this city. Yes, the Joe has a lot of history, but it's a dump beyond renovation, just like Tiger Stadium was. Yes, Tiger Stadium had history, but show me a seat at Comerica Park where you are sitting behind a giant pillar. Comerica Park is a beautiful baseball field that is worthy of a historic franchise as the Tigers. The Olympia was full of history too and they tore that down no problem. I have very little doubt that the Illitch's are positioning for a short term lease on the Joe and will eventually start building a new arena once the gloomy economic cloud over Detroit and Michigan passes by. Edit: Pretty misleading title if you ask me. Edited June 30, 2009 by The Big Red Machine Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Swayze 81 Report post Posted June 30, 2009 Great Idea, trust me keep the tradition. I tell this story a lot when it comes to this discussion, but here it goes anyways: The Garden to Fleet Center transition was horrible, the feel of being in an old building was gone, the Garden was uh the Garden. Fenway continues to remodel and find ways to get more people in and increase the conditions in the park each year. Granted it is the most difficult ticket and one of the most expensive, they are doing tremendous things with that park. Year by year a new section gets new seats, each year they have added seats to landmarks. The seats on the monster where better than anything that can be accomplished by a new building, you can't replicate the monster, and then to be able to sit atop of it! OH MAN! The Fleet Center Bank of America Center TD Banknorth Garden TD Garden can not replicate the history and is such a standard pro venue that there is no history of its own to make. The feel is gone when there, the building and environment is the same as going to the Manchester Monarchs here in NH, Going to Fenway is like going no where else on earth! They already tore down our 'fenway' and our 'garden', and Comerica is pretty nice so bring on the new barn! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Big Red Machine 0 Report post Posted June 30, 2009 Great Idea, trust me keep the tradition. I tell this story a lot when it comes to this discussion, but here it goes anyways: The Garden to Fleet Center transition was horrible, the feel of being in an old building was gone, the Garden was uh the Garden. Fenway continues to remodel and find ways to get more people in and increase the conditions in the park each year. Granted it is the most difficult ticket and one of the most expensive, they are doing tremendous things with that park. Year by year a new section gets new seats, each year they have added seats to landmarks. The seats on the monster where better than anything that can be accomplished by a new building, you can't replicate the monster, and then to be able to sit atop of it! OH MAN! The Fleet Center Bank of America Center TD Banknorth Garden TD Garden can not replicate the history and is such a standard pro venue that there is no history of its own to make. The feel is gone when there, the building and environment is the same as going to the Manchester Monarchs here in NH, Going to Fenway is like going no where else on earth! It is possible to build a stadium/arena that doesn't feel like a giant commercial shopping mall. The Illitch's were successful with building a great ball field and will be successful in building an arena that is worthy of an Original 6, dynastic team like the Red Wings. The Illitch's know the traditions of hockey that exist in this area and they will not ignore them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PROBIE4PREZ 58 Report post Posted June 30, 2009 a new areana would be **** .. Im guessing the name would change? that woul;d be the only s***ty part Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Big Red Machine 0 Report post Posted June 30, 2009 a new areana would be **** .. Im guessing the name would change? that woul;d be the only s***ty part Steve Yzerman Arena sounds nice to me. Let's be honest, Joe Louis Arena should have been named Gordie Howe Arena. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jared 0 Report post Posted June 30, 2009 Steve Yzerman Arena sounds nice to me. Let's be honest, Joe Louis Arena should have been named Gordie Howe Arena. It would be a shame to see the Red Wings playing anywhere but downtown Detroit. Auburn Hills isn't Hockeytown, in other words. But, one year wouldn't be so bad. Although, I'm not sure how long it would take to renovate the place. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ChitownWingsfan 54 Report post Posted June 30, 2009 Steve Yzerman Arena sounds nice to me. Let's be honest, Joe Louis Arena should have been named Gordie Howe Arena. Have the best of both worlds - Howe-Yzerman Arena. I don't see any problem honoring both. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Hatethedrake! Report post Posted June 30, 2009 (edited) a new areana would be **** .. Im guessing the name would change? that woul;d be the only s***ty part The arena can be called THE PAIN TRAIN CENTER. Edited June 30, 2009 by Hatethedrake! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
betterREDthandead 58 Report post Posted June 30, 2009 I like the idea that one of the commenters on the article had, to tack on a fifty-cent surcharge to every ticket as soon as a new arena opens in order to start paying for the next one. Probably would need for that to be more than 50 cents, that would only collect about $12 million over 30 years, maybe more like three or four dollars a ticket. I bet most people would be willing to pay three dollars extra per ticket if it meant the city didn't have to use public money to build the next arena. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JayUp88 1 Report post Posted June 30, 2009 Build a new one, next question Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
