Little Caesars Arena Game Day Guide
Detroit Red Wings · Detroit, MI
Know Before You Go
- Bag policy
Single-compartment bags, wallets, clutches, fanny packs, and clear bags smaller than 4 x 6 x 1.5 inches are permitted.
Diaper, parenting, and medically or dietarily necessary bags smaller than 16 x 16 x 8 inches are permitted; larger bags, including cases for laptops, tablets, cameras, and binoculars, are prohibited.
- Gate opening
Doors typically open 90 minutes before Red Wings games.
Door times are subject to change.
- Mobile tickets
Arena entry is mobile-ticket only; access tickets through the Red Wings app or team Account Manager and save them to a digital wallet before arrival.
For ticket help, visit Guest Relations or contact the ticketing team before game day.
- Re-entry
Guests who exit Little Caesars Arena are not permitted to re-enter.
- Prohibited items
The arena prohibits weapons, ammunition and self-defense sprays, outside alcohol, noisemakers, aerosols, large bags, hard containers and coolers, drones, wheeled recreational devices, smoking products, recording devices and mounts, sticks, poles, and throwable or inflatable objects.
Laptops, tablets, iPads, small binoculars, hockey pucks at hockey events, and qualifying water bottles are permitted without oversized cases. Review the current official list before the game.
- First aid
Medstar First Aid stations are outside Portal 20 on the Street Level and Portal 67 on the Upper Concourse.
- Nursing and lactation
The Parents Room outside Portal 20 on the Street Level provides private curtained nursing areas with outlets, a sink, microwave, refrigerator, and family restroom.
Breast pumps are permitted inside the arena.
- Family restrooms
Family restrooms with changing tables are outside Street Level Portals 5, 9, and 14, inside the Parents Room near Portal 20, and outside Upper Concourse Portals 24, 39/40, 41/42, 59, and 61.
Additional family restrooms are on the Blue Cross Suite and club levels.
- Tickets for children
Guests age 2 and older need a ticket for Red Wings games; younger children may sit on a ticketed guest's lap without obstructing another guest's view.
- Guest services
Guest Services is outside Portals 10 and 20 on the Street Level and Portal 67 on the Upper Concourse.
For non-emergency help during an event, text LCAHELP with your issue and location to 313-513-4357.
- Service animals
Guide, signal, and task-trained service dogs or miniature horses assisting guests with disabilities are permitted; other animals are not.
A service animal may not occupy an additional seat unless that adjacent seat has its own ticket.
- Smoking and vaping
Little Caesars Arena is smoke-free; cigarettes, vaping, e-cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, and marijuana use are prohibited.
Violations may result in ejection, and leaving to smoke does not allow re-entry.
Game Day Timeline
What the day looks like at Little Caesars Arena, hour by hour.
Explore the District Detroit
Arrive in the entertainment district and grab a pregame meal. Mike's Pizza Bar and Kid Rock's Made in Detroit are steps from the arena.
Pregame drinks on Woodward
Walk Woodward Avenue for craft breweries, cocktail bars, and the energy of a Detroit game night. The sports bar scene is thriving.
Doors open
Enter Little Caesars Arena and walk the Via concourse, a street-level retail and dining arcade that connects the arena to the neighborhood.
Find your seat
Settle in for warm-ups. The arena's bowl is steep and intimate. Even mezzanine seats have good sightlines.
Game time
Three 20-minute periods with two intermissions. Red Wings fans are knowledgeable and loyal through decades of tradition.
Hit the concourse
The Via concourse has upscale food options beyond typical arena fare. Detroit-style pizza and coney dogs are available.
District Detroit nightlife
Walk the district for post-game drinks. Greektown is a 10-minute walk east for late-night dining and entertainment.
Tips & Fan Reports
Look for the Red Wing logo at the northeast corner lower concourse made of auto parts. There are multiple selfie and photo spots including the Red Wings bench and Little Caesars spear.
Hockeytown pride runs deep. The octopus toss tradition lives on even at Little Caesars Arena.
The District Detroit around LCA has improved dramatically since the arena opened. New restaurants on Woodward.
