The Palace was one of eight basketball arenas owned by their respective NBA franchises. The Pistons moved toLittle Caesars Arena in Midtown Detroit in 2017 and the Palace was demolished in 2020.
By the time it closed asan NBA venue, the Palace was one of only two arenas that had not sold its naming rights to a corporate sponsor. The other wasMadison Square Garden.[15]
The court was previously named the "William Davidson Court", in honor of late ownerBill Davidson, prior to the Pistons' home opener on October 30, 2009. His signature, along with the retired numbers, were removed from the hardwood whenTom Gores bought the Palace and were re-retired on its rafters as replacement banners.[16][17][18]
From 1957 to 1978, the Pistons competed in Detroit'sOlympia Stadium,Memorial Building, andCobo Arena. In 1978, owner Bill Davidson elected not to share the newJoe Louis Arena with theNational Hockey League'sDetroit Red Wings, instead opting to relocate the team to thePontiac Silverdome in suburbanPontiac, a venue constructed forfootball, where it remained for the next decade.[9][19] While the Silverdome could accommodate massive crowds, it offered substandard sight lines for basketball games. In late 1985, a group led by Davidson decided to build a new arena in Auburn Hills. Groundbreaking for the arena took place in June 1986.[3] Using entirely private funding, The Palace cost a relatively low price of $90 million.[7][9] The Davidson family held a controlling interest in the arena until Tom Gores bought it as part of his purchase of the Pistons in 2011.[7]
Then-Pistons owner Bill Davidson and two developers privately financed the $90 million construction of The Palace, and did not require public funds.[7]
The Palace was built with 180luxury suites, considered an exorbitant number when it opened, virtually all later consistently leased. In December 2005, the Palace added five underground luxury suites, each containing 450 square feet (42 m2) of space and renting for $450,000 per year. Eight more luxury suites, also located below arena level, were opened in February 2006. They range in size from 800 to 1,200 square feet (74 to 111 m2) and were rented for $350,000 annually.[20] The architectural design of the Palace, including its multiple tiers of luxury suites, has been used as the basis for many other arenas in North America since its construction.[21]
The Palace opened in 1988.[3] When one of its basketball occupants won a championship, the number on its address changed. Its address was 6 Championship Drive, reflecting the Pistons' three NBA titles and the Shock's three WNBA titles.[a]
The Palace was widely considered to be the first of the modern-style NBA arenas, and its large number of luxury suites was a major reason for the building boom of new NBA arenas in the 1990s. Although the Palace became one of the oldest arenas in the NBA, its foresighted design contained the amenities that most NBA teams have sought in new arenas built since that time. By contrast, the other NBA venues that opened in late 1988/early 1989,Charlotte Coliseum,Miami Arena,Bradley Center,ARCO Arena andAmway Arena, were all considered obsolete relatively quickly, due to a lack of luxury suites andclub seating, lucrative revenue-generating features that made pro sports teams financially successful in order to remain competitive long-term.[7][21][25][26]
Nonetheless, Palace Sports & Entertainment (PS&E) had spent $117.5 million in upgrades and renovations to keep the arena updated.[7] A new high definitionJumboTron monitor, new LED video monitors, and more than 950 feet (290 m) of ribbon display technology fromDaktronics was installed in the mid-2000s.[27]
On November 19, 2004, a fight broke out between members of the Pistons andIndiana Pacers after Pacers forwardRon Artest committed a hard foul on Pistons centerBen Wallace. As the on-court fight died down, a fan, John Green, threw a cup ofDiet Coke at Artest, who then ran into thestands to fight another fan, Michael Ryan, whom he mistakenly believed to be responsible, and this immediately escalated into a full-scale brawl between other fans and players. The fight lasted for several minutes and resulted in the suspension of nine players (including Artest, who was suspended for the remainder of the2004–05 NBA season and also the playoffs), criminal charges against five players, and criminal charges against five spectators. The offending fans, including Green, Charlie Haddad and A.J. Shackleford, were banned for life from attending games at the Palace. In the aftermath of the fight, the NBA decided to increase the security presence between players and spectators. The fact that the fight took place at the Palace led to it becoming colloquially referred to as the "Malice at the Palace" and the "Basketbrawl".[28][29]
U2 performed at The Palace on March 27, 1992, on the first leg of theirZoo TV Tour. During the performance,Bono called a local pizza bar from the stage and ordered 10,000 pizzas for the crowd in attendance. Approximately 100 pizzas were delivered.[48] They returned on May 30, 2001, for theirElevation Tour, and on October 24 and 25, 2005 for theirVertigo Tour.
