Olympia Entertainment and City of Detroit Working to Develop New Lease for Joe Louis...

Olympia Entertainment and City of Detroit Working to Develop New Lease for Joe
Louis Arena

Olympia Entertainment returns Cobo Arena to City of Detroit, which should
assist officials in their efforts to keep Auto Show in Detroit

DETROIT, June 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Olympia Entertainment today informed the City
of Detroit via personal phone call and hand-delivered letter that, pursuant to
the terms of its current lease, Olympia Entertainment will not exercise its
option to extend the current lease on the Joe Louis and Cobo Arenas for an
additional 20 years. The current lease, which covers both arenas, expires on
June 30, 2010, and automatically renews for 20 years if Olympia Entertainment
did not notify the City of its decision on the option by June 30, 2009.
Olympia's decision to not extend the current lease returns Cobo Arena to the
City of Detroit and should assist officials in their efforts to keep the North
American International Auto Show in Detroit. This action also allows Olympia
Entertainment and the City of Detroit to continue work on a new lease
specifically for Joe Louis Arena.

"The existing lease was crafted more than three decades ago by individuals no
longer associated with either Olympia Entertainment or the City," said
Christopher Ilitch, president and CEO of Ilitch Holdings, Inc. "It does not
fully contemplate one: the evolution of the sports and entertainment industry;
two: the current economic environment in which both the City and Olympia
Entertainment are operating and; three: the infrastructure replacement and
repair needs of a 30-year-old building in order to meet the competitive
industry standards of today.

"Furthermore, we have been and continue to be very supportive of keeping the
Auto Show in Detroit and this is one way we think our organization can help
meet that objective. We believe that any economic benefit to Olympia
Entertainment by continuing to operate Cobo Arena in the future is outweighed
by the potential that a positive resolution on the Cobo issue will have for
the region and state.

"Due to these very important factors, we have been working constructively with
the City over the course of the past year on a new lease specifically for Joe
Louis Arena. To date, an agreement has not been finalized and today's action
is simply a necessary step in the process as we continue to work together to
develop a new lease.

"Detroit is our hometown and we have a strong desire to stay here. We remain
confident that we can reach a satisfactory agreement that should not only
enhance the sporting and entertainment experience for patrons of the facility,
but will lead to additional economic benefit for the region and the potential
for additional job creation as the facility attracts more events and
performances."

About Joe Louis Arena
Joe Louis Arena was built by the City of Detroit and opened in 1979. Michael
and Marian Ilitch purchased the Detroit Red Wings and the company currently
known as Olympia Entertainment in 1982. Olympia Entertainment leases Joe
Louis Arena from the City of Detroit, which owns the building. Joe Louis
Arena is currently the fourth oldest arena in the NHL. It is home to the
11-time Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings and host to major artists and
performers for concerts and other entertainment events. The Detroit Red Wings
will play the 2009-2010 season at Joe Louis Arena.

About Cobo Arena
Cobo Arena opened in 1960 and has a seating capacity of 12,000. It has a
storied history of hosting memorable sporting, concert and entertainment
events, including being the home of the Detroit Pistons from 1961 - 1978. In
addition, it is widely recognized as having some of the best acoustics in the
industry and many notable artists like Bob Seger, Ted Nugent, and Madonna have
recorded live concert albums at Cobo Arena. Olympia Entertainment has leased
Cobo Arena from the City of Detroit, which owns the building, since 1982. For
nearly three decades, it has been successful and an important part of Olympia
Entertainment's venue mix, rounding out its spectrum of venues ranging from
300 - 40,000 seats.

SOURCE Olympia Entertainment

Karen Cullen, +1-313-983-6079, +1-313-550-6795 (mobile),
karen.cullen@ilitchholdings.com