p_diddy_datsyuk_13 2 Report post Posted June 30, 2009 There is one big issue standing in the way of the Wings' staying in a renovated Joe. That is the City of Detroit. Aside from their overall lack of an education/intelligence, a few members of the Detroit City Council have been critical of the Joe Louis lease for sometime now. Odds are, taking intellegence into account, the council will try to make up for lost revenues in the lease if another is signed, making the Red Wings' lease expense astronomical and very doubtful, but the Illitches haven't closed any doors yet. The Illitches have said that their priority is in a new lease, perhaps shorter than 20 years, and that can mean a couple things, but in either case they want a modernized arena to play in. The Illitches have said that major renovations should be done by the owner of the arena, not the tenant, so that brings up our issues: 1) The City of Detroit has no money, making a major renovation unlikely, especially at the estimated cost of nearly $200 million. In the case of a major renovation, the City of Detroit would likely want a long term lease, perhaps as much as another 30 years to support their investment in the arena. Since the Red Wings have said they would like to pursue a shorter lease at the Joe (shorter than the 20 year extension), logic leads one to believe that they may only seek modest improvements to the Joe, while signing a lease for another 8-10 years while they wait for the economy and region to improve, then build a new arena. 2) While an investment of nearly $400 million in a new arena would not be the wisest decision at the present time, it may end up being the logical choice. There is a very good chance that the City of Detroit will not want to make the investment into the arena, or if they do, it will cost the Illitches a fortune in their new lease. Any changes to the Joe that would improve the immenities would be very costly given the design of the structure and land-locked location making the teams chances of a major renovation good, only if they stay long term. The bottom line is that if the economy were better, we may not even be having this conversation. Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano has even said that the Illitches have approached the county about assisstance with financing the new building, so there is no question that they want a new arena, but the problem now is the economy. The problems with the Joe come down to a couple of things: 1) Space, the Joe is land-locked, and with the people mover on one side and a likely-to-soon-be-renovated Cobo hall on the other, that doesn't leave much room for extrapolation. So they will have to deal with the space they have, which isn't much, and considering the cramped concourse at the Joe, this is one issue that they would want to address in a renovation. 2) Design, the Joe was, as you all know, pooly designed, the concourse is cramped, there are concession stands and souvenir stands every way you turn, and in the stands, the spectator area is very spread out, making it hard to bring luxury suites closer to the ice because of how it is laid out. It will be interesting to wait and see, but for now, my money is on the team staying at the Joe for a least 2-3 more years while they evaluate the prospects of a new arena. On a similar note, you have to believe that building a new arena would open Olympia Entertainment up to a lot of concerts that they have lost to the Palace over the years, so it is definately something to think about!! Cheers Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Drake_Marcus 890 Report post Posted June 30, 2009 I'd rather they extensively renovate the Joe (even if it amounts to a glorified rebuild on the same lot) than build a new rink. There's too much recent history in the Joe to move right now. New rinks are for teams in rebuilding mode s***, Steve hasn't even had his HoF induction ceremony, it's too early to tear down the rink he earned that spot in! That being said, I can see the reasoning for building a new rink instead of renovating. When it comes down to it, very few renovations are going to give you a better building than you could make if you started over. You're basically sacrificing long term worth/usefulness for nostalgia... or simply due to a lack of an appropriate lot to build the new structure on, luckily (well, unluckily for the city of Detroit) there's tons and tons of great downtown lots begging to be used in the motorcity. Still, a project like this could be very helpful in the short term for the city's economy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
titanium2 867 Report post Posted June 30, 2009 The thing I love the most about the Joe is that there really is no such thing as a bad seat. The Palace... not so much. I love the Pistons and all but I have to be a lot more careful when buying tickets. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
evilmrt 636 Report post Posted June 30, 2009 Well, playing at the Palace for 1 season isn't that bad....IF the renovation plans are worth it. Someone posted photos of the original construction of the Joe earlier, and it didn't look like expansion or major modifications could be made to the existing structure. This sounds like either the renovations would be minimal (new seats, bathrooms, repaint everything, lighting), or that it would basically be rebuilt in the same spot....which would probably take longer than one season. Also the mlive writer suggesting that the Wings would move to Windsor is hilarious...that won't happen in THIS post-9/11 world, not with the border being the interrogation and traffic jam fest that it is. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HadThomasVokounOnFortSt 878 Report post Posted July 1, 2009 That is not a bad idea at all, I would be fine with this one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
