Nicknamed "The Joe", its most popular tenant is the Illitch-owned Detroit Red Wings, consistently named most valuable franchise in the National Hockey League by Financial World Magazine. The area surrounding the arena is now known as "Hockeytown" in tribute to the Detroit Red Wings and more than a dozen college-hockey events held annually at "The Joe."
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Image of the Joe Louis Arena by
Cory Suppes of Ballparks.com |
Joe Louis Arena is also the exclusive site for world-class Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey Circus. The World's Toughest Rodeo, the Tour of World Figure Skating Champions and college hockey championships. In 1994, The Joe, along with Cobo Arena hosted the nationally televised U.S. Figure Skating Championships. Joe Louis Arena sold-out concert events have included Luther Vandross, Janet Jackson, Frank Sinatra and Luciano Pavoarotti.
The arena was called the "Joe Louis Warehouse" when it opened in 1979 because it looks so vast and bleak inside, but when Mike and Marian Ilitch bought the team in 1982, they did some redecorating. There is an inviting concourse decorated with hockey artwork, for example.
The Red Wings' most eagerly anticipated tradition is throwing of an octopus on the ice during the playoffs. The bizarre fan ritual began back when only four NHL teams made the playoffs, and the eight legs symbolized the eight wins needed to win the Stanley Cup. Attendants are booed if they use a shovel to remove the octopus and cheered if they use their bare hands.
Getting there
From the south, go north on I-75 to the exit for US 10. Exit southbound onto US 10 and go south for 1 mile. Take the Joe Louis exit, which leads to the Arena.
Joe Louis Arena history
* First regular-season game: Dec. 27, 1979, 3-2 loss to the Blues
* First goal: Brian Sutter, Blues
* March 24, 1992: Pittsburgh's Mario Lemieux scores his 1,000th point, despite a Red Wings victory, 4-3.
Building Dimensions: 328'x550'x85' high. Approximately 12 million cubic feet. Floor Surface: Non-hockey = 120'x230'.
Dressing Rooms Eight rooms located on ground level on the south side of the arena.
Press Area: 128' long counter space located on the third level. Include facilities for live audio and television broadcasts.
Scoreboard: 18' center Sony Jumbotron video scoreboard; 8 computerized side boards on both sides of the arena showing out-of-town scores.
THE ULTIMATE SPORTS ROAD TRIP
By: Andrew Kulyk & Peter Farrell
| Joe Louis Arena Ranking by USRT |
| Architecture |  | 1 |
| Concessions | | 6 |
| Scoreboard | | 3 |
| Ushers | | 5.5 |
| Fan Support | | 10 |
| Location | | 2 |
| Banners/History | | 10 |
| Entertainment | | 5.5 |
| Concourses/Fan Comfort | | 3 |
| Bonus: Octopus | | 2 |
| Bonus: Hockeytown | | 1 |
| Bonus: Joe Louis Statue | | 2 |
| Total Score |  | 51 |
October 20, 2000 & October 13, 2006 - Joe Louis Arena opened in 1979, and is located downtown and sandwiched between a parking ramp, expressways on 2 sides, and the Detroit River. Despite its location, this building is totally segregated from anything else that downtown Detroit has to offer. The only way to get to the arena is by navigating a set of pedestrian walkways which lead you to the doors of the building... no lobby, no atrium, just doors to the concourse flung open to the cold air outside. The building is grey and nondescript, the pedestrian walkways and adjoining structures are grey and bland... greatfully, the area between the building and the river has been fixed up with a pleasant riverwalk. This by far is the nicest side of the building as the rest of the arena is surrounded by ugly ramps and bridges. Once you walk into the building (and step through the metal detector under the scowling gaze of a cadre of beefy security guards...ugggghhhh!), you walk into a wide concourse with very high ceilings, and a cornucopia of murals, banners, and memorabilia saluting Detroit hockey greats - the names Howe, Lindsay, Delvecchio, Sawchuk and Yzerman are everywhere... old black and white photos brought over from the old Olympia reminded us of similar photos which adorned the halls of Maple Leaf Gardens.
The team does a great job of organizing concessions.. every bit of wall space has a food stand, souvenir stands or memorabilia shops. Lines are short and quick. Of course Mike Ilitch's Little Caesars Pizza and subs are the highlighted fare.
The "obstructed view" seats in rows 25-27 were horrible - basically they were in a nook at the top of the building where the pitch of the balcony ended, so if you sat in those seats, you could see everything from the blue line on and that is it. Gratefully a kind usher let us sit in better seats which were unoccupied.
The Redwings have a season ticket base of over 16,000 seats, leaving less than 2000 seats available on a game to game basis. Furthermore, they package Redwings tickets with college hockey games to promote those games (i.e. buy a college 7 pack and you can choose 2 Redwings games of your choice). Ticket prices? Top ticket is $150, and the cheapest (not including the obstructed which they only have a few of) is $41..... $41 for a seat location comparable to Buffalo's 300 level III seats!
When we told people sitting around us that Buffalo's premium ticket was $75, and that comes with parking... that our 100 level season tickets are 18 rows off the glass and cost $38... oh and Sabrebuck rebates... the Detroiters were just flabbergasted, and really questioned how Buffalo people could not be kicking down the door to take advantage of the good deal, especially since our team has been competitive.
Overall we would have to say that this has been one of our WORST NHL arena experiences, and more closely represents the image of the bad old Detroit. This city has just opened a fabulous baseball stadium in Comerica Park, and right next door, beautiful Ford Field will be home to the Lions starting in 2002. Casinos are now open, Greektown is the new entertainment district, the area around Comerica Park is really cool and their downtown is finally starting to come back. The only thing saving this NHL venue is the "Hockeytown" theme mystique and the team's recent successes.
Hat Tricks, Assists, Penalties
Penalty (and game misconduct) - Those metal detectors. What a horrible way to greet your customers as they arrive! As we walked around the concourse before the game and walked past the various entrances, those things were constantly chirping.. people being detained..women were removing earrings and spilling purse contents onto tables. This is no way to treat the fans.
Hat Trick - Actually nothing to do with the arena itself, but rather the "Hockeytown Cafe", which is owned by the team. Ideally it should have been next to the arena, but it is located the other side of downtown right across from Comerica Park... the layout is great, consisting of a bar, restaurant, interactive games and a comedy club; and the outdoor marquee consists of a huge jumbotron video board and a times square style streaming information ticker... very impressive!
Summary
Go to Detroit, visit Comerica Park, or take in a Lions game, but AVOID this wretched place. We can certainly understand and feel the passion of these dedicated Redwings fans who snap up every available seat, and the tradition of one of the Original Six teams really comes alive here. But going against all of this is the cruddy neighborhood, the shabby building, and an NHL venue that is so far behind the curve compared to its peer facilities. We made the best of things, but between the metal detector and the wretched seats we were dealt, we have to say we were kind of soured to this place from the minute we parked our car to begin the evening. Our Sabres losing in OT was a fitting ending.
