---

Healing the Heart of Detroit: The Red Wings’ Role in a Game-Changing Hospital and Community Center Project…see more…

In a city long known for its grit, passion, and pride, the Detroit Red Wings are helping lead a powerful new play—one not on the ice, but in the heart of the community. In partnership with Henry Ford Health, Trinity Health, the City of Detroit, and other key institutions, the Red Wings are stepping into a new arena: public health and neighborhood revitalization. Their support for a $3 billion hospital redevelopment and community center project in Detroit’s New Center area is more than civic responsibility—it’s a cornerstone of the franchise’s deeper commitment to rebuilding lives, not just franchises.

A New Era of Health and Hope

The centerpiece of this transformative initiative is a state-of-the-art, 1.2 million square-foot hospital tower set to open in 2029. Located across the street from the current Henry Ford Hospital, the new facility will include cutting-edge ICU units, expanded trauma and surgical centers, and private, tech-integrated patient rooms. This isn’t just a facelift—it’s a complete rethinking of what healthcare can look like in one of America’s most challenged urban cores.

“We’re not just building a hospital—we’re building a healthier Detroit,” said Wright Lassiter III, CEO of Henry Ford Health, when unveiling the plan. “And that requires a commitment to innovation, inclusion, and community partnerships.”

Enter the Red Wings.

From Arena to Avenue: Sports as a Bridge to Health

Sports teams often tout community engagement, but the Detroit Red Wings are putting those words into action. Through their health partnerships with Trinity Health and their support of this new medical campus, the franchise is fusing athletics, wellness, and neighborhood care in a uniquely Detroit way.

Their initiatives include:

• “Wings Welcome” Program: In partnership with Trinity Health, every newborn at Trinity birthing centers receives a Red Wings onesie and enrollment in a college savings sweepstake, symbolizing a new life of opportunity.
• Healthy Hockeytown Campaigns: These include youth fitness clinics, cooking demonstrations, and mental health workshops hosted both online and at Little Caesars Arena.
• Community Health Screenings & Wellness Days: Organized near the proposed hospital site and around Detroit neighborhoods, giving residents access to blood pressure, diabetes, and mental health checks.

By building awareness and trust, the Red Wings are helping reduce health disparities—especially in Detroit’s underserved zip codes, where chronic illness and emergency room dependence are disproportionately high.

Community Centered Design

Beyond medical care, the hospital redevelopment is part of a broader master plan to reimagine the New Center neighborhood. It will include:

• Over 600 new residential units, including affordable housing.
• Green spaces and walkable public areas, inviting families to live, work, and gather in safety and pride.
• Local retail and dining options, creating jobs and keeping money circulating within the community.

This “live-work-play-heal” design reflects a 21st-century approach to urban development—one where community wellness is as important as clinical care.

A Sports & Health Power Partnership

This isn’t the Red Wings’ first move into collaborative urban development. Along with the Detroit Pistons, they’ve been a driving force behind New Center’s ongoing transformation. The Pistons’ Performance Center—just blocks from the new hospital site—serves as both training facility and medical hub.

The Red Wings’ involvement expands the vision. Together with Trinity Health, the team continues to organize wellness events at Little Caesars Arena and across city schools. These events teach kids about fitness, healthy eating, and the value of teamwork.

For Red Wings President Christopher Ilitch, it’s a natural evolution:

“When we build strong bodies and strong minds, we build a stronger city. This partnership with Henry Ford and Trinity Health is about more than hospitals—it’s about hope.”

Boosting Economic Mobility

The $3 billion hospital and community plan is expected to create over 8,000 construction jobs and hundreds of permanent medical and service positions once the facility opens. It also includes a $81 million infrastructure boost, funded partly by the State of Michigan, to improve roads, bridges, and pedestrian safety.

What’s more, the project follows a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) approved by the Detroit City Council. The CBA ensures local hiring, training, and affordable housing targets are met—making sure longtime residents benefit directly from the city’s renaissance.

This aligns with the Red Wings’ longstanding commitment to inclusive development. They’ve championed job fairs, mentorship for youth athletes, and programs that prepare Detroiters for careers in healthcare, business, and beyond.

Reclaiming Trust Through Action

Detroit has long been burdened by healthcare inequities. Many communities face limited access to care, long ER wait times, and minimal preventive services. The hospital project—and its tie-in to community centers and public space—aims to change that.

By contributing not only branding and visibility but boots-on-the-ground engagement, the Red Wings are helping rebuild trust. When residents see their team advocating for mental health, hosting pop-up clinics, and investing in neighborhood events, healthcare starts to feel accessible, not abstract.

The message becomes clear: in Hockeytown, health is part of the game plan.

Looking Ahead

As shovels hit the ground and buildings rise over the next few years, the full impact of this collaboration will come into view. For now, what matters most is the vision—a Detroit where hospitals aren’t distant institutions, but community anchors; where Red Wings games promote not just wins, but wellness.

This isn’t a flashy signing or playoff push. It’s bigger. It’s about making Detroit healthier, block by block, life by life.

---

Final Whistle

The Detroit Red Wings are known for banners, legends, and loyal fans—but now, they’re skating into a new legacy. Their involvement in this hospital and community center project is about more than sports. It’s about restoring neighborhoods, building futures, and proving that healing isn’t just medical—it’s cultural, emotional, and communal.

By aligning with health leaders and civic visionaries, the Red Wings are helping redesign what it means to care for a city. And that, more than any goal scored, might be their most important win yet.