New Cup Of Joe? Arena In Discussion Phase For Red Wings
Joe Louis Arena and Cobo Hall Dir Lou Pavledes said after a city council meeting yesterday that Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's office and the city's Law Department have "discussed building a new home" for the Red Wings with Owner Mike Ilitch, according to Hill & Fricker in a front-page piece in the DETROIT FREE PRESS. Pavledes told city council that Cobo Hall "must be enlarged to compete with convention centers in other cities. Tearing down the neighboring [arena] and building more exhibition space where the Wings now play is one of four options being considered." If the site "is used to expand" Cobo Hall, Pavledes said that the city "likely would help build a new arena for the Wings." Hill & Fricker write, "It's the first time a city official has acknowledged the possibility that the [Red Wings] could move when" their lease expires at the arena in '08. However, Ilitch Holdings spokesperson Al Sebastian said, "There are no plans to build a new hockey arena at this point" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 4/25).
LIONS DEN: CNNSI.com's Don Banks profiled the Lions' new HQs and training facility and wrote, "Situated on 22.7 acres, the Lions' new digs include a 225,000 square-foot building, the centerpiece of which is the team's 95,000 square-foot, 110-foot high indoor practice facility. All told, the complex, which includes two outdoor practice fields, encompasses 460,000 square feet." Banks called it the "reigning Taj Mahal of current NFL team complexes." The 19-month project cost $35.5M (CNNSI.com, 4/24).
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