REMEMBERING THE PALACE

This essay is not about Buckingham Palace in London England. This is about The Palace of Auburn Hills in Michigan which was considered one of the best venues of its type in the world.

The Palace of Auburn Hills opened in 1988. Mr. Bill Davidson and some of his associates owned the Palace and the Detroit Pistons basketball team. The Palace became the new home of the Pistons. Within a few years the Pistons became one of the best teams in professional basketball. They went on to win two championships in row. The head coach of the team was Chuck Daly. The stars of the championship teams of 1989 and 1990 were Isiah Thomas, Vinnie Johnson, Dennis Rodman, Bill Lambeer and Joe Dumars. The Pistons also won another championship in 2004 under head coach Larry Brown.

The Palace was a multi-purpose arena. Besides sporting events there were many very entertaining concerts performed by some of the most popular entertainers of the time. The first performance I saw shortly after the arena's opening was Elton John. In the 1990's I saw Paul McCartney, Billy Joel, Rod Stewart, Barry Manilow, and my personal favorite Neil Diamond among others. In my opinion all the performers put on great shows. They had special stages and lighting, many musician's and backup singers. The audience would always get their money's worth.

The Palace of Auburn Hills had it all. Great owners, beautiful state of the art arena. Very good concerts. There was always a big crowd. A place to socialize, see people and be seen.

The Palace is gone now. A few years after Mr. Davidsons death his family chose to sell the arena and the team. The new owner's chose to move the team to Downtown Detroit. Maybe the concert business was not the same anymore. They thought the land could be put to better use. The team and stadium belonged to new owners. They chose to demolish the Palace of Auburn Hills.

The Palace is gone but I will always remember the championships, great concerts and good times.

WRITTEN BY

RON TURETT