According to Crain’s Detroit Business’s Bill Shea, the City of Detroit’s auction of Joe Louis Arena seats and other items will provide a significant windfall for the city:
The city of Detroit said it expects to net at least $1 million from the online sale of seats, equipment and fixtures from Joe Louis Arena.
The Detroit Red Wings’ estimated 7,000 season tickets holders since May 1 have been able to buy seats from the shuttered city-owned arena, and several thousand have been sold, according to the auctioneer hired by the city to handle the sale.
Detroit’s building authority hired Byron Center-based appraisal and auction firm Miedema Asset Management Group Inc. and Bloomfield Hills-based industrial asset auctioneer Robert Levy Associates LLC to handle the direct sale of the seats and fixtures.
They will get a buyer’s premium on each sale, which is included in the same price, according to information provided by Mayor Mike Duggan’s office. The premium varies based on the item being sold, but the minimum is 18 percent.
The general public can buy seats beginning Saturday, and about 16,000 seats in total are being made available ranging in price from $150 to $350. For the early sale period exclusive to season-ticket holders, seats range from $200 to $350 each.
The seats are only sold in pairs, because they’re linked by a shared armrest, which means a price of $300 for the cheapest purchase.
The sale site it thejoeseats.com.
In addition to season ticket holders and regular fans, companies that sell sports arena and stadium seats are expected to buy JLA seats in bulk, Robert Levy previously told Crain’s. Arena equipment and fixtures are expected to be sold to commercial and industrial buyers. Everything from HVAC to bars to urinals to the scoreboard will be sold.
