The city of Detroit "wants" Tigers and Red Wings Owner
Mike Ilitch "to start paying for the dozens of police
officers who patrol in and around" Comerica Park and Joe
Louis Arena during games, according to George Hunter of the
DETROIT NEWS, who wrote that the Ford family "also may have
to reimburse the city for police patrols once" the Lions'
new Ford Field is completed downtown. Detroit Police First
Precinct Commander Gary Brown said that he is "working to
determine how much it costs" the police department to patrol
the ballpark and arena so the city "can take steps to charge
Ilitch for the protection." Brown: "These are private
businesses, and I think if Ilitch wants us to patrol inside
the stadiums, he should have to pay for it." Hunter added
that police departments in the cities of Pontiac and Auburn
Hills are reimbursed for police patrols in and around the
Silverdome and Palace, respectively, during games. The
Lions and Pistons "would not say how much they paid" for the
protection and the cities said that the information "was not
immediately available" (DETROIT NEWS, 9/10).
