Detroit Red Wings: Plans to demolish Joe Louis Arena Approved

The old barn that sits on the waterfront of 19 Steve Yzerman Drive at the Detroit River is soon to be history. The previous home of the Detroit Red Wings, Joe Louis Arena will be demolished shortly.

If you wanted one final look or to be able to snap another photo now is the time.  The old barn that gave us a lifetime of memories is about to be demolished. The Detroit Red Wings moved to their brand new, state of the art facility in 2017.

Little Caesars Arena is a top notch establishment.  It has yet to create a rich history, but hopefully, in the coming years’ players like Dylan Larkin, Anthony Mantha, Andreas Athanasiou can create similar memories as Gordie Howe, Steve Yzerman, Sergei Fedorov, and Darren McCarty did inside of the Joe.

I’ve always wondered why a riverfront arena didn’t have large windows to see out towards the river.  To me, that was a big-time engineering flaw.  Although the place may have a flaw or two, like the time I was sitting up in the nose bleed seats getting dripped on from a leaky roof.  Yes, that happened to me.  I didn’t complain I shrugged my shoulders and said the old girl needs some tender love and care.

In an article by the associated press, published by CBC.ca they describe the demolition plans;

"Detroit Building Authority Director Tyrone Clifton told the Detroit Free Press that demolition of Joe Louis Arena is expected to begin in the next four to six weeks and finish by the end of the year or early 2020.Clifton said crews will start by disassembling the arena’s interior and then proceed to the exterior by June or July. The  newspaper said Detroit-based Adamo Group is doing the demolition under a $5.9 million contract with the city and there will be no implosion that people might be able to gather to see."

The place just emanated of hockey.  The smell is one that you’d never forget if you ever had the opportunity to endure it. The Detroit Red Wings called Joe Louis Arena home from 1979 until 2017.

If those walls could only talk, in 1980 the NHL all-star game was held inside of the arena.  It was the return of Detroit Red Wings legend Gordie Howe; all be it he was wearing a Hartford Whalers uniform.  I think the place is still cheering; the footage will give you goosebumps still today.  The fans were screaming so loud for Mr. Hockey; I wouldn’t be surprised it created a small earthquake.

Joe Louis arena was where Detroit Red Wings legend Steve Yzerman stole the puck from the great Wayne Gretzky at the Wings blue-line and a moment later blasted a slap-shot past Blues goaltender Jon Casey in double overtime of game 7.  The Wings eliminated the Blues 1-0 with that tally.

It was where Darren McCarty pumped Claude Lemieux.  It was payback for the dirty hit on Kris Draper.  Lemieux hit Draper from behind into the open bench door.  Draper needed a bunch of dental work and missed a lot of time.  McCarty made Claude pay by hammering him and bloodying Lemieux by the time it was all over.

In 1997, the Detroit Red Wings were fortunate enough to raise the Stanley Cup for the first time in 42 years which was the longest drought in the league at the time.  The sweep of the Flyers was completed on home ice in Detroit.

How about the Nancy Kerrigan “whyyyyyyy” expression?  Yep, it was inside of Joe Louis Arena where the “whack” heard around the world happened.  Although it wasn’t Tonya Harding directly that delivered the blow she may or may not have orchestrated it.

Joe Louis Arena held the 1987 NHL Entry Level draft.  It was the first time the draft was held in the United States.  The arena was of course named after the fierce heavyweight champion boxer Joe Louis, who took up residence and grew up in Detroit.

I was very fortunate to take in many games over the years. The two evenings that stand out to me most were being in attendance for both Steve Yzerman and Nicklas Lidstrom‘s jersey retirements.  Steve Yzerman is my favorite of all-time and Nicklas Lidstrom isn’t very far behind.  We would love to hear your memories, please comment and share them with us.  People may consider it a dump, but it was our dump, and I miss that place very much. Thanks for the memories.