Visiting Detroit? Read This Thread!

[sarcastro]

This is going to be the mothership thread for all info for and questions from posters visiting Detroit.

Visiting Detroit?

Scared to death because you've heard Detroit is a post-apocalyptic dead zone full of orcs and zombies and mutant land-roving jellyfish?

Read this thread and your fears will be put to rest. Probably.

Here are a couple of old threads with good info on bars and restaurants:

http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=872648
http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=845353

Click to read more...

 

[Fugu]

This forum needs one huge thread about this stuff because it seems like we have a new one every week.

This link right here has a lot of good tips and info: http://fans.redwings.nhl.com/community/topic/3099-visitors-guide-to-hockeytown/

Good link. We can add our own recommendations.

Jellyfish? I thought it was the giant octopuses that were the problem.

 

[sarcastro]

Good link. We can add our own recommendations.

Jellyfish? I thought it was the giant octopuses that were the problem.

That's just for the opposing players. The fans are more or less safe...or are they?

As far as hotels go, opposing teams usually stay at one of the casinos during the playoffs because the security is top-notch. If it's good enough for them, it's probably good enough for visiting fans if they're able to afford a room. I'm pretty sure they run shuttles to and from the Joe on game nights as well.

 

[MissNHL]

I'm going to copy and paste the info from the link I posted. I actually helped create that thread over there when I was a Mod there.

Joe Louis Arena and Ticket Info​

Address
Joe Louis Arena
600 Civic Center Drive
Detroit, Michigan 48226
Phone: 313-396-7444


Directions
Joe Louis Arena is located at 600 Civic Center Drive: on the western banks of the Detroit River and next to Cobo Hall.

From Pontiac, Troy, Flint and Northern Suburbs:
Take I-75 Southbound to I-375/Civic Center until it ends (about a mile). Head West on Jefferson and stay in the left lane. Go underneath Cobo Center and exit on West Jefferson. You'll be directly in front of the Joe Louis Arena Parking Structure.

From Southwest Detroit, Toledo and Downriver Suburbs:
Take I-75 Northbound to the Lodge Freeway (M-10) South. Take to Lodge Southbound to the West Jefferson/Joe Louis exit. This exit will place you directly in front of the parking garage.

From Mt. Clemens, Grosse Pointe, Port Huron and Eastern Suburbs:
Follow I-94 West to the Lodge Freeway (M-10) Southbound. Take the Lodge to the West Jefferson/Joe Louis exit. This exit will place you directly in front of the parking garage.

From Lansing, Livonia, Westland and Western Suburbs:
(From Lansing area, take I-96 Eastbound to I-275 South) Take I-96 (Jeffries Freeway) Eastbound to the Lodge Freeway (M-10)/Civic Center exit. Follow the Lodge Southbound to the West Jefferson/Joe Louis exit. This exit will place you directly in front of the parking garage.

From Bloomfield, Farmington Hills, Central and Northwestern Detroit and Oakland County Suburbs:
Follow Southbound Lodge (M10) to West Jefferson/Joe Louis exit. This exit will place you directly in front of the parking garage.

From Ann Arbor, Dearborn, Inkster and Wayne:
Follow Eastbound I-94 (Ford Freeway) to the Lodge (M-10) Southbound. Exit at the West Jefferson/ Joe Louis exit. This exit will place you directly in front of the parking garage.


Parking
The Joe Louis Arena garage on W. Jefferson is connected to the building. Other public parking is available in garages downtown, from which you can take the People Mover to the arena.


Joe Louis Arena Tours
* Tours are given September - March on Wednesdays and Fridays at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on non-event days only.
* Tour includes a behind the scenes look at the Alumni Room, Olympia Club, Media Lounge, Press Box, a Supersuite, and the visitors' Locker Room.
* Tours are $6 for adults and $3 for children (ages 5-17). Children under 5 are free.
* Joe Louis Arena tour tickets can be purchased at the Joe Louis Arena Box Office
* Group tours may be scheduled all year round by advance reservation only.
* Groups must have at least 15 members to be eligible
* For more information or for available tour dates, please call 313-471-6677.


Box Office
Box Office hours are from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Hours are extended on event and game nights. Tickets for upcoming events at Joe Louis Arena, Cobo Arena, and the Fox Theatre are on sale through the second period of all home games at the box office window on the concourse level behind section 101. Refunds or exchanges are not available for any game for any reason. A map of the arena is located here.


Banned Items
Banned items from Joe Louis Arena include, but are not limited to, bottles, cans, liquid containers, coolers, outside food and beverages, weapons of any kind, laser light pointers, flagpoles, air horns, and umbrellas. To ensure the safety of all fans, any carry-in parcels may be checked by Joe Louis Arena Security or prohibited items.


