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 76
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.
- Gordie Howe 1928–2016 · ice hockey player, right wing
Memorial
A bronze statue of Howe was unveiled here in 2007 and the west entrance renamed the Gordie Howe Entrance; the arena was demolished after the team moved out in 2017.
- 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.
- Igor Larionov born 1960 · ice hockey center, coach, agent
Played here
Home ice for all three of his Detroit Stanley Cup championships; demolished in 2019.
- 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.
- Henrik Zetterberg born 1980 · ice hockey player, forward, team captain
Played here
His home rink for most of his career, including his 2002 debut and the 2008 Stanley Cup run; demolished after the team moved out in 2017.
- Sergei Fedorov born 1969 · ice hockey center
Played here
His home arena for all three Stanley Cup wins with Detroit; demolished in 2019.
- Brett Hull born 1964 · ice hockey right winger, executive
Played here
Where he won his second Stanley Cup in 2002; 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.
- Valtteri Filppula born 1984 · ice hockey player, centre
Played here
Where he made his NHL debut and won the 2008 Stanley Cup; demolished after the team moved out in 2017.
- Niklas Kronwall born 1981 · ice hockey defenseman
Played here
His home rink for his entire playing career, including the 2008 Stanley Cup run; demolished in 2019.
- Robert Lang born 1970 · ice hockey center
Played here
His home ice for three seasons; demolished in 2019.
- Mikael Samuelsson born 1976 · ice hockey player, right winger
Played here
The Red Wings' home during both his Detroit stints, including the 2008 Stanley Cup run; demolished in 2019.
- Jiří Šlégr born 1971 · ice hockey defenceman, later politician
Played here
The Red Wings' arena during his one championship season in Detroit; demolished in 2019.
- 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.
- Paul Coffey born 1961 · ice hockey defenceman
Played here
Where he won the 1995 Norris Trophy and led Detroit to the Stanley Cup Final; demolished in 2019.
- Curtis Joseph born 1967 · ice hockey goaltender
Played here
His home ice during his two Detroit seasons; demolished in 2019–2020.
- Ted Lindsay 1925–2019 · ice hockey player, left wing, general manager
Memorial
A statue of Lindsay by sculptor Omri Amrany, who also created the Gordie Howe statue, was unveiled here on the arena concourse in 2008.
- Chris Osgood born 1972 · ice hockey goaltender, broadcaster
Played here
His home ice for both stints in Detroit, including the 2008 championship; demolished in 2019.
- Tomas Holmström born 1973 · ice hockey left winger
Played here
Where he played his entire NHL career and retired in January 2013; demolished in 2019.
- Jimmy Howard born 1984 · ice hockey goaltender, broadcaster
Played here
His home rink for most of his Red Wings career; demolished after the team moved out in 2017.
- Vyacheslav Kozlov born 1972 · ice hockey left winger, coach
Played here
His home ice for both Stanley Cup championships; demolished in 2019.
- Dylan Larkin born 1996 · ice hockey center
Played here
Where he debuted for the Red Wings and scored in his first NHL game; demolished in 2019.
- Brian Rafalski born 1973 · ice hockey defenseman
Played here
His entire Red Wings home ice, including the 2008 championship season; demolished in 2019.
- Marek Zidlicky born 1977 · ice hockey defenceman
Played here
Where he scored his memorable overtime debut goal; demolished in 2019.
- Todd Bertuzzi born 1975 · ice hockey winger
Played here
His home rink across both Detroit stints.
- Jonathan Ericsson born 1984 · ice hockey defenceman
Played here
The Red Wings' arena for most of his career, including the 2008 Stanley Cup; demolished in 2019.
- Uwe Krupp born 1965 · ice hockey defenceman, coach
Played here
His home rink during his Red Wings tenure and 2002 Stanley Cup win; demolished after the team moved out in 2017.
- Dmitri Mironov born 1965 · ice hockey defenceman
Played here
The Red Wings' arena during his one championship season; demolished in 2019.
- Tomas Sandström born 1964 · ice hockey right winger
Played here
His only season with Detroit, ending in the 1997 Stanley Cup championship; demolished after the team moved out in 2017.
- 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.
- Tomáš Kopecký born 1982 · ice hockey forward
Played here
Where he won the 2008 Stanley Cup; 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.
- Luc Robitaille born 1966 · ice hockey executive and former player
Played here
Where he won the 2002 Stanley Cup and skated it around the ice.
- Dino Ciccarelli born 1960 · ice hockey player, right winger
Played here
His home arena for four seasons, including the 1995 Stanley Cup Final run; demolished in 2019.
- Johan Franzén born 1979 · ice hockey winger
Played here
His home rink for his entire Red Wings career, including the 2008 Stanley Cup run.
- Jonas Gustavsson born 1984 · ice hockey goaltender
Played here
The Red Wings' arena for his entire Detroit tenure; demolished in 2019.
- 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.
- Anthony Mantha born 1994 · ice hockey player, winger
Played here
His home arena at the start of his Red Wings career, before the move to Little Caesars Arena.
- Petr Mrázek born 1992 · ice hockey goaltender
Played here
His home rink through his main run as the Red Wings' primary goaltender.
- 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.
- Mathieu Schneider born 1969 · ice hockey player, defenseman
Played here
His home arena during his Red Wings seasons; demolished in 2019.
- Justin Abdelkader born 1987 · ice hockey winger
Played here
His home rink for the first part of his career, including the 2008 Stanley Cup win and where he proposed to his girlfriend in 2016.
- Daniel Cleary born 1978 · ice hockey forward, front-office executive
Played here
His home ice for his entire Red Wings career, including the 2008 championship; demolished in 2019.
- Ty Conklin born 1976 · ice hockey goaltender
Played here
The Red Wings' arena for both of his Detroit stints, including his shutout home debut; 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.
- Glen Hanlon born 1957 · ice hockey goaltender, later coach
Played here
The Red Wings' arena for his entire Detroit tenure, including the 1987 and 1988 conference-final runs; 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.
- Greg Johnson 1971–2019 · ice hockey centre
Played here
His home rink across both of his stints with the Red Wings.
- Kirk Maltby born 1972 · ice hockey forward and scout
Played here
His home ice for 14 seasons and all four championships, including his 1,000th career game in 2009; demolished in 2019–2020.
- Brad McCrimmon 1959–2011 · ice hockey defenseman and coach
Played here
His home rink both as a player and later as an assistant coach.
- Larry Murphy born 1961 · ice hockey defenceman, broadcaster
Played here
His home rink through both his Stanley Cup wins with Detroit and into his broadcasting career; demolished after the team moved out in 2017.
- Mike Ramsey born 1960 · ice hockey defenseman
Played here
His home ice during his Detroit seasons; demolished in 2019–2020.
- 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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