from Jamie Moses of ArtVoice,

The first glance you take at the seating bowl of Detroit’s spanking new Little Caesars Arena is one of intimidation. A steep, vertical seat pitch. Many of the seats in the lower bowl and close to the action. And a sea of Red Wings red, not only amongst the fans clad in the home jerseys but ambient red lighting emanating from the steel support structures radiating from the ceiling. Olympia Sports and Entertainment CEO Tom Wilson said it best. “We wanted to make this the most intimidating place you would ever play in.”

But the first time visitor to downtown Detroit’s newest entertainment and sports mecca will be dazzled and impressed long, long before setting foot into the bowl and taking a seat for a game.

Forget about any preconceived notions you might have about Detroit being dead, a bombed out and vacant downtown, neighborhoods and city dwellers emptying the city for other locales. A visit to downtown today will find just about every structure in the central core either renovated, undergoing rehabilitation, or plans for future reuse. Cranes are in the air everywhere on what were once vacant, rubble-strewn empty lots. And in the middle of all this are Detroit’s now three gleaming sports venues – Ford Field, home of the NFL Detroit Lions, Comerica Park, baseball home for the Tigers, and Little Caesars Arena, host to the NHL Detroit Red Wings and NBA Detroit Pistons. All three venues are in close proximity to each other, and anchor the city’s theatre district and close to the Greektown entertainment district.

conitnued