Federal Lawsuit Could Impact Pistons' Move To Downtown Detroit

A hearing has been scheduled for today in U.S. District Court for Eastern Michigan to consider a lawsuit that "might hamper" the Pistons' planned move to downtown Detroit. The suit to "block public funding" for Little Caesars Arena was filed June 1 by activist Robert Davis and City Clerk candidate D. Etta Wilcoxon. According to an affidavit by Pistons CFO Greg Campbell, the NBA "may not approve" the Pistons' move if "all legal and financing matter are not settled before its board meetings next month." Campbell said that "receiving public dollars was a 'condition' of the team's agreement with the Detroit Downtown Development Authority." The arena's estimated cost has increased from $450M to $862M and is "anticipated to be 62% privately funded and 38% publicly funded" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 6/19).