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Let's call a spade a spade: Joe Louis Arena is a dump. Built in 1979, the facility was barely considered state-of-the-art at the time. Olympia Entertainment has shoved seats in every conceivable nook and cranny of that place (little known fact: the obstructed view seats that go for $9 per game used to hold concession stands). It was built primarily to keep the Norris family (who owned the Red Wings at the time) from moving out to Pontiac near the Silverdome. The lease is a sweetheart deal for Olympia Entertainment, paying almost no rent to the City of Detroit (the owners of the building) in exchange for upkeep of the building. The Ilitches have done little in the last 15 years to improve the facility itself: the out of town scoreboards no longer work, the concourse is now filled with obstacles making it hard to maneuver around, and the seats haven't been replaced in the entire 30-year stretch of the lease.