Suites at The Palace of
Auburn Hills offer deluxe
settings for viewing
pleasures.

I

■ BY LISA BRODY

he sweet life. Private parties
exclusive entrances, personal
waitresses, private parking,
deluxe accommodations.
At The Palace arena of Auburn Hills,
it's called the suite life.
And it is grand.
The state-of-the-art Palace is luxe by
any other arena's standards, with
clean, comfortable seats, edible (and
even delicious) concessions, polite
ushers, and abundant, clean
restrooms. Viewing of events is
superior to most other venues. But for
the owners of the 180 suites, life is
deliciously deluxe. The difference bet-
ween the suites and the seats is the
same as the difference between first
class and coach.
The suites are all approximately the
same size but are situated on three
separate levels, a unique concept.
Ranging in price from $30,000 to
$150,000, the most expensive suites
are 16 rows above the Pistons' playing
floor. The next set of suites is 25 rows
up. The remaining suites, at the tradi-
tional top of the arena, have a pen-
thouse view of the arena. Robert
Sosnick,owner of The Palace along
with David Hermelin and Pistons
owner Bill Davidson, decided to incor-
porate so many suites into the new
arena because they felt the demand
was there.

8

HOME

"And we were right," Sosnick says,
"because all of the suites are occupied
and we have a rather significant
waiting list."
With all of the exclusive features The
Palace offers its suite holders, one
would think the air would be a little
more rarefied, the noses a little higher.
In contrast, Sosnick stresses his objec-
tive when building the suites was "just
to make them as comfortable as your
family room."
Comfortable and inviting they are.
The three owners share a double suite
on the first suite level, directly at half
court. A huge amethyst-gray leather
sectional sofa dominates the suite; it
can comfortably seat 12 to 15. A large
chrome-based, glass-topped coffee
table completes the sitting area. The
table and sofa rest on a flat-weave light

Compuware Corporation has a
dazzling view of the arena in this
neon suite designed by Modern Studio
of Interiors. Inset at right: 'fraditional
furnished suite of Meadowbrook
Insurance Group; and far right, Palace
owners, Robert Sosnick and David
Hermelin, and Pistons owner Bill
Davidson share a double suite with a
leather sectional sofa.
Photo by Glenn Triest.