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The Ilitch Sporting Empire of Detroit.

B

bigmrg74

Frankenstein's Monster
Ilitch to buy the Pistons

Personally, I see this to be a great move for Detroit, especially if they hammer out a deal to get a dual use arena in around the Ford, Copa and Fox Theature area. The Joe is nice and all, but its is starting to show its age, and well, there's nothing around it at all as far as bars and whatnot. Closest ones are Cobo Joes and the Post, and well, Cobo Joe is barely above a hole in a wall, and the Post, yeah, Hole in the Wall.
 
Re: The Ilitch Sporting Empire of Detroit.

Too bad NFL rules prohibit him from buying the Lions.
 
Re: The Ilitch Sporting Empire of Detroit.

There's a lot of old money in the NFL. The Fords have owned at least a part of the Lions since 1957. The Maras founded, and still run, the Giants, the Rooneys did the same with the Steelers, and the Halas family still owns the Bears (McCaskey is married to George Halas' granddaughter). Carroll Rosenbloom's son is still the Chairman of the Rams. For those of you who don't know, Rosenbloom owned the Baltimore Colts in the 50's and 60's and essentially swapped them for the Rams in 1972. The Irsay family bought the Colts in the same deal, and they still have the team. And yes, Al Davis is still peeing in his oatmeal out in Oakland. NFL franchises don't change hands very often. At least 4 of the original founding families still own their respective teams.

The Ford family isn't going anywhere. Once the old man goes (which will be sooner that most of us expect, he is 85 now), Junior will own them, and then I think things will change some. Remember, Ford Motor Company still is one of the top purchasers of advertising for the NFL, and I'm sure Jr. will remind Mr. Goodell of that fact once he gets involved.
 
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Re: The Ilitch Sporting Empire of Detroit.

all true. I've had this feeling that when your name is on half of all the autos IN THE WORLD, you don't quite have the same fire in the belly to win ... like Jerry Jones. William Clay will pass on. he's no winner, having been suckered by the like of Wayne Fontes. young Bill? who knows?
 
Re: The Ilitch Sporting Empire of Detroit.

Twitch Boy said:
Too bad NFL rules prohibit him from buying the Lions.
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I thought the NFL only prevented you from owning teams in different cities. And besides couldn't he just put an NFL team in Marion's name like he does with the Motorcity Casino to get around MLB's gambling rules?
 
Re: The Ilitch Sporting Empire of Detroit.

huskyfan said:
all true. I've had this feeling that when your name is on half of all the autos IN THE WORLD, you don't quite have the same fire in the belly to win ... like Jerry Jones. William Clay will pass on. he's no winner, having been suckered by the like of Wayne Fontes. young Bill? who knows?
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Well, the Lions aren't cheap. 30 years ago, different story. Not now. They just don't spend the money well.

Old NFL franchises are virtual birthrights. People waiting for the Fords to sell are wasting their lives. NFL franchises are about as stable as you can get. Walter O'Malley owned the Dodgers from 1944 to 1979. George Steinbrenner owned the Yankees 2 years longer (37 years). NFL owners call that a short stay.
 
Re: The Ilitch Sporting Empire of Detroit.

bueller said:
I thought the NFL only prevented you from owning teams in different cities. And besides couldn't he just put an NFL team in Marion's name like he does with the Motorcity Casino to get around MLB's gambling rules?
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Well, they really frowned on Wayne Huizenga owning both the Marlins and the Dolphins. I mean, they really didn't like it. The NFL ownership is the ultimate old boys' club.
 
Re: The Ilitch Sporting Empire of Detroit.

It puts olympia entertainment in a good spot. If they can't get a good deal in the city, which I think they will, then they go to the palace with the wings. The palace is a great place to watch sports and the question is, what happens to it?

I think the best chance is that the new arena, which the wings have been making noise about for a while now, will be very near the motor city casino. Across the freeway from Comerica/ Ford Field. I agree that it will most likely be a dual use facility. I think that big mike will pay for it out of his own pocket and ask the state to come across with funding for the roads, similar to Comerica.I'll lay odds it's called... The Olympia. ( creative huh)
 
Re: The Ilitch Sporting Empire of Detroit.

There's not much of a deal to be made with the City of Detroit. They're on a crash course with Chapter 9. If Dave Bing and Co. can keep that city out of bankruptcy, they ought to have jobs for life. The State of Michigan is in a little bit better shape, but not much. I still think Ilitch is going to conjure up a deal somehow, someway, but my WAG is it's going behind Fox Theatre. There's rumors left, right and center that Mr. I has a good chunk of the land already tied up and spoken for, and it would fit his footprint perfectly.

Oh, and count on the naming rights being sold. No "Olympia Stadium". Those days are dead. He's got to pay for that arena somehow. Let's just hope that the arena is constructed close to the quality of the Palace. That place is pushing 25 years old and it's still one of the best arenas in sports.
 
