Here is a timeline of the events leading to the building of the Little Caesars Arena:
1987
In July, Mike and Marian Ilitch announce they will buy the iconic Fox Theatre in Detroit and move their headquarters for Little Caesars Pizza and other businesses into it. The move marks the beginning of a downtown revival that will gather speed in decades to come.
1993
As early as this year, Mike Ilitch has retained a team of architecture and urban design firms to think about a new sports and entertainment district near the Ilitch-owned Fox Theatre. A new baseball stadium for the Ilitch-owned Tigers would come first (and it will open as Comerica Park in 2000), but the planners are also looking at a broader district to include a hockey arena for the Ilitch-owned Red Wings.
2000-10
Discussion and debate continue off and on for years over replacing the aging Joe Louis Arena, home of the Detroit Red Wings, on the riverfront. Meanwhile, the Ilitch family quietly buys up properties near the Fox and on the northern edge of downtown, presumably for an arena project.
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2010
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By this year, Ilitch aides say their boss is “definitely committed” to building a new hockey arena downtown, one that would incorporate much new technology to enhance the fan experience. This summer the Ilitch family makes an unsuccessful bid to buy the Detroit Pistons from the estate of late owner Bill Davidson, but lose out to Tom Gores. The idea of moving the Pistons back downtown from Auburn Hills would not be forgotten, however.
2012
The Ilitch family retains HKS, a Dallas-based firm with arena experience, and Chan Krieger NBBJ, a Boston architect specializing in urban developments, to design a new arena to replace The Joe.
In December, the Ilitches reveal their tentative plans for a new arena, site still unknown. “It’s always been my dream to once again see a vibrant downtown Detroit,” Mike Ilitch, chairman of Ilitch Holdings, says in a written statement. “It’s going to happen, and I want to keep us moving toward that vision.”
2013
In June, the city’s Downtown Development Authority approves the framework of a deal to build the arena on the west side of Woodward just north of I-75, not far from Comerica Park, where the Ilitch-owned Detroit Tigers play, and also near Ford Field, home of the Detroit Lions, a team owned by the Ford family.
In July, the Michigan Strategic Fund board approves issuing up to $450 million in bonds to help finance construction of the new arena for Detroit Red Wings hockey and other events. The initial estimate of total cost is $650 million but that swells to more than $800 million as the scope of work increases.
In December, Detroit’s Downtown Development Authority approves the tentative deal negotiated with the Ilitch family for construction of the arena and surrounding district. The deal at this point totals $650 million, with the public contributing $200 million to the total and the Ilitches paying the rest, including committing to build at least $200 million in spin-off developments nearby. The Detroit City Council later approves the deal.
2014
In July, Christopher Ilitch, president and CEO of his family’s Ilitch Holdings, provides the Free Press the first public renderings and details of the new Red Wings hockey arena and surrounding entertainment and residential district. In a lengthy interview, Ilitch discusses his hopes and plans for the new and sprawling development. “Our vision is to build out a sports and entertainment district that is world-class and rivals anything in the country, perhaps the world,” he said. “We’re not just building a hockey arena. It’s really about the district.”
In September, ground is broken for the new arena.
In December, the Ilitch family unveils plans for a new eight-story office tower next door to the Fox, more than doubling the size of the headquarterscampus. It is part of the broader district taking shape near the new arena.
2015
In July, as construction on the arena continues, the Ilitches implode the vacant Park Avenue Hotel near the arena construction to make way for new development.
In October, the Ilitch family announces plans to donate land and cash worth $40 million for a new Wayne State University Mike Ilitch School of Business, the largest single gift in the university’s history, to be built just north of the arena on Woodward as part of the District Detroit.
2016
In April, Christopher Ilitch announces that the new home of the Red Wings will be named Little Caesars Arena. By naming the new arena after his family’s pizza company, the Ilitches may have forgone a multimillion-dollar source of cash from an outside bidder. “For our organization, this is more than just about money,” Christopher Ilitch tells the media. “This is our hometown. This is a legacy business.”
In November, Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores announces that the team will move back downtown to play its home games in the new Little Caesars Arena, returning the Pistons to their hometown nearly 40 years after former owner Bill Davidson took the team to Oakland County.
2017
In January, the Ilitches’ Olympia Entertainment announces that Kid Rock will open the new arena with several concerts beginning Sept. 12.
In February, Mike Ilitch, family patriarch and visionary of the new arena and surrounding district, dies at age 87.
In May, Christopher Ilitch announces plans for 686 residential units to be developed in and around his family’s District Detroit project and Little Caesars Arena. There will be six residential buildings in all, four of them adaptive reuses of historic structures near the arena and two newly built buildings.
In August, the Ilitches’ Olympia Development announces that two new restaurants, Mike’s Pizza Bar, an artisanal-style pizza kitchen, and Sports & Social Detroit, a gastro-pub, will open in the arena complex. Later, a restaurant by Detroit’s Kid Rock is also announced. This month, too, the ice sheet for the Red Wings games is installed.
In August, Olympia Development announces a series of preview week events including a ribbon-cutting for the new arena on Sept. 5 and a public tour on Sept. 9.
Source: https://t-tees.com
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