Michigan has a number of professional and semi-professional sports teams in various sports and leagues.
Michigan is home to four major-league professional sports teams, all of which play in the Detroit metropolitan area. The Pistons played at Detroit's Cobo Arena until 1978 and at the Pontiac Silverdome until 1988, when they moved into the Palace of Auburn Hills where they played for 28 years between 1988 and 2017, before moving back inside city limits to Little Caesars Arena in Detroit in 2017. The Detroit Lions played at Tiger Stadium in Detroit until 1974, then moved to the Pontiac Silverdome where they played for 27 years between 1975 and 2002, before moving to Ford Field in Detroit in 2002. The Detroit Tigers played at Tiger Stadium (formerly known as Navin Field and Briggs Stadium) from 1912 to 1999. In 2000 they moved to Comerica Park. The Red Wings played at Olympia Stadium until 1979, Joe Louis Arena from 1979 to 2017, and then to Little Caesars Arena beginning in 2017.
Club | Sport | League | Metro Area (City) |
---|---|---|---|
Battle Creek Battle Jacks | Baseball | Summer Collegiate Baseball, Northwoods League | Battle Creek |
Kalamazoo Growlers | Baseball | Summer Collegiate Baseball, Northwoods League | Kalamazoo |
Saginaw Sugar Beets | Baseball | Summer Collegiate Baseball, Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League | Saginaw |
Utica Unicorns | Baseball | United Shore Professional Baseball League | Utica |
Eastside Diamond Hoppers | Baseball | United Shore Professional Baseball League | Detroit |
Birmingham Bloomfield Beavers | Baseball | United Shore Professional Baseball League | Detroit |
Westside Woolly Mammoths | Baseball | United Shore Professional Baseball League | Detroit |
Lansing Lugnuts | Baseball | Minor League Baseball, Midwest League | Lansing |
Great Lakes Loons | Baseball | Minor League Baseball, Midwest League | Midland |
Traverse City Pit Spitters | Baseball | Northwoods League | Traverse City |
West Michigan Whitecaps | Baseball | Minor League Baseball, Midwest League | Grand Rapids |
Grand Rapids Gold | Basketball | NBA G League | Grand Rapids |
Motor City Cruise | Basketball | NBA G League | Detroit |
Detroit Coast II Coast All-Stars | Basketball | American Basketball Association | Detroit |
Flint-Vehicle City Chargers | Basketball | American Basketball Association | Flint |
Grand Rapids Danger | Basketball | American Basketball Association | Grand Rapids |
Lansing Sting | Basketball | American Basketball Association | Lansing |
Motor City Firebirds | Basketball | American Basketball Association | Detroit |
Oakland County Cowboys | Basketball | American Basketball Association | Detroit |
Team NetWork | Basketball | American Basketball Association | Detroit |
West Michigan Lake Hawks | Basketball | American Basketball Association | Muskegon |
Grand Rapids Fusion | Basketball | Independent Basketball Association | Grand Rapids |
Lansing Capitals | Basketball | Independent Basketball Association | Lansing |
Grand Rapids Cyclones | Basketball | Premier Basketball League | Grand Rapids |
Lake Michigan Admirals | Basketball | Premier Basketball League | Benton Harbor |
Michigan Panthers | Football | United States Football League (2022) | TBD |
Grand Rapids Griffins | Ice hockey | American Hockey League | Grand Rapids |
Kalamazoo Wings | Ice hockey | ECHL | Kalamazoo |
Motor City Rockers | Ice hockey | Federal Prospects Hockey League | Fraser |
Port Huron Prowlers | Ice hockey | Federal Prospects Hockey League | Port Huron |
West Michigan Ironmen | Indoor football | American Arena League | Muskegon |
Waza Flo | Indoor soccer | Major Arena Soccer League | Flint |
Waza Premier | Indoor soccer | Premier Arena Soccer League | Flint |
AFC Ann Arbor | Soccer | National Premier Soccer League | Ann Arbor |
Detroit City FC | Soccer | USL Championship | Detroit (stadium in Hamtramck) |
Grand Rapids FC | Soccer | National Premier Soccer League, United Women's Soccer | Grand Rapids |
Kalamazoo FC | Soccer | National Premier Soccer League | Kalamazoo |
Lansing United | Soccer | United Women's Soccer | Lansing |
Michigan Stars FC | Soccer | National Premier Soccer League | Detroit |
Flint City Bucks | Soccer | USL League Two | Flint |
