The Palace of Auburn Hills (commonly referred to as The Palace) is a sports and entertainment venue in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan. The arena opened in 1988 and is the home of the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was the home of the Detroit Shock of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), the Detroit Vipers of the International Hockey League, the Detroit Safari of the Continental Indoor Soccer League, and the Detroit Fury of the Arena Football League. The arena opened in time for the Pistons' first NBA championship season, in 1988–1989. Since then, when one of The Palace's basketball occupants has won a championship, the number on its address has changed. Its current address is 6 Championship Drive, reflecting the Pistons' three NBA titles and the Detroit Shock's three WNBA titles (the Detroit Vipers' 1997 Turner Cup championship has not been officially recognized in the arena's address; the address also remained unchanged despite the Shock's move to Tulsa, Oklahoma in 2010). The original address was 3777 Lapeer Road. On November 19, 2004, a fight broke out between members of the NBA's Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers. As the on-court fight died down, a fan threw a cup of Diet Coke at Pacers forward Ron Artest, who then rushed into the crowd, sparking a melee between players and spectators. The fight resulted in the suspension of nine players, criminal charges against five players, and criminal charges against five spectators. The offending fans were banned from attending games at The Palace. In the aftermath of the fight, the NBA decided to increase the security presence between players and spectators. The fact that the fight took place at The Palace of Auburn Hills led to it becoming colloquially referred to as "The Malice at the Palace" and "Basketbrawl". The Palace is widely considered to be the first of the modern-style NBA arenas, and its large number of luxury suites was a major reason for the building boom of new NBA arenas in the 1990s. Although The Palace is now one of the oldest arenas in the NBA, the Pistons have shown little interest in replacing it, as its foresighted design contains the amenities that most NBA teams have sought in new arenas. By contrast, of the other NBA venues that opened in 1988-89, Amway Arena, Charlotte Coliseum, and Miami Arena have been demolished, while the Bradley Center and Sleep Train Arena are either undergoing major renovations or slated for replacement. All of these arenas were rendered obsolete by the lack of luxury suites and club seating, lucrative revenue-generating features that made pro sports teams financially successful in order to remain competitive long-term, and also being located in suburban rather than downtown areas (The Palace, however, has remained one of the successful suburban arenas). The Palace is one of only two NBA arenas which has not sold its naming rights to a corporate sponsor. The other is Madison Square Garden, named after President James Madison. The Palace is one of just eight basketball arenas owned by their respective NBA franchises. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Palace_of_Auburn_Hills en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_Creative_Commons_...