97.1 the Ticket’s Will Burchfield penned a column discussing the atmosphere at Little Caesars Arena during last night’s 3-2 OT loss to the Florida Panthers, which was downright Joe Louis Arena-like in it noise level:
In the inaugural season of Little Caesars Arena, the data said the Red Wings played in front of capacity crowds every night. It said they finished fourth in the NHL in total attendance. But your eyes knew better. So did your ears. If the Wings were selling tickets, they weren’t filling seats. And so the atmosphere was rather dull, more pizza parlor than hockey rink.
Are things beginning to change? LCA was rocking on opening night this year when the Wings went blow for blow with the Lightning in a 7-6 OT loss. And it was rowdy again two nights later when Detroit beat Vancouver for its first win of the season. With fans back in the building for the first time since the pandemic to watch a rising young team, maybe this is the year LCA finds it voice.
“The building just seems really loud,” Jeff Blashill said Tuesday morning before the Wings would host Columbus. “When we first came into this building, we didn’t have enough people in the seats. There were lots of people here, but they were either in the club level eating or checking out how beautiful the arena is. Now everybody’s in the seats and it just seems really, really loud. So it’s a great, great building with a great atmosphere.”
