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Plans move ahead for demolition of Detroit's Joe Louis Arena

Plans are moving forward for the demolition of the former home of the Detroit Red Wings in downtown Detroit.

The demolition should be finished by the end of 2019

FILE - In this Dec. 18, 2012 photo, championship banners and retired numbers of the Detroit Red Wings hockey team hang from the rafters above the ice at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. (Paul Sancya/Associated Press)

Plans are moving forward for the demolition of the former home of the Detroit Red Wings in downtown Detroit.

Detroit Building Authority Director Tyrone Clifton told the Detroit Free Press that demolition of Joe Louis Arena is expected to begin in the next four to six weeks and finish by the end of the year or early 2020.

Clifton said crews will start by disassembling the arena's interior and then proceed to the exterior by June or July. The  newspaper said Detroit-based Adamo Group is doing the demolition under a $5.9 million contract with the city and there will be no implosion that people might be able to gather to see.

The Red Wings moved to the new Little Caesars Arena in Detroit in 2017.

With files from the Detroit Free Press