Short answers, pulled from the story.
Little Caesars Arena opened officially on the 5th of September 2017 with a ribbon cutting ceremony. The venue hosted its first major events shortly after opening including WWE Hell in a Cell on the 8th of October 2017 and UFC 218 on the 2nd of December 2017.
The final construction cost rose to $862.9 million by the 23rd of May 2017. Public tax dollars funded approximately 58 percent of the total construction cost which reached about $261 million out of the initial $650 million budget estimate.
HOK architects unveiled a deconstructed layout for the new arena in July 2014. Christopher Ilitch called the design revolutionary during his presentation of renderings and the structure features an eight-story bowl built below street level.
The Detroit Pistons and Detroit Red Wings both play at Little Caesars Arena making it the first instance since 1961 where these two franchises share one arena. The facility also hosts college hockey games and professional women's hockey league matches.
A formal groundbreaking ceremony occurred on the 25th of September 2014 at the site. Mass excavation started shortly after that date following zoning changes approved by the Detroit City Council on the 24th of April 2015.