What Will It Take To Keep The Palace Open?

By: Will Burchfield
@burchie_kid

With the primary tenants of the Palace of Auburn Hills, the Detroit Pistons, set to relocate to Little Caesars Arena this fall, there's a good chance The Palace will soon be closed forever.

What would it take to keep the building open?

According to Crain's Detroit, Brad Lott, senior vice president of Palace Sports & Entertainment, said on Wednesday that The Palace needs to host at least four events a months to stay in operation. Otherwise, Lott said, its infrastructure would crumble.

The Palace, which opened in 1988 and remains in fine condition, currently hosts about 200 events per year, 41 of which are regular season home games for the Pistons. That would seem to keep PS&E's four-events-per-month quota well within the realm of reason.

But the Pistons are unlikely to be the only attraction moving on from The Palace.

Via Crain's, "Many events that now take place at the Palace will want to book Little Caesars Arena, which will give them the aura of novelty and the excitement that go along with something new."

Lott said PS&E is looking into what kind of events - concerts, in particular - it can attract to The Palace.

No determination has yet been made on the future of the Auburn Hills venue. Either way, Lott vowed it will not receive the same fate as the abandoned and decaying Pontiac Silverdome, which the Lions left behind in 2002.

"If there aren't enough concerts to fill, we are committed to redeveloping the land," Lott said.