The Detroit Pistons are moving along quickly with their progress as a franchise. They recently brought in former NBA super agent Arn Tellem to the team to help the team owner Tom Gores. Now as the future of their roster hangs in the balance this offseason, they also are looking to possibly make some more moves to a new arena. Moving to a new location may also bring in some help from an unlikely partner.
Following from Terry Foster of the Detroit News.
Pistons owner Tom Gores launched Project “Big Math,” a sweeping idea for change and economic growth for the city of Detroit and state of Michigan, when he hired agent Arn Tellem last week as vice chairman of Palace Sports and Entertainment.
One of Tellem’s first agenda items when he takes over Aug. 3 is to explore bringing the Pistons downtown from Auburn Hills. That likely would mean a meeting with Chris Ilitch and Mike Ilitch from Olympia Entertainment, which has launched a $650 million arena and business project.
“We will put Arn in charge of helping us analyze how we can talk to the other business leaders,” Gores said. “We are going to charter Arn to study that (moving downtown). It will be one of his first things.”
The Pistons have two viable options. They can move into the new Red Wings arena, which is scheduled to open in 2017, and share it with Olympia Entertainment. There is also a Hail Mary option to tear down the half-built Wayne County Jail and build an arena in conjunction with Quicken Loans chairman Dan Gilbert.
Gilbert owns the NBA’s Cavaliers, who play in Quicken Loans Arena in downtown Cleveland. He is pushing for Gores to move the Pistons to downtown Detroit.
“It’s hard to compete not being in an urban corridor,” Gilbert told The Detroit News last week. “You have to sell more than just the game. You have to sell the entire experience, and you can’t get that in a field (in Auburn Hills). You gotta get that in an urban corridor, where there are restaurants or casinos or other entertainment venues.”
If the Pistons move, The Palace would not close. It would remain as a special-events and concert venue.
Partnering up with Dan Gilbert could be weird for some Pistons fans. Working with the owner of Cleveland Cavaliers, a division rival, to bring them to a new arena might benefit the Cavs also. Gilbert is quite the savy business man and ESPN’s Brian Windhorst even says he’s never been richer as his businesses continue to do well.
The Pistons moving to a new arena would be a great thing for the team but only if that means they would have new results. You can’t be bad for much longer in Detroit. A franchise that was pretty good recently throughout a majority of the 2000’s has seen a downturn which means . The roster is filled with talent and now it’s time to get the most out of it.
