Pistons officially announce plans for their return to downtown Detroit

Little Caesars CEO David Scrivano (left) and Pistons CEO Christopher Ilitch announced the Detroit stadium’s name in April. (AP)

The Pistons have moved one step closer to calling downtown Detroit their home for the first time since a 29-year-old Bob Lanier jumped center for the team during his All-Star campaign in 1977-78.

In coordination with Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, Pistons owner Tom Gores and the Detroit Red Wings ownership group announced a deal on Tuesday that will make Little Caesars Arena the home for both franchises in 2017-18, confirming Monday’s reports from both the Detroit Free Press and Detroit News.

The Pistons moved from downtown Detroit’s Cobo Arena to the suburban Pontiac Silverdome for the 1978-79 season. A decade later, the Pistons transitioned to The Palace of Auburn Hills, where they’ve played for nearly 30 years. The franchise won back-to-back titles in its first two years at their current building and added another 14 years later, but the suburban stadium may be most remembered for one of the NBA’s most regrettable nights — known as The Malice at The Palace in November 2004.

Tuesday’s announcement followed a public Downtown Development Authority meeting at Detroit Cass Tech High School and all but ends the Pistons’ tenure at the 20,000-seat Palace, pending NBA approval. The agreement will end the Pistons’ run as the NBA’s only franchise to play in a suburban arena. Instead, Detroit will now become the only city with all four major sports franchises downtown.

“This is a historic day for our franchise, and for the City of Detroit,” Gores said in a press release that coincided with the public announcement. “We’re moving to a beautiful new arena that will provide a state-of-the-art fan experience, and we’re investing in the future of Detroit.

“I’ve always believed that a sports franchise is a community asset with the power to unite and inspire people. There’s a big responsibility that goes with that, but there’s also a big payoff. Not just for the city of Detroit, but for the whole region. Detroit is rising, reinventing itself. The Pistons are doing the same. We’re in this together, and we couldn’t be more excited about that.”

Construction began on Little Caesars Arena in April 2015. Earlier this month, Detroit officials announced a $105 million increase in cost for a stadium that was originally projected to cost $450 million, including $250 million in taxpayer-backed bonds, and is now expected to cost $732.6 million. There was much speculation that the latest cost increase was in part due to a potential Pistons move, and on Tuesday the DDA confirmed an additional $34.5 million in public funding to cover some of the costs necessary to modify the arena to house basketball in addition to hockey next season.

The arena, which is also expected to house roughly 20,000 fans, is part of a greater midtown revival project, largely funded by Ilitch’s Olympia Development company, in an area that includes the Detroit Tigers’ Comerica Park and Detroit Lions’ Ford Field. In addition to the stadium partnership, Gores and Ilitch announced a joint business venture for their respective entertainment companies.

The Pistons move to Little Caesars Arena will bring the total number of stadiums housing NBA and NHL franchise to 11. The others: Chicago’s United Center, Toronto’s Air Canada Centre, Dallas’ American Airlines Center, Los Angeles’ Staples Center, New York City’s Madison Square Garden, Washington’s Verizon Center, Boston’s TD Garden, Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center, Denver’s Pepsi Center and Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. The Detroit arena will rank second only to the United Center in capacity.