Cameras
Cameras under 80mm are allowed inside Joe Louis Arena on game day. Cameras with lenses that extend 80mm and detachable lenses over 80mm will not be allowed inside Joe Louis Arena on game day. Video cameras and flash photography are NOT allowed.


Doors Open
Doors open one hour before every game.


Additional Tickets
Additional tickets for any game may be purchased (based on availability) at the Joe Louis Arena Box Office, any TicketMaster outlet, by calling 248-645-6666, or online at www.DetroitRedWings.com

Things to Do/See While in Detroit​

Places to Visit
Hockeytown Authentics
Greenfield Village (Dearborn)
Henry Ford Museum (Dearborn)
Detroit Institute of Arts Museum
Detroit Historical Society
Detroit Science Center
Casinos - Greektown, Motor City Casino, MGM Grand
Erebus (in October – World’s Largest Haunted House)
Campus Martius Park (outdoor skating in winter)
The Heidelberg Project


Places to Eat
Hockeytown Café (shuttle to and from home games)
Hard Rock Café
Cheli’s Chili Bar (shuttle to and from home games)
Nemo’s (shuttle to and from home games)
Andiamos
Opus One
Lafyette Coney Island


Bars
Old Shillelagh (shuttle to and from home games)
Tom's Oyster Bar (shuttle to and from home games)
Cobo Joe's
Bookies Bar & Grille
Detroiter Bar (Shuttle to and from home games)

Tips​

Park on Cobo roof – cheaper
Depending on the length of your stay, rent a car instead of taking a cab
Greektown Casino and Hotel has a parking garage that is usually free. If not free, parking ranges from $10-$20. However, if you have a Greektown Players card, parking is always free, just flash the card if they are charging a fee to park. From Greektown you can take the people mover.

 

[doof27]

Where do most nhl teams stay when playing in Detroit.

L.A. Fan here going to the Joe for my first time since moving here, trying to see if there is a particular hotel that most teams use for road games? Thanks for any input

 

[Sentinel]

Cultural Tours of Detroit

"Detroit's History and Architecture" Car Tours.
Mod: deleted.

 

[WingsFan95]

I visited all the well known bars with the shuttle, Hockeytown Cafe is better than I remember.

Also for those wondering, Detroit is quite clean near the border.

 

[redwing471]

L.A. Fan here going to the Joe for my first time since moving here, trying to see if there is a particular hotel that most teams use for road games? Thanks for any input

Athenium - Greek Town is where most opposing teams stay.

There are also some good micro-breweries worth visiting downtown if you enjoy that.

Detroit Beer Company
1529 Broadway Street, Detroit, MI

Atwater Block Brewery
237 Joseph Campau Street, Detroit, MI

Motor City Brewing Works (Best one in my opinion but not 'walk-able' from downtown. At least I wouldn't advise it. )
470 West Canfield Street, Detroit, MI

Greektown parking is the way to go also. If you know you are coming in, get the card for free parking...

 

[GopherState]

I'm heading out to Detroit next week for a wedding - any suggestions for something to do on a Friday afternoon?

 

[Heaton]

I'm heading out to Detroit next week for a wedding - any suggestions for something to do on a Friday afternoon?

Where is the wedding exactly?

 

[GopherState]

Where is the wedding exactly?

The wedding is in Royal Oak but I will be in Detroit proper Friday and have a few hours to kill before the bachelor party.

 

[sarcastro]

Casinos maybe, or if the Tigers are playing Comerica is a nice ballpark even if you're not a Tigers fan. You can buy a cheap ticket and wander around the concourse watching the game from wherever you want.

 

[redwing471]

The wedding is in Royal Oak but I will be in Detroit proper Friday and have a few hours to kill before the bachelor party.

Micro breweries listed above. Casino's if that floats your boat. If you have a passport you can go to Canada. There's a casino there as well as some other options for entertainment.

Royal Oak downtown is also a pretty fun place to hang out. Have a safe trip...

 

[GopherState]

Casinos maybe, or if the Tigers are playing Comerica is a nice ballpark even if you're not a Tigers fan. You can buy a cheap ticket and wander around the concourse watching the game from wherever you want.

Got to be honest, that side of downtown when the Tigers aren't playing is very dead. Tried to go to Chelli's Chili and a couple other places but everything was closed.

Did really enjoy Metro Detroit and Windsor though!

 

[SOMFTW]

What if you're moving to Detroit?

 

[sarcastro]

What if you're moving to Detroit?

Depends on what you want to know. Do you know where you're moving yet or are you trying to find a place?

You'll be able to find a great deal on a house no matter where you're moving, so congrats on that.

 

[Brodie]

if you're moving here, it will depend on where you live. It would be hard for someone in Rochester to advise someone moving to Dearborn on things to do Just know that public transportation is practically non-existent and you will be driving everywhere.

