Henry Ford Detroit Pistons Performance Center (Credit: Brian Sevald (NBAE/Getty))
DETROIT, Michigan — The Detroit Pistons yesterday opened the Henry Ford Detroit Pistons Performance Center, a $90 million state-of-the-art training center and corporate headquarters in the New Center area of Detroit. Designed as a community hub, the new 185,000 square-foot facility is the largest of its kind in the NBA and anchors a multi-use development that is transforming the neighborhood and attracting additional investment.
Connected to the $37 million William Clay Ford Center for Athletic Medicine, the performance center will feature publicly accessible grocery, food, fitness and retail amenities, and an inviting streetscape that promotes walkability and community engagement.
Pistons owner Tom Gores lauded the Pistons homecoming and progressive alliance with Henry Ford Health System as beneficial for basketball, business and the City of Detroit.
“This facility is a huge win for the community, our franchise, our fans, and our future,” said Gores. “It’s the best training facility in the league and will give our players and coaches an edge in maximizing their performance. We are grateful to Henry Ford and everyone who played a part in establishing our new home.”
Gores added that while today’s opening completes the Pistons transition to downtown, the impact of that move is just beginning.
“This is an important milestone, but our work in Detroit is only getting started. Our ambitions have always been bigger than just basketball,” said Gores. “This is an investment in the future of our city.”
In addition to housing the training facility and corporate headquarters for the NBA franchise, the development includes a comprehensive sports medicine, treatment and rehabilitation facility managed by Henry Ford Health System; retail spaces occupied by Plum Market and Blink Fitness; and public spaces available for community relations activation, networking receptions and team hosted events.
Built on a parcel owned by Henry Ford between Wayne State University and Henry Ford Hospital, approximately two miles north of the new Little Caesars Arena where the Pistons have been playing games since 2017.
The four-story complex’s grand opening comes nearly 30 months after the Pistons and Henry Ford Health System announced a partnership in which the health system serves as the official health care provider for the team and holds naming rights to the performance center.
The facility is a trendsetter in the NBA with basketball practice areas directly connected to the new William Clay Ford Center for Athletic Medicine. The performance center houses an estimated 100,000 square feet of the most-up-to-date basketball training equipment. A short walk across a 125-foot enclosed glass walkway offers players and team medical practitioners seamless accessibility to injury diagnosis and rehabilitative treatment.
Bringing so many resources together in one place has created unprecedented integration of sports science and research into the day-to-day schedule of each player. Technology, analytics, and innovation will drive both training and recovery processes and equipment in the new building.
Amenities for both basketball and front office operations include:
- Innovative player locker room and lounge
- Full-service kitchen/dining facilities and personal chefs
- Spacious weight room facility with the latest performance technology and training equipment
- Film study room and positional meeting rooms
- Advanced training room capabilities with three hydro pools and cryogenic treatment systems
- Green space and courtyard locations for outside access and views of the city
- Rocket Fiber Detroit Pistons broadcast studio and media/interview rooms
- A 370-space private and public parking structure to be used by the Detroit Pistons and Henry Ford personnel.
Combining business and basketball together in one building presents exciting opportunities for the community, and the new performance center has been designed in a way that allows for community access.
The facility will serve as a hub for fitness, health, and nutrition programming through the Detroit Pistons Fit and annual NBA Fit Week programming. Youth basketball clinics and Pistons Academy basketball programs will be hosted throughout the year. Additionally, a spacious lobby and second-floor event space will be available for team hosted private events, receptions, and community networking activities.
The Henry Ford Detroit Pistons Performance Center is the first NBA facility to introduce publicly accessible food and beverage and fitness retail areas. Plum Market will provide food service for the team and open a new café and retail store inside the new complex while Blink Fitness will open a 15,000 square-foot workout facility inside the performance center. Both retail locations are expected to be completed by the end of the calendar year.
Outside walkways along Amsterdam Street and Second Avenue celebrate the tradition and history of the franchise while national and locally sourced art is displayed inside the spacious lobby, second-floor skyway and throughout each floor of the building.
“Our vision for the performance center was to create a facility that is publicly accessible and engaging to the community in a way that serves as an asset for everyone in Detroit,” said Detroit Pistons vice chairman Arn Tellem. “Henry Ford Health System shares our commitment to the community and has created a sports medicine center that will provide the latest performance training technology and innovation for patients and athletes of all levels of the sport.”
Wright L. Lassiter III, the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Henry Ford Health System, offered a similar view.
“Tom has often described the Pistons as a ‘community asset,’ and we feel the same way about Henry Ford Health System,” Lassiter said. “We have always believed that investing in our community and supporting our neighbors is vital to the healthcare we provide. We are so pleased to partner with the Pistons on this exciting new venture to combine Henry Ford’s medical excellence and innovation with a world-class facility to serve our community for years to come.”
City of Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said that completion of the organization’s business and basketball relocation helps accelerate the city’s continued turnaround.
“With the opening of their new corporate headquarters and practice facility, the Pistons move back to Detroit is now complete,” said Mayor Mike Duggan. “Not only will this fantastic new facility be great for the team, it will be great for the community, which will be able to take advantage of the community spaces and programming and the new retail opportunities.”
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