Quicken Loans Budd Lynch Veterans Suite

The Detroit Red Wings host a group of 20 military veterans and active military members on leave in a suite at each home game since the program’s inception on Nov. 5, 2009. Guests in the Budd Lynch Suite are treated to free Little Caesars pizza and beverages courtesy of Coca-Cola, while enjoying the action on the ice from a great view atop Joe Louis Arena.

Since the program’s inaugural season, the Wings have donated more than 2,375 suite tickets to military members in recognition of the tremendous amount of hard work and the countless sacrifices they have made to ensure the U.S. is a safe place to live.

How to Apply
The Wings work with local military units, agencies, and non-profit organizations to find military veterans and active members on leave for mutually agreed upon games. If you work for an organization that would like to assist with these efforts, please download this form by clicking here and fax it to (313) 567-0296. A Community Relations representative will follow up with you upon receipt of your fax.

If you are a military veteran or an active military member on leave, please reach out to your local military contact to see if they are part of this program. If not, encourage them to fill out the form linked in the above paragraph and fax it in to us. Unfortunately, we cannot accept individual requests.


Budd Lynch
The suite was named in honor of legendary public address announcer Budd Lynch, who served in the Canadian Army. As a young Major of the Essex Scottish Regiment in World War II, Lynch lost his right arm and shoulder at the hands of an enemy rocket shortly following the D-Day Invasion at Normandy. Soon after the attack, he resumed his pre-war radio career and contributed to the BBC throughout the remainder of the war. That was just the beginning of Lynch’s hall of fame broadcasting career.

After World War II, Lynch began his career with the Wings at Olympia Stadium in 1949 as the team’s radio play-by-play announcer and also once spent time as the Red Wings’ director of publicity. He has served as the Wings’ public address announcer since 1985, the same year he received the Foster Hewett Memorial Trophy from the Hockey Hall of Fame for his outstanding contributions as a hockey broadcaster. Lynch’s experiences were chronicled in his autobiography entitled My Life: From Normandy to Hockeytown.