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The Palace
Sunday night was the final game at Joe Louis Arena. On Monday, the Pistons play their final game at The Palace in Auburn Hills against the Washington Wizards. Both teams will move to the new Little Caesars arena on Woodward Avenue, just north of the Fisher Freeway and blocks from Comerica Park and Ford Field.
Interestingly, the Pistons frame the difference between the moves on the team' site::
The Red Wings are leaving Joe Louis Arena because it was an outdated and ill-conceived arena the day it opened 38 years ago to critical disdain. The Pistons are leaving The Palace even though it remains among the NBA’s jewels in its 29th season.
“This building being so far ahead of its time and still one of the nicest buildings in the league, among the oldest, I think it’s a great tribute to Bill Davidson, the foresight he had,” Stan Van Gundy said as the clock ticks down on the Pistons’ time in the place that’s been their home longer than any other. “Really, all the buildings that have come after have been influenced by this building.”
He’s not kidding. Van Gundy entered the NBA with the Miami Heat, who came into the league as an expansion team in 1988 calling the newly constructed Miami Arena home. It was abandoned in 10 years, rendered instantly obsolete – along with Charlotte Coliseum, built for the expansion Charlotte Hornets the same year and long since replaced, as well – by The Palace’s unveiling.
There will be a ceremony and commemorations on Monday night at The Palace, but don't expect to see it at the same level as what the Red Wings pulled off Sunday night.
The Pistons will give fans a shirt and commemorative ticket. Guests will include Pistons legends and the 2004 champions.
