They are the DETROIT Red Wings

Joe Louis Arena

The future of the Red Wings is stilling hanging in the balance while waiting to hear word about whether or not Mike Ilitch is going to buy the Detroit Pistons.

Ilitch opted not to renew the 30-year lease with the Joe Louis Arena back last year. ‘The Joe’ is actually owned by the City of Detroit and has been home to the Red Wings since its creation in 1979.

There has been some consideration for completely renovating ‘The Joe’, but that could come with a price tag of over $150 million. However, rebuilding a new arena may be a better option and one that has been considered.

The more recent possibility is moving the Wings to the Palace of Auburn Hills where the Pistons play. This will probably be most likely if Ilitch does go through with buying the Pistons.

But would it make better sense, especially for the economy of Detroit, for Ilitch to build a new arena for the Red Wings to play in and keep them in Detroit? As well as buy the Pistons and move them to Detroit?  After all, three out of the four professional sports teams call Detroit home and because of that Detroit is known as one of the best sports cities in the country.

So what to do with the Palace? The Palace could be used similarly to that of Cobo Arena and used for a concert venue (which it already does now) and other events that would bring in large crowds. There is also the possibility of selling the Palace and doing something else entirely different with it.

Hopefully Ilitch makes the right moves that will ultimately keep the Detroit Red Wings where they belong, in Detroit.

{Photo Credit belongs to Stefanie Mullins}