Next season will be the last for the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena, a place the team has called home since 1979. They will move to a new $627.5 million venue in the heart of downtown Detroit beginning with the 2017-18 season—and that venue now has a name.
Little Caesars Arena.
The name was announced Thursday by Christopher Ilitch, whose parents, Mike and Marian Ilitch, own the Detroit Red Wings and the Detroit Tigers. The couple founded Little Caesars pizza in 1959 and have expanded the operation into the world’s largest carryout pizza chain.
While the arena is owned by the Detroit Development Authority, it will be managed by Olympia Entertainment—another Ilitch company. This essentially means that one branch of the Ilitch empire will pay another the $120 million naming rights over the next 20 years.
Chris Ilitch, who is president and CEO of Ilitch Holdings Inc., also pointed out the enormous advertising exposure it gives to Little Caesars.
“The company is at a point in its history that it’s literally exploding in growth around the world right now,” he said. “This platform, this brand, it will really help the company.”
While the Ilitch family sees this as a solid investment for brand recognition, fans were not pleased with the new name and immediately took to various social media outlets to share their opinions:
Nicknames have already started pouring in for the new arena, including “Pizzarena,” “The Oven,” “The Slice,” “The Dish,” “The Pie,” “The L.C.,” and “The Ceese.”
this whole arena might as well be named the pizza dome…NO…Gordie was a hockey icon and deserves recognition…I dont know any other arenas named after food
this whole arena might as well be named the pizza dome…NO…Gordie was a hockey icon and deserves recognition…I don’t know any other arenas named after food. It looks like the plans are gonna be pretty sick tho.