Ole SC | Soccer | Premier League of America | Grand Rapids |
Carpathia FC | Soccer | United Premier Soccer League | Detroit |
Muskegon Risers SC | Soccer | United Premier Soccer League | Muskegon |
Oakland County FC | Soccer | United Premier Soccer League | Detroit |
PASS FC | Soccer | United Premier Soccer League | Grand Rapids |
Detroit Mechanix | Ultimate | American Ultimate Disc League | Grand Rapids (formerly in Detroit, currently keeping Detroit name) |
Ann Arbor Derby Dimes | Roller derby | Women's Flat Track Derby Association | (Ann Arbor) |
Detroit Roller Derby | Roller derby | Women's Flat Track Derby Association | Detroit |
Flint City Derby Girls | Roller derby | Women's Flat Track Derby Association | Flint |
Grand Raggidy Roller Derby | Roller derby | Women's Flat Track Derby Association | Grand Rapids |
Killamazoo Derby Darlins | Roller derby | Women's Flat Track Derby Association | Kalamazoo |
Lansing Derby Vixens | Roller derby | Women's Flat Track Derby Association | Lansing |
Detroit Bordercats | Roller hockey | National Roller Hockey League | Detroit |
Detroit Stars | Roller hockey | National Roller Hockey League | Dearborn Heights |
Motor City Revive | Roller hockey | National Roller Hockey League | West Bloomfield |
Shelby Surge | Roller hockey | National Roller Hockey League | Shelby Charter Township |
Detroit Dark Angels | Women's football | Women's Football Alliance | Detroit |
West Michigan Mayhem | Women's football | Women's Football Alliance | Kalamazoo |
Grand Rapids Rise | Women's volleyball | Pro Volleyball Federation | Grand Rapids |
The Michigan Panthers were a professional American football team based in the Detroit, Michigan area. The Panthers competed in the United States Football League (USFL) as a member of the Western Conference and Central Division. The team played its home games at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan.
Tiger Stadium, previously known as Navin Field and Briggs Stadium, was a multi-use stadium located in the Corktown neighborhood of Detroit, Michigan, United States. The stadium was nicknamed "The Corner" for its location at the intersection of Michigan and Trumbull Avenues. It hosted the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1912 to 1999, as well as the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) from 1938 to 1974. Tiger Stadium was declared a State of Michigan Historic Site in 1975 and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1989.
The Little Caesars Pizza Bowl was a post-season college football bowl game that was played annually from 1997 to 2013. The first five games (1997–2001) were played at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan, and moved to the 65,000-seat Ford Field in downtown Detroit, Michigan in 2002—the past and present homes of the Detroit Lions respectively. The game marked the first bowl game held in the Detroit area since the Cherry Bowl in 1984–85.
Kirk Harold Gibson is an American former professional baseball outfielder and manager. He is currently a color commentator for the Detroit Tigers on Bally Sports Detroit and a special assistant for the Tigers. Gibson spent most of his career with the Detroit Tigers, but also played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Kansas City Royals, and Pittsburgh Pirates. He batted and threw left-handed.
Joe Louis Arena was an arena in Downtown Detroit. Completed in 1979 at a cost of US$57 million as a replacement for Olympia Stadium, it sat adjacent to Cobo Center on the bank of the Detroit River and was accessible by the Joe Louis Arena station on the Detroit People Mover. The venue was named after former heavyweight champion boxer Joe Louis, who grew up in Detroit.
The Palace of Auburn Hills, commonly known as the Palace, was a multi-purpose arena located in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Opened in 1988, it was the home of the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Detroit Shock of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), the Detroit Vipers of the International Hockey League, the Detroit Rockers of the National Professional Soccer League, the Detroit Neon/Detroit Safari of the Continental Indoor Soccer League, and the Detroit Fury of the Arena Football League.
