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Implosion levels the Palace of Auburn Hills, the Detroit Pistons’ former home

Andrew Cuomo

The Palace of Auburn Hills, site of some of the Detroit Pistons’ greatest moments, was demolished on Saturday to make way for a new development.

The arena, which once held up to 23,000 people, had been gutted in preparation for the implosion.

Crews used about 800 pounds of explosives to bring down the building’s roof and the 22 columns that supported it, CNN affiliate WXYZ reported.

It only took a few seconds to bring the building down.

The Pistons played at the Palace of Auburn Hills from 1988 until 2017 and won all three of their NBA titles there. The Pistons’ infamous “Bad Boys” won back-to-back titles in 1989 and 1990, and the team upset the Los Angeles Lakers, led by Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, in 2004.

The Pistons moved to a new arena in Detroit for the 2017 season and The Palace, as it was fondly known, was sold.

Developers plan to turn the 110-acre site into a mixed-use research and technology park.

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