Little Caesars Arena guide: Parking, dining, seating and more information (2024)

Kat Stafford,Susan Selasky,Brian McCollum|Detroit Free Press

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Heading to Little Caesars Arena for a concert or a game? Here's everything you need to know about the arena from parking and food to the concert experience.

Where to park

Within the past few years,a handful of new parking garages, decks and surface lots have been built in close proximity to the arena.

Olympia officials have announced new parking options, including anew $24.4-million seven-story parking deck atthe southwest corner of Henry and Park —a formertaxi headquarters next to Harry's Detroit sports bar — thatis to openthe same time as thearena. The deckwill fit 500 vehicles and have about 7,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space.

Where to eat

Little Caesars Arena will feature four full-service restaurants— including the Kid Rock-branded Made in Detroit— all accessible from both inside and outside the venue. During an event, ticket holders will be able to come and go from restaurant to concourse, having their tickets scanned in and out each time.

Food also includes standard arena fare, pop-up specialty stands and, no surprise, three Little Caesars pizza booths.

Here's where you can dine at the arena.

District Market:On the street level and open year-round,District Market is billed as restaurants within a restaurant. There’s Sugar and Brew, a placewith coffee and pastries from Zingerman’s. The Mex n Co station will have burritos,tacos and otheroptions; prices range $11-$13. At the grill area is sausage options including aMoroccan Lamb & Fig version served on a long roll with choice of toppings like roasted red peppers and caramelized onions. Sausages are $11 and natural casing hot dogs are $7. You can make the hot dog a coney for another $2.

Kid Rock’s Made in Detroit:Located on the Woodward Avenue side of the arena. On tap are local beers and craft co*cktails and the menu is described as “classic Detroit and Southern-influenced dishes," according to Delaware North's announcement about the restaurant venture.The restaurant will be open to the public – even on nonevent days – but ticket holders will have access to the arena.

Mike’s Pizza Bar:Atribute to the late Mike Ilitch, will feature artisan-style pizzas. Scott Sadoff, director of operations, says 12-inch pizzas will range $10.95-$12.95. Mike’s Pie is a classic with mushrooms, pepperoni, mozzarella blend for $12. They’ll also have deep dish pies, sandwiches, wraps, baked grinders and appetizers.

Sports & Social Detroit:This sports and entertainment bar with TV's galore boasts typical bar food like chicken wings; nachos topped with chicken or barbacoa (barbecued beef) or pulled pork with classic nacho toppings.An appetizer highlight is the Smashed Avocado with warm poblano queso, fresh avocado, pico de gallo , lime aioli and cotija cheese. It's. $9.75. There are 10 burger options served with fries. Try the Peanut Butter and Jelly Belly burger with a mix of pork belly and beef topped with peanut butter and strawberry jelly on a toasted whole wheat bun. It’s $13.95.

313 Grill Co:From Delaware North, this restaurant features a half pound hot dog wrapped in bacon, deep fried and topped with pepper Jack cheese, fried salami and pickled eggs. Brace yourself, it's $15. Other Delaware North concessions include BBQand Mac and Cheese options. They'll offer a platter with choice of smoked brisket or smoked pulled pork with mac and cheese, Texas toast and cole slaw ($13). A sandwich with cole slaw and Better made chips is $10.50. Plain mac and cheese is $7, or $10 with choice of meat.

Susan Selasky and Brian McCollum

Concert experience

Officials with Olympia Entertainment are touting their new $863 million complex as the nation's most state-of-the-art —designed and built after consultation with facility managers, teams and concert-biz personnel elsewhere.

Here are some of the aspects they've been trumpeting, with details gleaned from talkswith arena officials, promoters, architects and others involved inthe project.

Acoustics

By the time the Palace opened in 1988, sound quality had moved up on the priority list for newly built arenas. That was an evolving mindsetfrom the days when concerts were an afterthought for buildings tossed up as sports-first facilities— including Joe Louis Arena in 1980.

Things have only improved since then, with increased attention on all the little details that can impact acoustics— surfacematerials, seating arrangements, the very shape of the bowl. Using 3D modeling, engineers can virtually tune an arena before a shovel hits the ground.

"The challenge is we’re asking them to do two things: make it loud anddon’t make it loud," says Olympia Entertainment president Tom Wilson. The goal is to "maximize that middle ground, so it’s rocking for a hockey or basketball game, but there's a purity attached to it for a concert. ... Walking that fine line is difficult."

Officials have been pleased following audio test runs, but the first real measure will come with Kid Rock's Tuesday show,when the arena is finally packed with people.

LCA personnel are confident the arena's design will ensure top-end sound, aided by the bowl's steepness— which exposes more reflection-absorbing human bodies —and the overhead "sky deck."

"By bringing the whole space in and tightening it, it should feel like it's a much, much smaller building inside a larger building," says Wilson.

Sightlines

Here again, LCA's relatively steep design will come into play, including an upper tier of "gondola seating" that hangs over the lower deck.

Most all sections of the arena will provide closer views than their comparable areas at the Palace, says Wilson. The bowl's design will also mean up to seven additional feet of floor and side-stage seating.

Another Palace contrast: The lower bowl there holds about 9,000. At Little Caesars, that number jumps to 12,000.

As for total attendance? That will vary from production to production, obviously, but the typical concert setup will allow for crowds of 14,000-15,000— in line with the Palace and Joe. For a show "in the round," capacity could jump to 22,000.

Tech

An $11 million fiber-optic system with 1,000-plus WiFi access points should ensure a steady signal for concertgoers— a relief from recent years when a big gathering could render your smartphone impotent.

The Comcast-installed network wasmodeled in part on a successful system at Atlanta's SunTrust Park.

So when 15,000 young fans pile in for the latest hot teen-pop show, busy Instagramming and Snapchatting and otherwise engaging withthe event via their mobile devices?

"We're confident we'll be able to handle it," says Olympia IT chief John King.

Brian McCollum

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