Concert halls & amphitheaters / Downtown riverfront
Joe Louis Arena
Closed – archive entry · 2017
A former downtown riverfront arena (1979–2017), home of the Detroit Red Wings and for almost four decades Detroit's largest indoor concert room.
01 / The story of this place
Make time for these
Joe Louis Arena opened on December 12, 1979 as the home of the Detroit Red Wings and hosted its first concert, Rush, on February 17, 1980. For almost four decades it was Detroit's largest indoor concert room, holding up to 21,666 for concerts, with shows by Bruce Springsteen, Prince, Lady Gaga and many others. The last concert was the radio show “Summer Jamz 20!” on July 23, 2017, and the last ticketed event (WWE Live) was on July 29, 2017, after the Red Wings moved to Little Caesars Arena.
- Red Wings home from 1979
- Up to 21,666 for concerts
- First concert: Rush, 1980
Famous Detroiters
Famous people tied to this place 36
Lexicon entries for the people who lived, worked, performed or liked to spend time here.
- Joe Louis 1914–1981 · boxer, world heavyweight champion
Memorial
The riverfront home of the Red Wings, named for the champion; it closed in 2017 and was torn down in 2019–2020.
- Dominik Hašek born 1965 · ice hockey goaltender
Played here
Home ice for both of his Stanley Cup runs with the Red Wings; demolished in 2019.
- Pavel Datsyuk born 1978 · ice hockey forward
Played here
The Red Wings' home for his entire Detroit career, including both Stanley Cup runs; demolished in 2019.
- Viacheslav Fetisov born 1958 · ice hockey defenseman
Played here
Home ice of the Red Wings' Russian Five and the 1997 and 1998 championship teams; demolished in 2019–2020.
- Steve Yzerman born 1965 · ice hockey center, general manager
Played here
His home arena for his entire playing career, all three Stanley Cup wins and his 2007 number retirement; the arena's address was later renamed Steve Yzerman Drive in his honor. Demolished in 2019.
- Sergei Fedorov born 1969 · ice hockey center
Played here
His home arena for all three Stanley Cup wins with Detroit; demolished in 2019.
- Nicklas Lidström born 1970 · ice hockey defenseman, executive
Played here
His home ice for all twenty NHL seasons and all four Stanley Cup runs; demolished in 2019.
- Mike Modano born 1970 · ice hockey center
Played here
Where he closed out his career for his hometown team; demolished in 2019.
- Gustav Nyquist born 1989 · ice hockey forward
Played here
His home ice for the first part of his Detroit career; demolished in 2019–2020.
- Katie Smith born 1974 · basketball guard, coach
Played here
Site of the deciding Game 5 of the 2006 WNBA Finals, won by the Shock; demolished in 2019–2020.
- Adrian Dantley born 1955 · basketball player, coach
Played here
His home arena before the Pistons moved to the Palace in 1988.
- Thomas Hearns born 1958 · boxer, champion in five weight divisions
Played here
Where he knocked out Pipino Cuevas for his first world title in August 1980.
- Brendan Shanahan born 1969 · ice hockey forward, executive
Played here
His home ice for all three Stanley Cup runs with the Red Wings; demolished in 2019.
- Chris Chelios born 1962 · ice hockey defenseman
Played here
His home rink as a Red Wing; closed in 2017, demolished in 2019–2020.
- Scotty Bowman born 1933 · ice hockey coach
Worked here
Home of his three Cup-winning Red Wings teams; the 2002 Cup was clinched here. Closed in 2017, demolished in 2019–2020.
- Curtis Joseph born 1967 · ice hockey goaltender
Played here
His home ice during his two Detroit seasons; demolished in 2019–2020.
- Tomáš Tatar born 1990 · ice hockey forward
Played here
His home ice for most of his Detroit career; demolished in 2019–2020.
- Kris Draper born 1971 · ice hockey forward and executive
Played here
His home ice for all 17 seasons and all four championships; his retirement was announced here in 2011. Demolished in 2019–2020.
- Tomáš Jurčo born 1992 · ice hockey forward
Played here
His NHL home rink during his time with the Red Wings; demolished in 2019.
- Rick Mahorn born 1958 · basketball player, coach, broadcaster
Played here
Home arena of the "Bad Boys" Pistons during his championship run; the Pistons played there before moving to the Palace in 1988.
- Mark Howe born 1955 · ice hockey defenseman and executive
Played here
Where he played his final NHL season, reaching the 1995 Stanley Cup Final; demolished in 2019–2020.
- Václav Nedomanský born 1944 · ice hockey forward
Played here
The Red Wings' new arena for the second half of his Detroit tenure; demolished in 2019.
- Gerard Gallant born 1963 · ice hockey player and coach
Played here
His home rink for his entire Red Wings career; demolished in 2019.
- Jiří Hudler born 1984 · ice hockey forward
Played here
His NHL home rink, including the 2008 Stanley Cup championship run; demolished in 2019.
- Derian Hatcher born 1972 · ice hockey defenseman
Played here
His home rink during his season with the Red Wings; demolished in 2019–2020.
- Mike Ilitch 1929–2017 · entrepreneur, founder of Little Caesars, sports team owner
Related place
Riverfront home of the Red Wings during all four Ilitch-era Stanley Cup seasons; closed in 2017 and demolished afterward.
- Vladimir Konstantinov born 1967 · ice hockey defenseman
Played here
His home rink throughout his NHL career; closed in 2017, demolished in 2019–2020.
- Mike Vernon born 1963 · ice hockey goaltender
Played here
His home rink in Detroit and scene of the 1997 Cup clincher; closed in 2017, demolished in 2019–2020.
- Bob Probert 1965–2010 · ice hockey forward, enforcer
Played here
His home rink as a player, and where fans scattered part of his ashes in the penalty box at the arena's final Red Wings game in 2017.
- Ken Holland born 1955 · hockey executive, former goaltender
Worked here
The Red Wings' home during his playing, scouting and GM years; closed in 2017, demolished in 2019–2020.
- Darren McCarty born 1972 · ice hockey forward
Played here
Where he scored the 1997 Cup-winning goal and the overtime winner on Fight Night; demolished in 2019–2020.
- Jim Devellano born 1943 · hockey executive
Worked here
The Red Wings' home during his rebuilding years and the Cup era; demolished in 2019–2020.
- Hilmer Kenty born 1955 · boxer, WBA lightweight champion
Played here
Where he beat Ernesto España for the WBA lightweight title, a few months after the arena opened.
- Budd Lynch 1917–2012 · hockey broadcaster, public-address announcer
Worked here
Where he was public-address announcer for 27 years; closed in 2017 and demolished in 2019–2020.
- Bruce Martyn born 1929 · hockey radio broadcaster
Worked here
His broadcast home from 1979; demolished in 2019–2020.
- Karen Newman · singer
Performed here
The Red Wings' riverfront arena, where she sang the anthem for decades; it closed in 2017 and was demolished in 2019–2020.
Sources & fact check · Checked: 2026-09-25
An independently written bilingual guide. This collection is not an attendance-based ranking.
03 / Events
Events at this place
Published events automatically linked from our event guide. Times are local to the venue.
We have no published upcoming events linked to this place yet. That does not mean the venue has no events; check its official calendar too.
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