The cleaned-up version of the Olympia Stadium, located at Grand River & McGraw. You can see the Lee Plaza in the background. Not only was the Olympia a great hockey arena, it was an excellent venue for concerts. The accoustics were unbelievably good. I saw several legendary shows there: Among them were Paul Mcartney & Wings, Yes, and George Harrison. Also, it was the home of the "Ice Follies" and the "Shrine Circus" for many years.
Here is another angle of the Olympia exterior. Opened in the 1927, the first event ever held at the Olympia was a rodeo. Ticket prices were $2.00 for the best seats.
A blurry, but rare old color picture of the Olympia.
Another colorization of the Olympia.
The interior of the Olympia.
Sadly, the Olympia was demolished in 1982. The building was so soundly built that it defied implosion technology and had to be torn apart one brick at a time.
A Michigan National Guard Armory now stands where the Olympia once stood.
A shot of the back yard of the Michigan National Guard Armory.
The much rumored Olympia clone arena which would stand on the site of the long gone Tuller Hotel, and would be integrated into the abandoned United Artists Theatre / office building. For some juicy tidbits on how the Olympia was born and how it died, go here.
Here is an aerial view. Does this look like enough room?
Mr. Ilitch, why not reuse a portion of Tiger Stadium as your new Olympia? It would put the hockey fans "right on top of the game" as it did for baseball. You could do it for way less money, heck, 1/2 the seats are already there and the fans would love it!
Put it in front of the abandoned Train Station? Why not.