For the first time in decades, The Detroit Pistons will be playing downtown when they move to the new Little Caesars Arena next season.
In addition to their new playing home, the Pistons are setting their sights on a brand new practice facility that would be located just two miles north of Little Caesars Arena between Second and Third avenues, north of Amsterdam and south of the railroad tracks.
Check out the rendering of what the final product would look like.
Here's what the new @DetroitPistons practice facility will look like 2 miles north of @LCA_Detroit. pic.twitter.com/HjNNN9eIZq
— Mike Sullivan (@MikeSullivan) February 24, 2017
The facility will be called the Henry Ford-Detroit Pistons Performance Center, and will include 100,000 square feet of practice and training space. Palace Sports and Entertainment vice chairman Arn Tellem announced the plans at a Friday afternoon press conference at the Henry Ford Health System headquarters.
“In every sense, Detroit will be our home,” he said during the conference.
The new facility will begin to take shape once the NBA officially approves the Pistons moving from Auburn Hills to downtown Detroit, though team and city officials anticipate the deal to be complete in the next three months. The Pistons have played at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Oakland County since 1988.
In addition to the practice facility, a sports and rehabilitation facility managed by the Henry Ford Health System would be present, as well as community space for neighborhood meetings and youth basketball clinics.
The facility is expected to be completed and ready for use by the start of the 2018-19 Season. Until then, the Pistons will continue to practice at their facility in Auburn Hills.
