We now know the magic number for The Palace to remain open.

An executive with Palace Sports & Entertainment spoke briefly at a Rochester Regional Chamber of Commerce luncheon Wednesday about how the company will determine The Palace of Auburn Hills' future.

Palace Sports executives have said repeatedly that no determination has yet been made on whether the venue, which opened in 1988, will be demolished or continue to operate after the Detroit Pistons move to the new Little Caesars Arena in downtown Detroit next fall.

Brad Lott, PS&E's senior vice president, consumer and premium sales, said the building needs to be used four times a month or its infrastructure would deteriorate. The Palace is forecasting what viable opportunities, such as concerts, will be possible, he said.

Lott said the kind of shows that will play at DTE Energy Music Theatre in Independence Township, also owned by Tom Gores' Palace Sports, won't play at the much larger Palace.

DTE has a capacity of more than 15,000, while the Palace has a capacity of up to 23,000, according to Palace Sports & Entertainment's website. The 570,000-square-foot center averages about 200 events per year, about 20 percent of those being home games for the outgoing Detroit Pistons.

However, many events that now take place at the Palace will want to book Little Caesars Arena, which will give them the aura of novelty and the excitement that go along with something new.

Lott said that without a considerable number of monthly events, it would not make sense to keep the Palace open. He pledged that the Palace will not become another Pontiac Silverdome, which fell into ruin after the Detroit Lions left in 2002 for Ford Field in downtown Detroit.

"If there aren't enough concerts to fill, we are committed to redeveloping the land," Lott said.