from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press,

In an effort to make attendance woes less visible, the year-old arena has black covers on the red seat backs in the lower bowl. A months-long installation of new black seats will begin in December.

Thursday was the first time, the Detroit Red Wings skated on the main ice sheet since the renovations. Goaltender Jonathan Bernier wondered if it might affect seeing pucks being dumped in from the other end of the ice.

Red seats may be better for puck visibility, but they are also glaring when there are empty seats. Both the Wings and Detroit Pistons have had issues filling the arena, although both teams maintain some of the seats are empty because fans are enjoying the wide variety of clubs and bars in the arena.

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In game related news, Detroit's projected lineup is below.