The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus and Scott Powers posted a massive article this morning which ranks the NHL’s 31 stadiums, per fan rankings thereof, and Little Caesars Arena came in 9th place due to its good atmosphere, strong sight lines, and…expensive prices:
9. Detroit (Little Caesars Arena): 8.14
Atmosphere: 7.15 (23rd)
Sight lines: 8.81 (14th)
Food options: 8.49 (1st)
Convenience: 7.44 (19th)
Location: 7.82 (16th)
Appearance: 9.05 (5th)
Unique touches: 8.18 (8th)“While many fans seemingly entered a stage of mourning when the team left the Joe, I was stoked. The LCA is a state-of-the-art entertainment venue and a great for children, adults (bars and drink options), and those needing accessibility options to access and experience the game. I’ve been to over 40 arenas and stadiums in pro sports and the LCA and Truist Park (Atlanta Braves) rank above the rest on this all-around criteria.”
“Replacing the atmosphere of The Joe is hard, but I think the LCA is on its way to getting to that point once the Red Wings develop a better team that will draw the crowds.”
“LCA has been such an unfortunate stadium so far in its early days. Having a terrible team sure doesn’t help, but I think the rankings I had are brutally honest. The parking options are OK, but they charge $35-plus and even more if you’re parking at the arena. The food options are meh. I mean of course you have to have Little Caesars, but at double or triple the price. The restaurants that were built on the outside are good, so that makes up for the lack of options inside the arena. I think the most crippling thing LCA lacks are the hotel options close to the arena.”
“LCA is a beautiful building, despite its cheesy name. The atmosphere will never replace the Joe, but hopefully it comes close once the team is competitive again. The goal horn sucks, along with some bad music selections in game. Having an organist is a cool touch, though. If the Ilitch family follows through on their long-delayed promises of development around the arena, it could be a really special place in the city when the team returns to contention.”
“Sight lines knocked because you can’t see the main scoreboard from behind gondolas in the nosebleeds. Suites are amazing. They put the bathrooms right across the hall to dramatically improve sight lines and space in each.”
Continued; the arena is beautiful, but paying $40 for parking is absurd.
Get rid of the PA announcer. “Red Wing powwwwwwwwweeeerrr ppppplllllaaaaaay” sounds really bush league as well as when Bert scores a goal.
“I think the most crippling thing LCA lacks are the hotel options close to the arena.”
Had the Ilitched followed through with the original “District Detroit” plans, none of this would be an issue. They originally had a Hotel planned in front of the arena on Henry street, instead it now sits empty and half of it is a parking lot. Not to mention all the advertised residential projects that never materialized or the renovation of the Eddystone or etc…
The arena itself is great and the sightlines in the lower bowl are top notch, but the prices and especially parking is an absolute joke. I know you can park further down for cheaper, but there’s no reason Ilitch should be charging $35+ for parking in places where they advertised housing. You already rake in 100% of the profits and have all the concerts (before covid) and Pistons there now so the outrages food and concession prices are basically greed. In the salary cap era you don’t overspend teams like Florida by triple the amount, so you have no excuse to charge $10 more for beer and food compared to the Panthers.