Ford Field is a domed American football stadium located in Downtown Detroit. It primarily serves as the home of the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL), the Michigan Panthers of the United Football League (UFL), the Mid-American Conference championship game, and the annual Quick Lane Bowl college football bowl game, state championship football games for the MHSAA, the MHSAA State Wrestling Championships, and the MCBA Marching Band State Finals, among other events. The regular seating capacity is approximately 65,000, though it is expandable up to 70,000 for football and 80,000 for basketball.
The Pontiac Silverdome was a stadium in Pontiac, Michigan. It opened in 1975 and sat on 199 acres (51 ha) of land. When the stadium opened, it featured a fiberglass fabric roof held up by air pressure, the first use of the architectural technique in a major athletic facility. With a seating capacity of 82,666+, it was the largest stadium in the National Football League (NFL) until FedExField in Landover, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C. expanded its capacity to over 85,000 in 2000.
Michael Ilitch Sr., also known as Mr. I, was an American entrepreneur and restaurateur who served as the founder and owner of the international fast food franchise Little Caesars Pizza. He also owned the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League and Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball.
Detroit Olympia, also known as Olympia Stadium, was a multi-purpose arena in Detroit. Nicknamed "The Old Red Barn", it was best known as the home of the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL) from its opening in 1927 to 1979.
The Detroit Mercy Titans are the athletic teams of University of Detroit Mercy. The university is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. The school primarily competes in the Horizon League, but competes in other conferences for fencing and lacrosse, sports not sponsored for either men or women by the Horizon League. Fencing, a co-ed sport, competes in the Midwest Fencing Conference. Men's lacrosse moved from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference to the ASUN Conference in July 2021. Women's lacrosse joined the Mid-American Conference for that league's first women's lacrosse season in 2021.
Jimmie William Price was an American professional baseball catcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers from 1967 to 1971. He was also the color commentator for the Detroit Tigers Radio Network and PASS for nearly 30 years.
Ilitch Holdings, Inc. is an American holding company established in 1999 to provide all companies owned by Mike and Marian Ilitch with professional and technical services. Its privately held businesses include Little Caesars Pizza, the National Hockey League (NHL) Detroit Red Wings, the Major League Baseball (MLB) Detroit Tigers, Olympia Entertainment, Olympia Development, Olympia Parking, Blue Line Foodservice Distribution, Champion Foods, 313 Presents, the Little Caesars Pizza Kit Fundraising Program, Hockeytown Cafe, and a variety of venues within these entities. Ilitch Holdings subsidiaries manage Detroit's Fox Theatre, City Theatre, Comerica Park, Pine Knob Music Theatre, Michigan Lottery Amphitheater, Meadow Brook Amphitheater, and Little Caesars Arena, which replaced Joe Louis Arena after closing in July 2017.
Throughout the years, a number of teams in the National Football League (NFL) have either moved or merged.
Bally Sports Detroit (BSD) is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group that operates as a Bally Sports affiliate. It provides coverage of local sports teams in the state of Michigan, primarily focusing on those in Metro Detroit. The network airs exclusive broadcasts of games involving the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Pistons, and Detroit Red Wings; repeats of Detroit Lions preseason games; and some high school sports.
Detroit is home to four professional U.S. sports teams; it is one of twelve cities in the United States to have teams from the four major North American sports. Since 2017, it is the only U.S. city to have its MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL teams play within its downtown district and one of only four U.S. cities to have said teams play within the city limits of their namesake.
The 1991 Detroit Lions season was the franchise's 62nd season in the National Football League, their 58th as the Detroit Lions. It stands as one of the team's best seasons since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970, and the first time when the Lions made it to the NFC Championship Game.
The 2001 Detroit Lions season was the franchise's 72nd season in the National Football League (NFL). Marty Mornhinweg was named the 21st head coach in franchise history on January 21, 2001, after owner William Clay Ford Sr. controversially fired 2000 interim coach Gary Moeller.
The Quick Lane Bowl is a post-season college football bowl game certified by the NCAA that began play in the 2014 season. The Ford Motor Company served as title sponsor of the game for 10 years, through its auto shop brand Quick Lane. In June 2024, that sponsorship ended. Organizers are using Detroit Bowl naming while seeking a new title sponsor.
Little Caesars Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Midtown Detroit. Opening on September 5, 2017, the arena, which cost $862.9 million to construct, replaced Joe Louis Arena and The Palace of Auburn Hills as the home of the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA), respectively.