Run the Jewels
Make Detroit Great Again
Every time the World Juniors are held in North America, they play on North America sized ice.
Good to know. In that case it should definitely be held in Detroit once the new barn is open for business.
Every time the World Juniors are held in North America, they play on North America sized ice.
1) Where do you think DDA money comes from?
It's a taxation district overlaid on top of a region of the city.
Taxes on future property tax increases are diverted from the places they would normally go (schools/fire/pd etc).
2) I'm glad you want tax dollars to go straight into the hands of selected rich guys. I don't..
It's great having Ford Field downtown and a new Comerica Park... but how exactly did that change Detroit?
It didn't.
potential sites for the new arena
https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa...06282&spn=0.022207,0.036478&z=14&source=embed
1) The DDA is going to collect that tax money whether it goes to this project or not. Of course it's tax money. That still doesn't mean that it is available to schools etc.
There are a lot of developments in various forms of progress in the city right now and they ARE attracting young people to live and socialize and spend money in the city. That is a good thing. This project will help. The stadium is just part of a larger project that include streetside retail space, office space and possible housing.
2)It's not about money going to "select rich guys." Its about the money going to people who will manage it properly and get the most result per dollar. Do I trust the Ilitch's, Penske's and Gilbert's more than I trust the City's government? You bet your ass I do.
And if you don't believe that Comerica Park and Ford Field have not contributed to the progress that has been made in the city then there is no use arguing with you. Have they transformerd the city overnight? No, that's not possible. Considering the state that Detroit was in 10 years ago, it would be beyond naive to believe that Detroit could turn into a Chicago or even a Cleveland over the span of a decade. This type of project takes decades of sustained projects and coordination to happen. You can't look at one or two projects as if they exist only onto themselves and say, "whelp, that stadium has been round for 8 years and the city isn't a rolling metropolis, so its a failure." It's creating a critical mass of entertainment, housing and safety that will attract people to the city. It's happening but it needs to be sustained.
This type of project takes decades of sustained projects and coordination to happen. You can't look at one or two projects as if they exist only onto themselves and say, "whelp, that stadium has been round for 8 years and the city isn't a rolling metropolis, so its a failure." It's creating a critical mass of entertainment, housing and safety that will attract people to the city. It's happening but it needs to be sustained.
But you have to start somewhere and the economic drivers have decided that the best way to turn the city around is to invest in the core downtown area with the hope that development spreads from there. If the city is able to create a core area that attracts socially and economically responsible people (which is happening) then you change the voting culture of the city. You change the expectations of constituents and that is what drives overall change, that is what ultimately "fixes" city council and the schools.
Without a change in the mentality and expectations of the constituents, there will be no saving Detroit. The last 30 years have proven that.
The hints point to a swath of blighted land north of the Fox Theatre in Detroit where at least 22 secretive land deals have taken place since 2008.
House Speaker Pro Tem John Walsh, R-Livonia, who sponsored legislation that would make the Ilitch organization — whose businesses include the Red Wings, Detroit Tigers, Fox Theatre and Little Caesars Pizza — eligible for $13 million a year in Detroit tax money, said Monday that Ilitch representatives indicated they are looking to Wall Street for financing and labor unions to invest in the project to secure some of the construction work.
Crain's Detroit Business reported this week that lobbyists and lawyers for Ilitch have approached state officials about the state owning the arena, which would be similar to the Red Wings' current arrangement in which the city of Detroit owns Joe Louis Arena and the Red Wings lease it.
Ownership wants a new rink, so you can see why they aren't quite ready to throw in the towel and head for a complete rebuild at this point.
I dunno, if you had your next Yzerman or Lidstrom about the time the arena is completed that would generate much more interest in the team than a team with no Pavel Datsyuk and Z and Mule dealing with persistent injuries and no dominant presence on defense.
Who is the superstar on the current roster who will lead the team into the new arena?
Ownership wants a new rink, so you can see why they aren't quite ready to throw in the towel and head for a complete rebuild at this point.
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20130127/NEWS/301279962/state-could-make-play-for-arena
Good article, worth a read.
Property taxes are a major reason for the Ilitches to not want to own a new arena, said Neil deMause, a New York-based journalist and co-author of the book Field of Schemes, which took a critical look at public funding for professional sports stadiums.
"If the state owns the building, presumably you don't have to pay property taxes. That's huge. That's why a vast number of authorities are owned by public entities even if the teams are paying for the construction costs," he said.
....
Not owning a new arena also aids the Ilitches in the long term, deMause said.
"If you don't own the building, you're not stuck with it down the road," he said. "What you want to own is the revenue for the building. Actually owning the building means you're in a situation in which you want to move down the road, the property is yours and you have to figure out what to do with it."
The Michigan Strategic Fund owning the building helps solve those concerns, and there's precedent for the fund owning property.
As it always goes: privatize profits, socialize losses.
I entirely agree that productive people need to move into Detroit for there to be a change, but I'm not aware of any evidence that sports stadia in downtown cores do much to attract residents. The people from the areas around Tiger Stadium moved away in the 60s and 70s in spite of the close ties they had to the stadium and the team.
Who is the superstar on the current roster who will lead the team into the new arena?
but the presence of restaurants, clubs, bars and shops do. That's why this mixed use development and the light rail link to New Center matter... if this small stretch of downtown and midtown can be successfully gentrified into a new Royal Oak, Ferndale or Ann Arbor, then that's a win for the city as a whole. Looking at this from a strict sports arena standpoint is wrong... it's one of several developments that will actually make this small section of the city livable.