Detroit Pistons Moving Downtown? 5 Things to Know

DETROIT, MI — Only a handful of provisions have to be worked out before Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores and the Ilitch family ink a historic deal that would bring NBA professional basketball back downtown after a decades-long absence, according to media reports.

The move from the Pistons’ current home court at The Palace of Auburn Hills to the still-under-construction Little Caesars Arena, the new home of the Detroit Red Wings, could occur in time for next season.

The arena is scheduled for completion in September 2017, in time for Mike Ilitch’s Red Wings to open the season at their new home.

Arena construction would have to be modified to handle both hockey and basketball teams, a source close to the negotiations to bring the Pistons home told the Detroit Free Press. Gores, who is expected to be in Detroit Thursday and Friday, is also considering potential downtown business offices and a multi-million-dollar practice facility, according to the Free Press source.

Here are five things to know about the potential deal:

1. The Ilitch family wanted to buy the Pistons before Gores purchased the team and Palace Sports & Entertainment for $325 million in 2011. Over the past year, “there’s been a courtship” between the Pistons’ parent company, Gore’s Platinum Equity LLC, and the Ilitch family, The Detroit News reported.

2. Gores, a Flint native and billionaire who lives and does business in Los Angeles, has never made a secret of his interest in bringing the Pistons back downtown, and during the team’s media day last month, he hinted that talks to do that were already taking place. “We’re always looking at it. We’ve gotten a chance to really get to know the Ilitches,” Gores said. “... We’re always assessing it but it’s got to be good for everybody — us included — and for our fans.”

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3. In 2015, longtime sports agent Arn Tellem was hired by Palace Sports & Entertainment and tasked with exploring partnerships with the Ilitch family. Some key issues that still have to be worked out: Gores would be an equal partner, not a tenant, in Little Caesars Arena; the Pistons would get a return on improvements made at The Palace since Gores bought the team; and the Pistons would need assurance that a move wouldn’t negatively effect season-ticket holders and sponsors.

4. If the plan gels, it’s sure to mean big changes at The Palace, which also hosts concerts, circuses and other events. Gores offered to sell the venue to Oakland County for $370 million, but Oakland County officials rejected the deal. Sources told The Detroit News The Palace isn’t officially for sale, but if the Pistons move to Little Caesars Arena, the future of The Palace is murky.

5. It’s been 40 years since the Pistons regularly played downtown. They played at the Cobo Arena and the old Olympia Stadium before moving to the Pontiac Silverdome in the late 1970s and the Palace in 1988. Since moving to The Palace, the Pistons have won three NBA championships, most recently in 2004.

Photo by Kevin Ward via Flickr Commons