This week Olympia Entertainment released construction photos of Little Caesars Arena, the future home of the Detroit Red Wings.
A topping off ceremony for the venue was held in August, and progress has been made over the ensuing months to assure that its ready for the 2017-18 NHL season. Many of the key elements are in place for some of the signature features at Little Caesars Arena, including the gondola seating and an indoor street that will serve as both a concourse and an event space.
Gondola seating is different from the loge or club options that are typically available in arenas. Rather than being housed in a traditional seating level, gondola seats are instead suspended from the rafters of the venue. Offering what is sure to be the steepest viewpoint in Little Caesars Arena, gondola seating will be available on both the facility’s east and west sides.
Work also continues on the indoor street, which will be one of the notable features of Woodward Square–a neighborhood within District Detroit. Development of the space, which has been dubbed the Via, has seen marked by significant progress in recent months. Steel and concrete are in place for the wall that will support it as are the materials for the dining and retail options that will surround the Via.
In addition, work is continuing on an outdoor plaza. Intended to be an event space, the promenade will feature its own videoboard that displays Red Wings’ games. Nearly all of the concrete for the space has been poured, likely allowing for it to be complete when the arena opens. Both the plaza and the gondola seating were part of a package of $95 million in additions to Little Caesars Arena that were made last fall.
According to estimates from Olympia Entertainment, Little Caesars Arena includes a construction crew of more than 750 daily workers. Little Caesars Arena itself is expected to cost $627 million, $284.5 million of which comes from public funding that will be paid for by property tax revenue from the project (more on that here.) Additional private development is expected to take place in The District Detroit, sprawling mixed-use area that will encompass roughly 50 blocks surrounding Little Caesars Arena.
Images courtesy Olympia Entertainment.
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