Video: Detroit’s Pistons have a nice new locker room to tie shoes in
A good chunk of the NBA's fandom may not remember this turn, but when the Detroit Pistons moved to the Palace of Auburn Hills at the start of the 1988-89 season, the move was heralded as the sort of switch that would convince free agents to want to be a part of the Pistons franchise. The Palace wasn't just nice by new stadium and/or expansion standards, but it set a precedent that a decade's worth of stadium creators would have no choice but to follow.
Twenty-three years later, with the Pistons locked out and the stadium in bad need of an internal upgrade, new owner Tom Gores set to making the team's locker room pretty all over again:
This upgrade coincides with the team's new practice facility upgrade, the hiring of a competent coach in Lawrence Frank, and new owner Tom Gores' influence. Detroit may have a while to go to make up for four years' worth of bad signings, but a pretty place to sit while changing is a good start.
