There is a definite irony in the fact that every time I remember the Palace of Auburn Hills I think of Ben Wallace taking a sledgehammer to a digital brick wall with the logo of an opposing team painted on it and shattering it to smithereens…which is exactly what is scheduled to happen to the Piston’s old home later this fall.

Via Freep.com

The Palace itself is to be demolished sometime in the fall. The method of demolition is still to be determined, sources said, and a last-call public auction of Palace items, fixtures, equipment and memorabilia is a possibility. 

The Palace underwent some $40 million in renovations, including new seats and refurbished floors, just a few years before it closed.

The Palace opened in 1988 with a Sting concert and hosted its last event, a Bob Seger concert, in September 2017. The Pistons moved out in fall 2017, heading to the new Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, although the team’s offices stayed at The Palace.

The Pistons organization is preparing to relocate the last of its business operations out of The Palace and into the new Henry Ford Detroit Pistons Performance Center in Midtown Detroit, which is on pace to open later this year.

The Palace was too far from the city in which it was named after, it was a pain in the ass trying to get into the place, and a vicious uncontrollable night terror trying to get out…only rivaled by the exit logistics of DTE Energy Center in Clarkston…but, all in all, the place ROCKED. It was an absolute ⚡️electric factory ⚡️ which housed the likes of Stevie Wonder, Eminem, Madonna, Paul McCartney, Miley Cyrus, Janet Jackson, Justin Bieber, Michael Jackson, Beyonce, Rihanna and many, many more. And it of course, the reason that birthed my love affair for the Palace- it housed our Goin’ To Work era Pistons which embodied the fan base of Metro-Detroit.

It opened with Sting in 1988, and finished with Bob Seger in 2017. And in-between gave us Chauncey buzzer beaters, Rasheed ejections, and Big Ben blocks….oh and an NBA Championship over the highly favored Los Angeles Lakers.

Having been fortunate enough to have attended a plethora of Red Wings games in my life growing up, going to see the Pistons at the Palace was a contrast of what I was used to. I remember my first thoughts of going to my first Goin’ To Work Pistons game- “this is a fucking circus.” And that thought came from a very positive place, because it in fact was an absolute circus in the best way possible.

The Final Countdown played at max volume while flames catapulted themselves from the shot clock while a chick from The Automation barely wearing clothes was twerking on Hooper. And that was just during timeouts. At halftime you would have C-list artists like MC Hammer perform while contortionists and trampoline dunkers in red, white, and blue put on a sideshow of their own. You had Mason (pay respects to the legend) screaming DEEEETRRRRROIIITTT BASSSSKKKETTTTBBALLLL at the first sight of a turnover. Blimps dropping free popcorn certificates, dancing ushers, sold out seats, championship banners, and absolute fucking chaos- REMEMBER THE GIANT PLAYER/FAN FIGHT?!?. And the steam powering the engine was our early 2000’s Detroit Pistons. The Best Five Alive.

Now, I am not pissing my pants in sadness over the Palace closing, it was a cool place but being born and raised in Detroit I always thought it was weird/wrong that a team called the DETROIT Pistons played out in Auburn Hills. I am 110% behind them being in LCA in the actual city. But, the Palace was awesome and a ton of winning was done there, and if you’re around my age (28) the Palace and the Goin’ To Work Pistons are our fondest Piston memories… so it undoubtedly has my respect.

Now I’ve heard the sentiment that “The Pistons are a suburban team, that’s why they do so bad with attendance in the city!” And to that I politely say with all due respect that you are a moron, sir/ma’am. The Pistons do poor with attendance in the city because they don’t win enough games. 41-41, 8th seed, and a pulverising sweeping first round playoff exit in the depleted conference ain’t gonna get asses in seats. Plain and simple. If and when they win again… tell Hooper to load the tee shirt cannon up cause he’s gonna have 19,000+ fans to entertain.

So whilst you are not the Joe, beloved Palace, you deserve our love and respect and we bid you a elegant farewell, hopefully better than the Pontiac Silverdome’s dumpster fire of a send off.

And here’s the Malice at the Palace for good measure:

#detroitbasketball 🍾

– Frank