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Re: The Ilitch Sporting Empire of Detroit.

manurespreader said:
It puts olympia entertainment in a good spot. If they can't get a good deal in the city, which I think they will, then they go to the palace with the wings. The palace is a great place to watch sports and the question is, what happens to it?

I think the best chance is that the new arena, which the wings have been making noise about for a while now, will be very near the motor city casino. Across the freeway from Comerica/ Ford Field. I agree that it will most likely be a dual use facility. I think that big mike will pay for it out of his own pocket and ask the state to come across with funding for the roads, similar to Comerica.I'll lay odds it's called... The Olympia. ( creative huh)
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Right on Woodward just north of the Fisher Freeway would be a good spot to put a new arena. kind of a rougher looking area that if it just had some of its older buildings knocked down, with a big shiny new arena there, it would really clean itself up. Plus, it would all be close enough that one could still park at the same lots and structures one would for FF and Copa.
 
Re: The Ilitch Sporting Empire of Detroit.

bigmrg74 said:
Right on Woodward just north of the Fisher Freeway would be a good spot to put a new arena. kind of a rougher looking area that if it just had some of its older buildings knocked down, with a big shiny new arena there, it would really clean itself up. Plus, it would all be close enough that one could still park at the same lots and structures one would for FF and Copa.
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While the city would like him to put it in the Cass Corridor, I'm sure that if he's bought up all the property behind the Fox, that's where it will ultimately go as long as he's the one kicking in at least half the money.
 
Re: The Ilitch Sporting Empire of Detroit.

FadeToBlack&Gold said:
While the city would like him to put it in the Cass Corridor, I'm sure that if he's bought up all the property behind the Fox, that's where it will ultimately go as long as he's the one kicking in at least half the money.
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True, its either there or up on woodward. Best 2 options right now. If I'm a realistate developer, I would think I would lean a little more to putting it behind the Fox. Closer to the Casino's, and would give better foot traffic for any bars and resturants that would want to set up shop in the area.

Also, would have to wonder if WSU's offer to take care of an arena that would be the Red Wings Practice ice is still on the table. If nothing more than to give their woman's program a closer place to skate at.
 
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Re: The Ilitch Sporting Empire of Detroit.

FadeToBlack&Gold said:
While the city would like him to put it in the Cass Corridor, I'm sure that if he's bought up all the property behind the Fox, that's where it will ultimately go as long as he's the one kicking in at least half the money.
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All of the "insiders" I've talked to about this have it behind the Fox- the big issue is which street to block- aka- building orientation.

Basically, this will stitch together the downtown inside of the freeways from the MGM all the way to Greektown- and you'll note how many small restaurants and whatnot are already in place.

Really- this would fill the area in very nicely.

What was odd was that I had heard great details about this a few years ago- but then it kind of went off the radar- I forgot that Davidson passed, and I'd be willing to bet that Olympia Ent. put plans on hold when the opportunity arose to make the arena multi purpose. As was pointed out- using the arena half a BB season more really makes the investment far better. One that I would bet that Olympia takes on with just some tax breaks.

In terms of land opportunity downtown, if you want the land north of I75, you are already too late- it's gone. Waiting to see what happens. Between the new arena and the light rail, the area between downtown and Wayne State will get filled in sometime. The next area of real opportunity is between Wayne State and New Center.

Anyway- this isn't just about the Pistons, but about all of Palace Sports and Entertainment- the Palace AND DTE music. And remember, Olympia is more than sports. So this is a pretty killer fit, assuming that they continue to run like they are.

The honest question is- what happens to the Palace? It's still in great shape- just in the middle of NOWHERE- can't walk there, nothing near it, bad traffic flow. But really nice facility.

IMHO, if this happens, and they announce a new arena, it will take a lot of issues off the table for Mayor Bing- ones that are not ones he should have to deal with. And oppens a BIG opportunity for Cobo- if the City can get that in order.
 
Re: The Ilitch Sporting Empire of Detroit.

Yeah, behind the Fox is the way to go. I did a Master's project on that exact idea.

Downtown Detroit has some real assets, what it needs is a critical mass of people. With a combined arena, you can put all of those spectators in a nice, walkable setting and perhaps spark enough of a market for bars and restaurants to sustain themselves. It would also be a nice event counter to baseball. Between the basketball/hockey seasons and the baseball season, Illitch has events covered year-round.
 
Re: The Ilitch Sporting Empire of Detroit.

Hammer said:
There's a lot of old money in the NFL.
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Don't forget Ralph Wilson. The definition of old money. :D

Anyways, the Illitch family buying he Pistons is good for the city. He pumps a lot of money into his teams and he also seems to hire the right people to do the jobs of running the team. He doesn't meddle like Cowboy Jerry and Billionaire Dan. Pistons fans should be happy.
 
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