The new
Coors Light Sky Deck on the roof of the Detroit Opera House offers the very antithesis of the kind of experience you might expect to have at the Opera House. Ditch the satin dresses and coattails and instead don your favorite Tigers jersey and sneakers; the Sky Deck is a casual destination offerings some of the best seats in Detroit.
The 6,000-square-foot rooftop patio with a 250-person capacity has multiple seating areas including tables, cushioned couches and chairs, and a small three-tier bleacher directly overlooking Comerica Park. The Sky Deck also offers a 360-degree view of the Detroit skyline. It is open every single Friday and Saturday through September, with or without a Tigers game. (They hope to extend their season for as long as the weather holds out.) On Fridays they will have DJs, and on Saturdays live music from Detroit bands.
The Sky Deck caters to baseball fans with the radio broadcast piped in through their PA system and typical ballpark foods like hot dogs, hamburgers, and chicken wings. But they also cater to any and all major events happening downtown. "This is an event-driven city," says Michigan Opera Theatre Operations Manager Jason Warzecha. "As events come up we will adjust our schedule accordingly."
This Saturday is the Jimmy Buffett concert at Comerica Park. Parrotheads will enjoy plenty of margaritas in this makeshift Margaritaville. For this event, the Sky Deck is opening at noon.
The Sky Deck's regular hours start at 6 p.m. and cover is free before 9 p.m., after which time they charge a nominal $5 cover. You do not need to purchase tickets in advance or have tickets to a show at the Opera House to visit the Sky Deck. The deck is totally open-air but is also connected to the Chrysler Black Box Theatre, so you can take a break from the sun/heat/rain and go inside where there's air conditioning when the need arises.
While Coors Light is the sponsor of the Sky Deck, Warzecha says they want this to be "an entire experience." They carry the full line of MillerCoors products – which includes Blue Moon and Leinenkugel – and also plan on hosting beer tastings with food pairings in the future.
The Sky Deck is also available for private rentals.
Source: Jason Warzecha, Director of Operations at the Michigan Opera Theatre
Writer: Nicole Rupersburg
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