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Report: Pistons Move Announcement Could Come Tomorrow

DETROIT (CBS Detroit) The Detroit Pistons possible move to a new shared home at Little Ceasars Arena is the worst kept secret in town.

The Detroit Pistons and Ilitch Holdings/Olympia Development will hold a news conference at Detroit's Cass Tech High School at 3 p.m. to update the media on "downtown discussions."

Meantime, Crain's Detroit says the deal could become official tomorrow, per a "source with knowledge of the matter."

The source also indicated there would also be an announcement of a significant Pistons investment in Detroit "public facilities." The exact amount of the investment or what "public facilities" are involved was not disclosed.

The 3 p.m. announcement will follow a 2:30 p.m. meeting of the city's Downtown Development Authority board at Detroit Cass Tech High School. That meeting is open to the public.

The DDA votes on whether to support private investments and business growth within Detroit's central business district with loans, sponsorships and grants, infrastructure improvements and other programs that increase economic activity.

Under discussion is whether the Pistons would vacate their long time home at the Palace of Auburn Hills for the Little Caesars Arena, part of a massive redevelopment in downtown Detroit.  The arena is scheduled to be complete in time for the 2017-18 hockey and basketball seasons.

Initial reports said the Pistons would build a 60,000 square foot practice facility and play games at Little Caesars.

Talking to WWJ's Sandra McNeill on Monday, Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said he has no inside information about the loss of the Pistons — he just knows what he's heard in news reports.

Patterson said he feels bad for those Oakland County residents who could lose their jobs at the Palace, adding that it'll also be disappointing to lose the "bragging rights."

"It was nice to have a team right there in your backyard, as it was with the Lions were out here. So that's what we'll lose and what we'll miss," Patterson said. "We can still get to the games if we choose to, but the Palace of Auburn Hills will never be what it was."

Auburn Hills Mayor Kevin McDaniel, meantime, said he's confident that Pistons owner Tom Gores will come up with a plan when it comes to the future of the Palace.

"We have not been given any of that information, in terms of what their desires or what they would expect to do in terms of the facility," McDaniel said. "We would hope that they would not leave the facility vacant and become an eyesore in the community. I believe that Gores will do the right thing in terms of that."

McDaniel said he doesn't know if the Palace can stand alone as a concert venue.

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