The Palace to be Imploded on Saturday

The history of The Palace of Auburn Hills will come to an end bright and early on Saturday, July 11th, 2020 at 8 am. Eight hundred pounds of dynamite will reduce the building to a pile of rubble.

The 22,000-seat arena opened on August 13th, 1988, with a Sting concert. It closed its doors on September 23rd, 2017 after a Bob Seger performance.

In those 29 years, The Palace hosted many concerts and sporting events.

Former Detroit Pistons owner Bill Davidson built the Palace. The team played there until their departure to Little Caesars Arena in Detroit after the 2017 season.

The building was sold in June 2019 to a joint venture comprised of current Pistons owner Tom Gores and the Livonia-based development company Schostak Brothers & Co.

In the future, the site will be home to one million square feet of mixed-use office and research and development space.

On Saturday morning, dynamite will target 22 reinforced concrete columns. These four feet in diameter structures support the roof. After the detonation, the roof structure should fall to the ground in about four to five seconds. Following the implosion will be several months of cleanup and filling in the big crater that once held underground suites and service areas.

You will be able to watch the implosion live here...

The last time a retired sporting arena was imploded things didn't go so well. On Sunday, December 3rd, 2017 the Pontiac Silverdome was to be imploded. People gathered to watch the former home of the Detroit Lions come tumbling to the ground. The dynamite was detonated, the boom was heard...and then nothing.

It wasn't until the next day, after more explosives were added to the structure, that the building finally came down.