The Cure performed two consecutive shows, during theirWish Tour on July 18–19, 1992, with TheCranes as their opening act. The shows were recorded and released as a live album, entitledShow.[49]
The Palace was the site of an attempt on the life ofLed Zeppelin guitaristJimmy Page, while he was on tour, with former bandmateRobert Plant, during theirNo Quarter Tour. On March 31, 1995, Lance Alworth Cunningham, a 23-year-old who thought Led Zeppelin's music containedSatanic messages, tried to rush the stage with a knife. He was subdued about 50 feet from the stage.[54][55]
Australian children's music groupThe Wiggles performed at the Palace on August 15, 2005, with their "Sailing Around the World Live!" tour, August 11, 2006, with their "Wiggledancing! Live On Stage" tour, August 15, 2007, with their "Racing to The Rainbow Live!" tour, August 12, 2008, with their "Pop Go The Wiggles Live!" tour, August 14, 2009, with their "The Wiggles Go Bananas! Live in Concert" tour, August 27, 2010, with their "Wiggly Circus" tour, July 29, 2011, with their "Ukulele Baby! Live In Concert" tour, and August 10, 2012, with "The Celebration Tour!".
Three Days Grace held a concert at the Palace on March 21, 2008, which was recorded and released on DVD.Live at the Palace 2008 is their only full concert video to date.
Coldplay performed a sold-out show at the arena on August 1, 2012, as part of theirMylo Xyloto Tour. The band came back to the arena on August 3, 2016, to perform for a sold-out crowd of 15,436 as part of theirA Head Full of Dreams Tour.[61]
In October 2016, it was reported that the Pistons' ownership were negotiating a possible relocation toLittle Caesars Arena, a new multi-purpose venue then under construction inDowntown Detroit, for the2017–18 season. Little Caesars Arena was initially designed for ice hockey to replace Joe Louis Arena as home of theNational Hockey League's Detroit Red Wings, so some design modifications were needed to accommodate the Pistons.[62][63][64] On November 22, 2016, the team officially announced that they would play at Little Caesars Arena in 2017.[65][66][67] The final NBA game at The Palace was played on April 10, 2017, with the Pistons losing to theWashington Wizards, 105–101.[68][69] This game ended a 42-year history of professional sports inOakland County.[68][69][70][71]
Local school districtUtica Community Schools held commencement for all four of its high schools--Utica,Eisenhower,Stevenson, andFord II--at The Palace for decades. The class of 2017 was the final class to walk the stage at The Palace in June 2017.[72]
Bob Seger held the final concert at the venue on September 23, 2017.[73][74] The last scheduled event at the venue was the Taste of Auburn Hills on October 12, 2017.[5] Palace Sports & Entertainment entered into a joint venture withOlympia Entertainment known as313 Presents to jointly manage entertainment bookings and promotions for Little Caesars Arena and other venues owned by the firms.[75]
At its closure, the Palace was still in top condition as a sporting and concert venue,[73] but its location in a northern suburb, far from the city center, conflicted with a trend of "walkable urbanism" that the Pistons thought would grow their fanbase.[76] It was speculated that the Palace would likely end up being demolished, and the site would be redeveloped to accommodate a possible new auto supplier headquarters and research and development parks.[77]
In August 2018, the arena's Palace360 scoreboard, installed in 2014, was sold to theArizona Coyotes to replace the old one atDesert Diamond Arena in time for the 2018–19 season.[78][79]
In October 2018, it was reportedOakland University considered purchasing the arena.[80] Ultimately, a deal never went through.[81]
On June 24, 2019, the arena was sold to a joint venture, which planned to redevelop the property into a mixed-use office park.[82] Demolition of the arena began in February 2020.[83] Demolition was completed on July 11, 2020, when the roof was demolished using explosives byControlled Demolition, Inc.[6][84]General Motors purchased the site in 2023, to build a parts plant in support of its electric cars.[85]
^The Vipers' 1997Turner Cup championship was not officially recognized in the arena's address; the address also remained unchanged despite the Shock's move toTulsa, Oklahoma, in 2010; that team is now known as theDallas Wings.[22][23][24]
