The Detroit Pistons invited Crew Members to another Fan Forum on August 1st to discuss the broadcasting and multimedia presentations at Pistons home games. Members who expressed concerns or had specific suggestions on how to improve the game atmosphere were invited to the round-table discussion. Members met with the Senior Vice President of Broadcasting and Multimedia Pete Skorich and Executive Director of Multimedia Operations Diane Ferranti. The first Fan Forum was held to discuss parking at The Palace on July 12.

One suggestion from a Crew Member was to expand the “Hot Seat” game promotion to the “Hot Section.” All the sections of the arena would be included and one would be picked randomly at each home game. All the fans in that section would receive a free Pistons gift, instead of just one seat in the entire arena. Feeding off of that idea was a suggestion from another member about using Palace Gift Cards as giveaways so that fans get the chance to choose their own prize at The Palace Locker Room. Skorich liked the idea but also reminded everyone that most of it will depend on sponsorships.

A Crew Member, a former teacher, shared her concern about the on-court contests with kids from the audience. She finds it inappropriate for young children to be subjected to dressing up in oversized costumes and being judged by the crowd via applause. Her suggestion was to use older fans that don’t have a problem going on the floor and participating. She also suggested that it would be nice to have more girls given the chance to compete in the shooting games.

From a multimedia perspective, the suggestion was raised to show more features about the players outside of basketball on PalaceVision to connect fans to their favorite player and the team. Skorich then revealed some of their plans for next season to celebrate the franchise’s 50th anniversary in Detroit. The midcourt logo will reflect the anniversary, and the players will wear retro uniforms for five home games, one for each decade in Detroit. There will be a countdown of the 50 most memorable Pistons moments, which paves the way for more video features. Fans will be able to go online to pistons.com and vote for their top ten favorites.

Skorich also shed some more light on further improvements for next season. The Broadcasting and Multimedia department recently put in a new control room at The Palace that will give them more control over several aspects of the in-house production, including more stats and better screen clarity on PalaceVision.

Ferranti and Skorich left the discussion with several suggestions they will be taking with them to their Broadcasting and Multimedia team to be considered for implementation. They thanked Crew Members for coming out to share their insight and hope these Fan Forums will continue to strengthen the bond between the Pistons and their fans.