Venue Detail
Detroit Pistons
Revenues From Sports Venues Pro Facilities Report
January, 2010
Detroit Pistons
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2 Championship Drive Auburn Hills, MI 48326-1753 Phone: 248-377-0100 Fax: 248-377-4262 URL: www.nba.com/pistons Owner: William H. Davidson League: National Basketball Association Eastern Conference, Central
Venue
The Palace of Auburn Hills, 2 Championship Dr, Auburn Hills, MI 48326-1752 Owner: William H. Davidson Managed by: Owner Built: 1988 Capacity: 17,960 Permanent concession stands: 14 Concessionaire: The Levy Restaurants Suite caterer: The Levy Restaurants Soft drink: Coca Cola
Ticket prices
Season tickets range from $899 to $4,119 Single tickets range from $10.00 to $110.00 2007 average attendance: 22,076 2008 average attendance: 22,076 2009 average attendance: 18,024
Luxury Suites
Quantity: 180 Term: 3 to 5 years Price: $50,000 to $450,000 Seats: 12 to 14 Includes: Two suites are not leased and used for rentals and marketing. Rental rates begin at $1,500.
Club seats
Quantity: 900 Term: 1 to 3 years Price: $5,000 to $5,000 Includes: Tickets to all arena events, 1 parking pass per 2 seats.
Financing
The $80 million arena was privately funded, but did receive some tax abatements. Pct. public: 0
The $80 million Palace of Auburn Hills was built in 1988 with private funds. An additional 2,000 general admission seats were added in 1997. The Palace is the home of the NBA Pistons and the WNBA Shock.
The Palace of Auburn Hills showed fans $30 million in upgrades for the debut of the 2006 NBA season. The $25 million Comcast Pavilion was added to The Palace, and at least $5 million in additional upgrades were made for fans attending home games.
The 65,000-square-foot pavilion was opened in increments. The Palace hosted a formal grand opening before the final home playoff game of the 2005-2006 season while modifications were being completed.
The building's grand new entrance contains a food court that includes Buffalo Wild Wings and Big Boy concession stands, the Bacardi Bar food and beverage island and the Red Bull Bar lounge area. The food court is open to all event-goers.
Above the entrance level is the 800- seat ERSA Club, a season ticket premium membership area. Below the entrance level is Club 53 and Suites, a private club and eight private boxes that are leased for the season at $350,000 each.
The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians has purchased naming rights to the suite levels at the Palace. The tribes, which operate casinos, signed the five-year, multi-million dollar deal. The exact terms were not disclosed.
The tribes want to boost name recognition for their properties in the face of competition from other casinos. The casino properties are also expanding with new hotels. The arena will renovate the suite levels to promote the new sponsor to include the name on signage, tickets and in the hallways.
The Palace completed a $1 million upgrade to its Covisint Club for the 2003 season. The club grew from 13,000 square feet to 17,000 square feet, making room for 200 additional seats. Total club seating will be 600. The club features a cigar bar, three alcohol bars and food service areas.
Palace Sports and Entertainment officials say the popularity of the club drove the expansion. Membership costs $6,000 per year, plus at least one season ticket. They say most buyers sign a three-year contract.
Naming rights for the club were purchased by Covisint, an Internet firm, in a five-year deal.
There are different concessions at the four corners of The Palace, which feature Mexican, Italian, delicatessen and grilled food; the facility also has a restaurant called the Palace Club. A $15 million Palace Atrium, which opened in December 1995, has two levels of interactive games and activities, two team shops, a Pistons and Palace Hall of Fame and a home theater that shows Pistons videos.
In late 1998 the Palace announced it was putting its name up for sale to help fund a new scoreboard and other improvements in the venue, but later abandoned the idea. The Palace is offering advertisers a chance to buy space on its new $2 million terrazzo floor in the venue's main concourse. Company names or logos can be inlaid into the floor for $20,000 a year on a five-year lease. There are 26 spaces available for sale, all of which are on walkways leading into the arena's bowl. (Facilities, Financial, Professional Sports, Venue)