GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- A Grand Rapids manufacturing company will be providing the vinyl seats for the highly-anticipated Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
Irwin Seating Co. made 17,000 seats for the venue in a multi-million dollar project. Coke Irwin, V.P. of Sales for the company says they're proud to provide seats for their home state sports arena.
"A lot of our employees are fans of the Red Wings and Pistons, and to be able to contribute to that project is very exciting," Irwin said.
The company started in 1907 and after 109 years of service, Irwin Seating Co. has become one of the largest seat manufactures for stadiums and arenas across the nation.
The new seats cost $150 a piece. They're made with vinyl seating, cup holders, cast iron panels, and a polymer back. The company manufactured a little more than 17,000 chairs at their 400,000 sq. ft. factory located off Fruit Ridge Ave. in Grand Rapids.
This isn't the company's first big project: they've provided seats for Madison Square Garden, Amway Arena in Orlando, and a handful of venues in Michigan including Western Michigan University and the University of Michigan.
"About two-thirds of the NBA and NHL arenas have our products throughout the county," said Irwin.
Instiallation of the chairs is expected to finish this week. Little Caesars Arena is scheduled to open Sept. 12 with a performance by Kid Rock.