The Via concourse connects the arena to street-level restaurants and shops. It's worth exploring before the game.
QLine streetcar ($1.50) runs right down Woodward Avenue to the arena entrance.
The QLine streetcar on Woodward is free and stops near the arena, great for bar-hopping pregame.
Little Caesars Arena is one of the NHL's newest arenas (2017), the amenities, sightlines, and concessions are top-tier.
Tailgating is prohibited outright in the Olympia lots (before, during and after) so the pregame here happens indoors or in the District rather than at the car.
Every parking location is credit card only. There is no cash option anywhere in the District.
Aim for Trinity Health, UWM or Temple West if you want the shortest walk, particularly for accessible parking.
Before the Game
There is no tailgating at a Red Wings game: the lots surrounding Little Caesars Arena belong to Olympia Development of Michigan, which prohibits it before, during and after events alike. Parking is instead a question of which of the District's 32 locations you pick, all of them inside a ten-minute walk, all credit card only, all first come first served with no in-and-out and no overnight stay. They open three hours before puck drop and close two hours after the final whistle. If the walk matters, the Trinity Health, UWM and Temple West garages are the closest, and carry the nearest accessible parking.
Where to Go Before the Game
The District Detroit parking
32 parking locations spread through the District, all within a ten-minute walk of the arena. First come, first served, opening three hours before events and closing two hours after, and every location is credit card only.
Known for 32 locations · 10-minute walk · Card only
Trinity Health, UWM and Temple West garages
The three garages offering the closest accessible parking to the arena, which makes them the ones to aim for if the walk matters.
Known for Closest accessible parking · Covered
The Olympia Development lots
The surrounding lots operated by Olympia Development of Michigan, where tailgating is prohibited before, during and after every game and event at the arena.
Known for No tailgating · Before, during or after
Pregame Rules
What Little Caesars Arena allows before the game, and what it does not.
- Tailgating is prohibited in the surrounding parking lots operated by Olympia Development of Michigan, before, during or after games and events at Little Caesars Arena.
- There are 32 parking locations throughout The District Detroit, with parking within a ten-minute walk of the arena.
- The Trinity Health Garage, UWM Garage and Temple West Garage offer the closest accessible parking.
- Parking is first come, first served, and rates and availability vary with what else is on in The District.
- Parking opens three hours before events and closes two hours after, unless otherwise posted.
- There are no in/out privileges and no overnight parking, and all locations are credit card only.
- Olympia Parking can be reached on 313-725-3848 or at parkdistrictdetroit@olydev.com.
Weather
Little Caesars Arena is indoor, so these are the conditions for the parking lot and the walk in, not the seats.
Across the NHL season the warmest month is October, with an average high of 61°F, and the coldest is January, when the average low is 20°F. April is the wettest month at 2.8 inches and January the driest at 1.4 inches.
That January low ranks 10th coldest of the 32 NHL venues, and April here ranks 24th wettest.
October
2.3 inchesNovember
2.2 inchesJanuary
1.4 inchesMarch
2.0 inchesApril
2.8 inchesWhat to Bring
- Only the outside food and drink the rule allows
Outside food and beverages are prohibited except for religious, dietary, or medical necessity, juice boxes accompanying children, and permitted water.
- A card or a phone wallet
Little Caesars Arena is cashless and accepts Mastercard, Visa, Discover, and American Express throughout the venue.
- A coat for the walk in
January lows average 20°F between the lot and the door at Little Caesars Arena.
How We Checked This Page
Every section below names the source it was read from and the day it was read. Where we could not reach a published figure, the page says so rather than presenting an estimate as a checked fact.
- Game day timeline
Gate opening time checked against the venue's own gate-opening policy: Doors typically open 90 minutes before Red Wings games.
- Pregame
313 Presents, Little Caesars Arena Directions & Parking and A-Z Guide
- Weather
NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals
- Venue policies
Current Little Caesars Arena venue, A-Z, entry-policy, parking, and Red Wings arena pages reviewed for Detroit Red Wings game-day policies.