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The Palace of Auburn Hills (a.k.a. '''The Palace''') is a large Sport s and entertainment venue in Auburn Hills , Michigan , a Suburb of Detroit . Since its completion in 1988 , it has been the home of the Detroit Pistons of the NBA ; since 1998 it has also hosted the Detroit Shock of the WNBA . It was also the home of the now-defunct Detroit Vipers of the IHL ( 1994 - 2001 ), Detroit Safari of the CISL (1994 - 1997 ), and the Detroit Fury of the AFL ( 2001 - 2004 ). It also hosted '' SummerSlam '' in 1993 and '' WCW World War 3 '' in 1997 and 1998 . HISTORY Before the Palace opened, the Pistons had lacked a suitable home venue. From 1957 to 1978 , the team competed in Detroit's Olympia Stadium and Cobo Arena , both considered undersized for NBA purposes. In 1978 , owner Bill Davidson elected not to share the new Joe Louis Arena with the Detroit Red Wings , and instead chose to relocate the team to the Pontiac Silverdome , a venue constructed for Football , where it remained for the next decade. While the Silverdome could accommodate massive crowds, it offered substandard sight lines for basketball viewing. A group led by Davidson built the Palace for the relatively low cost of $ 70 million, using entirely private funding. The Palace's large Seating Capacity (22,076 for Basketball ; up to 23,000 for end-stage Concerts and 24,276 for center-stage concerts) and suburban location have also made it very popular for large concerts and, to a slightly lesser degree, major Boxing matches. The Palace was built with 180 Luxury Suites , considered an exorbitant number when it opened, but it has consistently managed to lease virtually all of them. In December 2005 , The Palace added five underground luxury suites, each 450 square feet and renting for $450,000 per year. Eight more luxury suites, located below arena level, were opened in February 2006 . They range from 800-1,200 square feet and rent for $350,000 annually. The Palace has been used as the basis for the development of other luxury sports arenas elsewhere in North America , but the majority of these were built in downtown locations rather than suburban ones. MALICE AT THE PALACE The Palace was the scene of A Serious Disturbance at an NBA game on November 19 , 2004 . EXTERNAL LINKS |
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