For 29 years, the Palace of Auburn Hills was the beating heart of Detroit sports and one of the loudest arenas in the NBA. It hosted three Pistons championship teams, one of the most notorious brawls in league history, and touring legends from Michael Jackson to Pink Floyd — all inside a suburban Michigan arena that its own owner built specifically so he wouldn’t have to share a building with the Red Wings.
The Palace closed in 2017 and was leveled by explosives in 2020, but the story didn’t end with the implosion. This guide covers the arena’s full history and stats, breaks down its most famous moments, and explains what stands on the site today.
Quick Answer
The Palace of Auburn Hills was a 22,076-seat arena in Auburn Hills, Michigan that served as the Detroit Pistons’ home from 1988 to 2017. It hosted three NBA championship teams and the infamous 2004 “Malice at the Palace” brawl, closed when the Pistons moved to Little Caesars Arena, and was demolished by implosion on July 11, 2020. General Motors now owns the site, where auto supplier Piston Automotive — founded by former Pistons star Vinnie Johnson — is building a manufacturing facility.
Key Facts and Capacity
The Palace opened on August 13, 1988, was designed by Rossetti Architects, and cost roughly $90 million to build — a huge sum at the time that made it one of the most advanced arenas in the country. Its address, 6 Championship Drive, wasn’t arbitrary: it was chosen to reflect the six championship banners the Pistons (three) and Detroit Shock (three) eventually raised there.
Capacity varied by event. For Pistons basketball games the arena seated 22,076, making it one of the larger venues in the NBA at the time. For hockey, configured for the Detroit Vipers, capacity was 20,804. For concerts, capacity was flexible from as few as 6,000 for smaller end-stage shows up to roughly 23,000 for full arena-in-the-round setups — a range that let the Palace book everything from intimate acoustic sets to stadium-sized tours.
From Groundbreaking to the Bad Boys Era
Pistons owner Bill Davidson financed the Palace privately because he didn’t want to keep sharing Joe Louis Arena with the Detroit Red Wings, and he wanted a building designed around basketball revenue — luxury suites, club seating, and modern sightlines — rather than a general-purpose civic hall. The gamble paid off almost immediately: the Pistons’ first Palace season ended with the franchise’s first NBA championship in 1989, followed by a repeat title in 1990. That back-to-back run cemented the team’s reputation as the league’s toughest, most physical squad, the ‘Bad Boys.’
The Pistons added a third championship in 2004, giving the Palace the rare distinction of hosting title runs across three different eras of the franchise, separated by more than a decade each.
The Malice at the Palace
The arena’s most infamous night came on November 19, 2004, during a Pistons-Pacers game. A hard foul and shoving match on the court spilled into the stands after a fan threw a drink at Pacers forward Ron Artest, triggering a brawl between players and spectators that spread through the lower bowl. Television cameras caught the chaos live, and the incident — instantly dubbed the ‘Malice at the Palace’ — became one of the defining scandals in modern NBA history.
The league responded with the harshest discipline ever handed down for an on-court incident: nine players were suspended, including a season-long suspension for Artest, costing players tens of millions in combined lost salary. The brawl reshaped NBA policy on arena security, alcohol sales, and the barrier between fans and the court, and it remains the reference point whenever a fan-player altercation happens in any sport.
A Legendary Concert Venue
The Palace wasn’t just a basketball arena — it was one of the Midwest’s premier concert stops for nearly three decades. Sting played its very first event in August 1988, and the venue went on to host Michael Jackson, Pink Floyd, U2 (across three separate tours), Madonna, Prince, and Bob Seger, among dozens of other major acts. Its size and flexible staging made it a regular stop on the biggest arena tours of the 1990s and 2000s.
The final concert at the Palace was held on September 23, 2017, when Michigan native Bob Seger closed out the building — a hometown send-off that mirrored the way the arena had opened with a major touring artist nearly three decades earlier.
Closing, Demolition, and What’s There Today
The Palace played its final Pistons game in the 2016-17 season, and the team officially relocated to Little Caesars Arena in downtown Detroit for the 2017-18 season, part of a broader push to move Detroit’s major sports franchises back into the city. The arena then sat vacant for over two years before it was sold for redevelopment.
On July 11, 2020, Controlled Demolition, Inc. brought down the Palace’s roof and 22 supporting columns using roughly 800 pounds of explosives, reducing the arena to rubble in seconds. The rest of the site was cleared over the following months.
The story of the site didn’t stop there. General Motors has since acquired the former Palace property and is developing it into an automotive supplier campus tied to its nearby Orion Assembly plant. The company building on the site, Piston Automotive, was founded by former Pistons sixth man Vinnie Johnson — meaning a player who won championships on that exact ground is now bringing jobs back to it, this time building parts for GM’s Silverado, Sierra, and Cadillac Escalade rather than banking championships. Production at the new facility is expected to begin in 2027.
Palace of Auburn Hills FAQs
When did the Palace of Auburn Hills open and close?
The Palace opened on August 13, 1988, and closed on October 12, 2017, when the Detroit Pistons relocated to Little Caesars Arena in downtown Detroit.
What was the seating capacity of the Palace of Auburn Hills?
The Palace held 22,076 for Pistons basketball games, 20,804 for hockey, and could be configured for anywhere from 6,000 to roughly 23,000 for concerts, depending on the staging.
What was the ‘Malice at the Palace’?
It was a major player-fan brawl on November 19, 2004, during a Pistons-Pacers game, sparked when a fan threw a drink at Ron Artest. It led to the longest suspensions in NBA history and remains one of the most controversial incidents in American pro sports.
Why did the Palace of Auburn Hills close?
The Pistons’ ownership decided to move the team back into the city of Detroit, relocating to the new Little Caesars Arena for the 2017-18 season. With the Pistons gone, the Palace no longer had an anchor tenant, and it was sold for redevelopment shortly after closing.
When was the Palace of Auburn Hills demolished, and how?
It was demolished on July 11, 2020, in a controlled implosion by Controlled Demolition, Inc., which used roughly 800 pounds of explosives to bring down the roof and the arena’s 22 support columns.
What is on the site of the Palace of Auburn Hills now?
General Motors owns the former Palace property and is developing it as an automotive supplier campus. Piston Automotive, a company founded by former Pistons player Vinnie Johnson, is building a parts-manufacturing facility there tied to GM’s nearby Orion Assembly plant, with production expected to start in 2027.
Where was the Palace of Auburn Hills located?
It sat at 6 Championship Drive in Auburn Hills, Michigan, roughly 30 miles north of downtown Detroit. The address itself referenced the six combined NBA and WNBA championships won there by the Pistons and Detroit Shock.
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