 

[Jeffrey Lebowski]

My girlfriend lived near Detroit and I have been there countless times visiting her family and such. I've been downtown many times (going to the Joe, Comerica Park, saw a show at the Magic Stick, the ice rink downtown in the winter... forgot what it was called). Well, this past visit, we went to Greektown, which I had never been or even really heard about, and I was thoroughly impressed by it. Delicious food, friendly people, very clean.

As a non-native, I had a great time there and I recommend anyone who's driving through or visiting Detroit to go there. Greektown Casino is right there too if you're into the whole gambling thing.

 

[SOMFTW]

Do you know where you're moving yet or are you trying to find a place?

I took a couple of weekend trips to Detroit (from Chicago) to look for places. Everyone that I talked to said that I should be going to Royal Oak because that's where "people like me" live, whatever that means.

My other half found and has her heart set on a loft in Midtown. She keeps droning on about how its a new experience and we've always lived in the burbs. She'll be working for the DMC, so there's some reduced rent incentive there. I'll be working downtown as well.

My big concern is safety, though. You never know what kind of trouble you can get yourself into around there.

Any and all feedback is welcome.

 

[MissNHL]

I took a couple of weekend trips to Detroit (from Chicago) to look for places. Everyone that I talked to said that I should be going to Royal Oak because that's where "people like me" live, whatever that means.

My other half found and has her heart set on a loft in Midtown. She keeps droning on about how its a new experience and we've always lived in the burbs. She'll be working for the DMC, so there's some reduced rent incentive there. I'll be working downtown as well.

My big concern is safety, though. You never know what kind of trouble you can get yourself into around there.

Any and all feedback is welcome.

Doesn't matter where you live. Crime happens every where, even in the nicest and safest neighborhoods. Be aware of your surroundings and those around you is what keeps you safe.


Royal Oak is nice and I don't put a "type" on who goes or lives in Royal Oak. Downtown Royal Oak is a big bar scene and always busy on the weekends.

 

[De Montreal]

Hello,

Me and three of my friends are having a roadtrip in two weeks: from Quebec to Détroit, to Cleveland, to Toronto and back to Quebec. We are planning on three ball games, first in Detroit versus the Indians, then in Cleveland versus the Mariners and finally on Toronto against the almighty Royals.

We will be in Detroit for two or three days, most probably two. On the first day we will be looking for a place to stay and that's it mostly, because of the long roadtrip. On the next day (a saturday) there's the ball game, but what else should we do?

Something cheap, cause we are poor students. I read this tread and Hockey authentics and Hard Rock sounds like must.

Anything else that is free or really cheap? Any indication of good place to park our car for the night (and not have it be destroyed... yeah I heard things ), hotels/motels suggestions?

Should I carry a knife?

 

[naihlflames]

Hello,

Me and three of my friends are having a roadtrip in two weeks: from Quebec to Détroit, to Cleveland, to Toronto and back to Quebec. We are planning on three ball games, first in Detroit versus the Indians, then in Cleveland versus the Mariners and finally on Toronto against the almighty Royals.

We will be in Detroit for two or three days, most probably two. On the first day we will be looking for a place to stay and that's it mostly, because of the long roadtrip. On the next day (a saturday) there's the ball game, but what else should we do?

Something cheap, cause we are poor students. I read this tread and Hockey authentics and Hard Rock sounds like must.

Anything else that is free or really cheap? Any indication of good place to park our car for the night (and not have it be destroyed... yeah I heard things ), hotels/motels suggestions?

Should I carry a knife?

Two suggestions if you are college students. #1. Spend a day in Ann Arbor and hang out around the University of Michigan campus. It's only about 30 miles away and a great place to visit. #2 If you are going from Detroit to Cleveland and you like roller coasters, plan a travel day and stop and spend a day at Cedar Point in Sandusky Ohio. It is right on the path from Detroit to Cleveland and literally has the best collection of roller coasters in the World.

 

[wingnutjeff]

That is a definite on the Cedar point trip. I have soooooo many good memories of that place.

 

[De Montreal]

Thanks for the suggestions! We sure will check the campus as we planned to stop at a Campus near Ste-Catharines in Ontario too.

The amusements park is a good idea but it seems a bit pricey as we are really poor. But I checked out the site and it seems there is also hotels out there... 30$ for a night and ticket admission? This seems too much of a good deal to be true?

 

[GOkings11]

Kings fan visiting JLA in December

My family and I are going to be flying to Detroit from LA to see the Kings play the Wings on December 17. I was hoping you guys could help me out with picking a decently priced hotel near the arena. Also, if there are any fun hockey related things to see/do while in town, I would love to hear them.

What is the best way to go about getting tickets. We will need 4 tickets, preferably between $30-75 per ticket. We don't mind sitting up high.

Thanks!