Cavaliers Owner Dan Gilbert and Pistons Owner Tom Gores have identified a "failed Wayne County jail" in downtown Detroit as a stadium site for their proposed MLS team, according to a front-page piece by Ferretti & Ramirez of the DETROIT NEWS. The vision "calls for a 25,000-seat stadium as the centerpiece of a project that would feature retail and residential units, a hotel and covered parking and plazas." Gilbert yesterday introduced the plan during a news conference that included MLS Commissioner Don Garber. The league "hasn’t made a formal commitment yet to Detroit but said the city is one of seven being considered as the league continues with its expansion." Gilbert has been "trying to buy the 15.5-acre jail site from Wayne County" since '13, and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan "did endorse the idea of MLS soccer downtown." Wayne County Commissioner Raymond Basham said that while the soccer stadium’s backers "may have approached county and city officials about the project, they haven’t approached the county’s 15 commissioners, who ultimately have the final vote" (DETROIT NEWS, 4/28). Wayne County Exec Warren Evans said that Gilbert and his partners "would have to cover the cost of building at a new site, which would mean big, big money." But he "didn't name a price." Evans added that the partners "would need to come up with a proposal by late summer or early fall" (MLIVE.com, 4/27).
DESIRABLE DESTINATION: In Detroit, John Niyo notes MLS officials "haven’t set a timeline" for the next phase of expansion. Garber: "It’s important that we don’t. Because we have to get this right. We’re going through what will likely be the last round of expansion in our league’s history. And these next four or five teams are really important.” Niyo writes the lure of Detroit for MLS "is obvious, even beyond the geographical footprint it fills." Along with Phoenix, it is the "largest media market without a franchise." And of the seven other cities believed to be in the running for the next four teams up for grabs, it is the "only one with this kind of ownership commitment." Garber called the Gores-Gilbert union “almost unprecedented." Niyo: "And it is." Detroit also is a "market with an eager -- and thriving -- fan base" (DETROIT NEWS, 4/28). Garber: "We obviously can't move forward unless we have an ownership group. We have that. We're not going to move forward unless we have the right site. This is the site we're very focused on. We've got to move -- juggle all these balls here, but also in the other markets" (MLIVE.com, 4/27).
STILL WORK TO BE DONE: In Detroit, Stephen Henderson in a front-page piece writes, "Everyone likes big shiny new projects in downtown. Me, too." But this site, "given the history of incompetence that left it saddled with a partly built jail and a mountain of debt, would require a lot of untangling to be repurposed for anything else." With things "deeply unsettled, Gilbert's splashy soccer stadium announcement is a pointedly aggressive move -- it gets everyone excited about this alternative to the jail and puts pressure on the county to give in or stand in the way of 'progress.'" It is a "churlish public relations move that'll be tough for county officials to answer, but it doesn't wipe away the serious impediments -- some financial, some about where criminal justice facilities need to be located -- that will have to be addressed if Gilbert’s vision will be more than talk" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 4/28).
NOTHING BUT GRAVY: ESPN's Brian McBride said Detroit looking to land an MLS club is a "positive situation," as Gores and Gilbert are "people with a lot of money that really want to invest" in the league. McBride: "There's always going to be the question mark: Are they expending too quickly? Is the player pool getting too diluted? ... But all in all, it's great to see that the possibility of expansion is in cities sometimes you're not nearly thinking about." ESPN's Alejandro Moreno noted Detroit seems to have "jumped over Sacramento and over St. Louis" for MLS, partially because Gores and Gilbert "have money, they're willing to build a stadium, they have a plan in place." Moreno: "If you have money and you have power, you have MLS' attention. It's as simple as that" ("ESPN FC," ESPNews, 4/27).
