Little Caesar Arena in Detroit - an industry-firsts, state-of-the-art facility - received the prestigious Sports Facility of the Year award at the 2018 Sports Business Awards Ceremony. It is already on track to be one of the busiest arenas in the world with 2.3 million guests attending more than 150 ticketed events already, including for the Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Pistons.

ENERVEX was a participant in this $650 million mixed-use development. Due to aesthetic goals and space limitations, the six condensing ClearFire water heaters had to be common vented 150 feet through a large parking garage to the outdoors. A venting project this complex and of this magnitude clearly required the expertise and track-record of someone like ENERVEX.

With the assistance of Mechanical Resource Group and ENERVEX, the consulting engineer, SSR, designed and specified a 36" diameter ENERVEX PowerStack Chimney System with mechanical draft control - the industry's only integrated venting solution of this size listed to UL1738 for condensing appliances - to provide the venting system. ENERVEX Michigan teamed up with the contractor, Limbach, to manage the project and the installation. ENERVEX's solution included:

• A PowerStack EPS1 Chimney System with six 16" connectors & one 36" common stack with graphite gasket sealed joints, listed to UL1738 and pressures up to 60"WC and temperatures up to 1400 degF.
• A TDF 620 Power Venter inline fan with variable speed and an EBC 30 Modulating Controller to monitor and maintain perfect draft.
• Six 16" Modulating Overdraft Dampers to control the connector draft for the individual water heater.

About the Little Ceasar Arena

Little Caesars Arena is one of more than a dozen developments launched by the llitch organization in The District Detroit since 2015. More than $1.4 billion in development is underway or planned, setting the stage for additional retail, office and residential projects. Development in The District Detroit has already created more than 20,000 construction and construction-related jobs and more than 3,000 permanent jobs after the opening of Little Caesars Arena, two-thirds of which were filled by Detroiters. These future projects will continue to grow the city's economy and create new opportunities for Detroit and for Michigan.

The construction of Little Caesars Arena positioned Detroit as the only city in America that houses all four of its professional sports teams in an urban core - all within walking distance. Home to the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Red Wings, Detroit Pistons and Detroit Lions - The District Detroit represents the greatest density of professional sports teams in one downtown core in the country. 

Little Caesars Arena exemplifies modernization with its deconstructed model. This first-of-its kind implementation blurs traditional physical and experiential spaces, with interior streets in the street-level Via concourse acting as a retail galleria with offices, four full-service restaurants, amenities and rich history. The design highlights the Ilitch organization's focus to look beyond the typical arena to positively impact the broader community.

The Ilitch organization's vision for what Little Caesars Arena could be drove it to deliver much more than a state-of-the-art facility - to create something very special and highlight innovative. That systematic approach to innovation and fan experience is evident throughout the facility, including signature public and premium spaces, the BELFOR Training Center, unique heritage elements, a 600-foot long projection jewel skin, one of the largest center-hung scoreboards in the world, 3-D image mapping, a versatile sky deck, over 1,300 display screens and more.

• The Chevrolet Plaza is an inviting outdoor space complete with a 900-square foot video board and technology that can host pre-game fan interactive activities or other community events for up to 3,000 people.

• The Michigan First Gondolas feature semi-private boxes designed to allow groups to entertain from the most unique vantage point imaginable. Perched above the crowd, directly over the action, the gondola provides guests an experience that few venues can provide.

• There are seven additional options for premium seating at Little Caesars Arena: The Comerica Players Club, East Club, Rehmann Club, Huntington Legends Club, East and West Sideline Club and Labatt Blue Club.

• The BELFOR Training Center, located beneath the Chevrolet Plaza, is the official practice facility of the Red Wings and is also home to Little Caesars Amateur Hockey. Established by Mike and Marian Ilitch in 1968, the Little Caesars Amateur Hockey program celebrated its 50th anniversary season in 2017-18 and has provided opportunities for tens of thousands of youngsters to play the great game of hockey over the years.

• Among many other features that celebrate Detroit's great sports and entertainment heritage, the arena's upper level concourse includes its own interactive experience - The Ring of Honor, which features three touch screen monitors that pay homage to the Detroit Red Wings' 11 Stanley Cup teams, and the Detroit Pistons' three NBA championship teams.

• The jewel skin, also located on the upper concourse, is a one-of-a-kind video system using 12 laser projectors to turn the façade of the upper bowl into a constantly changing media panorama. It has become one of the facility's signature design elements, immersing fans the moment they arrive through programmable video and graphic content that can be quickly transformed depending on the event.

• Little Caesars Arena's center-hung scoreboard measures more than 5,100 square feet and is the largest seamless center-hung system in the world. It features a continuous display connecting all four sides with each side measuring approximately 28 feet high by 43.5 feet wide. Combined with the under-mount displays to appeal to fans sitting closer to the action, the center-hung display includes approximately 11 million LEDs.

• Image mapping, a new projection that allows the creation of 3-D images that is displayed on the ice and basketball court, was also incorporated in the Inaugural Season at Little Caesars Arena.

• A total of 45 LED displays featuring more than 13,500 square feet and more than 16.5 million LEDs were installed in and around the new arena before its opening.

• Little Caesars Arena features a world-class theatrical lighting package, highlighted by a first-of-its-kind LED lighting grid that provides Red Wings and Pistons players with the best sports lighting possible, and creates an active, animated ceiling for events of all types. Using the ceiling's wire mesh as a scrim, the lighting can be used to engage the visitor, create different moods and project logos, advertising and other branding.

Source: The Official Site of the Detroit Red Wings