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Palace Marquee to Receive Major Makeover

The 50 million-plus annual travelers along the I-75 corridor in Auburn Hills will notice a dramatic and attention-getting splash of color when Palace Sports & Entertainment’s (PS&E) 94-foot tall, 23-ton Palace marquee, located on I-75 just south of the Lapeer Road exit, receives its first major updating since it was erected in 1996. The project is slated to take place the week of July 26.

Passers-by will be astounded by the landmark’s twin 22 feet high by 32 feet long full-color Daktronic Valo LED digital billboard displays, one facing northbound traffic and the other facing southbound traffic. The two displays will show a rotating list of events coming to the organization’s three venues, The Palace, DTE Energy Music Theatre and Meadow Brook Music Festival. It can also be programmed to provide special announcements including traffic instructions and games scores for the Detroit Pistons.

“The complete upgrading of the marquee will improve our ability to provide the public with event information and recognize our sponsors,” said Alan Ostfield, President and CEO of PS&E. “In addition to this project we will continue to explore opportunities to improve the experience for our guests and enhance our relationships with sponsors.”

The new displays are much larger and sharper than the marquee’s original and outdated one-color amber light displays and they will also replace the tri-vision sponsor billboards which were located under the original displays on the marquee. The new technology of the Daktronic Valo LED boards will allow sponsor signage to be incorporated into the bottom section of the actual display, eliminating the need for an additional sponsor billboard.

The finishing touch on the renovated marquee will be at the top of the display where background of The Palace logo will be re-painted in a bright Detroit Pistons blue. The project’s approval was with the full cooperation of the city of Auburn Hills.

PS&E ownership includes The Palace and DTE Energy Music Theatre, as well as the management of Meadow Brook Music Festival on the campus of Oakland University. Combined, PS&E’s venues average 300 events and 3.5 million guests annually.

The Palace has been voted Arena of the Year eight times by Performance magazine, twice by Pollstar magazine and is listed annually among North America’s top-grossing arenas. Voted “Best Outdoor Concert Venue” in Pollstar’s 2000 Readers’ Poll, DTE Energy Music Theatre has been listed as the nation’s most attended amphitheater by Amusement Business/Billboard each of the 19 years of PS&E ownership.