Game or concert at Little Caesars Arena? Here's how to spend the day around it

Game day or show day

1. 1

   15:00

   Grand Circus Park

   Detroit – Downtown

   Start in the heart of the theater district: this half-circle park is a surviving piece of Judge Augustus Woodward's 1807 radial city plan, drawn after the fire of 1805. The Fox Theatre and the David Whitney Building ring it, with summer concerts and a winter ice rink.

   ↓ A 5-minute walk north on Woodward.

2. 2
   

   15:30

   Comerica Park

   Downtown

   Home of the Detroit Tigers since 2000: tiger sculptures, team-history displays and skyline views. On game days, walk around after the gates open instead of rushing in for the first pitch; ballpark tours have their own availability.

   ↓ A 4-minute walk to Brush Street.

3. 3
   

   16:00

   Ford Field

   Downtown

   This indoor NFL stadium has been home to the Detroit Lions since 2002, and it folds part of an older warehouse into its design, tying modern sports architecture to Detroit's industrial fabric. Aretha Franklin sang the national anthem here at Super Bowl XL in 2006.

   ↓ About a 10-minute walk north into Brush Park.

4. 4

   16:30

   Brush Park

   Detroit – Brush Park

   Once a grand Victorian neighborhood just north of downtown: from the 1850s Detroit's wealthiest families built ornate mansions here, then decades of decline left only a fraction standing. Today restored landmarks like the Ransom Gillis House mix with new construction; it's a lived-in neighborhood, so just walk its streets.

   ↓ About a 10-minute walk west to Woodward Avenue.

5. 5
   

   17:15

   Fox Theatre

   Downtown

   C. Howard Crane's 1928 movie palace now hosts major concerts and stage productions; the Ilitch family bought and restored it in the late 1980s and moved their company offices in. You'll see the inside at a show or an announced tour, but the Woodward facade is always yours.

   ↓ One minute, across Woodward.

6. 6

   17:30

   St. John's Episcopal Church

   Detroit – Downtown

   The oldest church still standing on Woodward Avenue went up in 1861 in Gothic Revival style, founded and largely paid for by Henry P. Baldwin, later Michigan's governor and a U.S. senator. This stretch of Woodward was once called Piety Hill for its cluster of grand churches. It's an active parish, and you can take in the facade from the sidewalk.

   ↓ About a 7-minute walk to Park Avenue, next to the arena.

7. 7
   

   18:00

   Basan

   Midtown

   Dinner in the historic Eddystone, steps from the arena: a robata grill anchors the kitchen, and per the official site the name comes from a mythological fire-breathing rooster, a nod to food cooked over the grill's fiery breath. Traffic picks up on concert and game nights, so book ahead.

   ↓ A 2-minute walk to the arena doors.

8. 8
   

   19:30

   Little Caesars Arena

   Midtown

   The main event: opened in 2017, the arena is home to the Red Wings and the Pistons and the city's big arena concerts. The specific production and your seat shape the experience a lot, so check the seating setup on your ticket.

   ↓ About a 10-minute walk south on Woodward, or the QLINE from Sproat Street to Grand Circus.

9. 9
   

   22:30

   Tin Roof Detroit

   Downtown / Stadium District

   Wind down with live music next to Comerica Park: Tin Roof spreads performances, drinks and bar food across three levels, with a rooftop patio and a big ground-level outdoor area. Its music calendar and the stadium schedule set the mood together.