Advertisement - scroll for more content
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement - scroll for more content
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Sources told SBJ that the Hornets were among the teams considering a deal with streaming platform Victory+. Sources also told SBJ last month that Fubo makes surprise pitch to all 13 NBA teams that fled Main Street. DAZN, Gray TV and Nexstar have also been reported as local options for teams. The Pistons’ former RSN also was the home to the Tigers and Red Wings, but those clubs – both owned by the Ilitch family -- launched Detroit SportsNet in collaboration with MLB Media. That first-of-its-kind, hybrid model has MLB producing and distributing Tigers games this season, and providing broadcast support for the Red Wings’ 2026-27 games.
As of now, the next set of payments for those 20 teams (the Hawks, Hornets, Cavaliers, Pistons, Pacers, Clippers, Grizzlies, Heat, Bucks, T’Wolves, Thunder, Magic and Spurs from the NBA and Hurricanes, Red Wings, Kings, Wild, Predators, Blues and Blue Jackets from the NHL) are due Feb. 1. Main Street missed its Jan. 1 payments, and the cure period to reimburse those teams has already passed -- meaning the 20 teams could technically leave for other broadcast groups.
Michael Jordan is expected to make a rare United Center appearance this weekend for the jersey retirement of his longtime friend and Chicago Blackhawks great Chris Chelios. Chelios said on WSCR-AM 670 on Wednesday morning that the Chicago Bulls legend is one of the guests he expects to be in attendance for the raising of his No. 7 to the UC rafters, which will take place during a pregame ceremony Sunday afternoon before the Hawks play and the Detroit Red Wings.
Diamond has the rights to 14 Major League Baseball teams like the St. Louis Cardinals; 16 National Basketball Association franchises including the Miami Heat; and 12 National Hockey League teams including the Detroit Red Wings.
Chris Haynes: Former Portland Trail Blazers president Chris McGowan is named CEO of Ilitch Sports and Entertainment, which owns the Detroit Red Wings, Detroit Tigers and Little Caesars pizza chains.
Advertisement
Today, Gottlieb is an international yoga instructor. He’s traveled the world spreading holistic knowledge through yoga. He’s worked with athletes of different sports and nationalities. In his home state, he’s taught members of the Detroit Lions and former Red Wings goaltender Chris Osgood. Now, he’s helping Pistons franchise center Andre Drummond continue his climb up the NBA ladder. “I’ve been doing yoga, but just never spoke about it,” Drummond said while visiting the Pistons’ Summer League practice at Las Vegas’ Cox Pavilion on Monday. “He’s been a big help for me.”
Those numbers are encouraging signs of an impending uptick, but they belie the eye test of the scores of empty seats during Pistons home games, which have been highlighted on nationally televised games because of the bright red seats. This week, the Pistons, in a corporate partnership with Art Van Furniture, added black seat-back covers to thousands of seats in the lower bowl, easing the visual impact of having empty seats during games, but it still doesn’t fill those seats with fans. Attendance at Pistons games is a complex issue, tied to building a winning team maybe even more so than the move to the $863-million new arena in a partnership with the Red Wings. As many fans and pundits argue that the Pistons are having trouble selling out the new arena, the reality is that it’s not a new issue.
Saying Little Caesars Arena and District Detroit will bring "excitement and sizzle" to downtown, Chris Ilitch, accompanied by dignitaries from business and politics, cut the ribbon Tuesday for the ceremonial opening of the new home for the Detroit Red Wings and Pistons.
Detroit's Ilitch family said Monday that it has hired the basketball executive widely credited with stabilizing the NBA's Sacramento Kings' business operations to oversee their sports and entertainment holdings. Chris Granger is now group president, sports and entertainment for Ilitch Holdings Inc., which is the umbrella company that oversees the Little Caesars pizza chain, Detroit Tigers, Red Wings and the $2.1 billion District Detroit that includes Little Caesars Arena that opens in September.
Campbell said receiving the public dollars was a "condition" of the team's agreement with the Detroit Downtown Development Authority, the public entity that owns the Little Caesars Arena which is also a new home to the Detroit Red Wings. The estimated cost of the project has increased from $450 million to $862 million and the project is anticipated to be 62% privately funded and 38% publicly funded. A new DDA proposal that council is to vote on Tuesday would issue an additional $34.5 million in bonds to support the Pistons' relocation.
Advertisement
With the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings officially snapping a string of 25 consecutive playoff appearances, the Spurs are left with the longest active streak in professional sports. The Spurs have qualified for the postseason for 20 consecutive season. Second place belongs to the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, who have a 12-season streak.
Various changes to the arena — from new NBA locker rooms to the addition of doorways higher than seven feet tall to fit professional basketball players — are expected to cost more than $40 million. Ultimately, the cost will be defrayed with $34.5 million in public money from refinancing and extending bonds the Detroit Downtown Development Authority issued in 2014 to help pay for the new Red Wings arena.
For the first time in nearly 40 years, all four of Detroit’s professional sports teams will play in the city they represent. The Detroit Pistons will announce Tuesday that they’ll leave The Palace of Auburn Hills to join the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena in downtown Detroit for the 2017-18 season, a source familiar with the negotiations told The Detroit News on Monday.
There's still nothing official on the proposed Pistons-to-Detroit front just yet, but a deal to move the NBA franchise in with the Detroit Red Wings is nearing completion. Tom Gores, Pistons owner and founder of Los Angeles-based private equity firm Platinum Equity, told reporters Monday during halftime of the Pistons' 114-82 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers both sides remain "very close" to announcing a partnership. The proposal would call for the Pistons and Red Wings sharing the soon-to-open Little Caesars Arena in downtown Detroit. "We're making progress," Gores said. "In the next few weeks, I think we'll know for sure."