Little Caesars Arena

[erikd]

Is it safe to assume that this is the first of many concessions we should expect? If the LED roof [[which seemed like a pretty defining characteristic of the plan) was just meant to be extra glitz for the renderings, I'd imagine that there are plenty of other aspects of the plan that will be dismissed in the same manner.

The original plan also promoted a building constructed over I75. The newest rendering has appeared to scrap that part of the plan in favor of what looks like covered sidewalks over the freeway instead of a building. It's hard to tell exactly what it is supposed to be from this new rendering.

[kazoo22]

Little Caesar's Arena: Accounting trick or sign of big changes?

The question comes about the succession plan. Ilitch is in good health for an 86-year-old, but that’s still well past retirement age. His wife and children will inherit the Red Wings and Tigers, but will they keep them?The pizza-company naming rights might be a clue. If the team is sold by the Ilitch heirs, their legacy will remain on the façade of Little Caesar’s Arena.
Who would succeed the Ilitches? That’s where the soccer announcement comes in.
As a sports owner, Gilbert is best known as the brash brains behind the Cleveland Cavaliers, but he’s also a major player in the rebirth of Detroit. A native of the city, Gilbert has spent billions buying up huge chunks of the city. He’s announced plans for much of it, including an enormous renovation of Brush Park, a historic area just north of Comerica Park and Ford Field, and only a short walk from Little Caesar’s Arena.
Also nearby? The most controversial site in the city – the place where Wayne County has wasted hundreds of millions trying to build a new county jail. Gilbert badly craves the land, which is located on a freeway entrance to downtown, in order to build an entertainment complex.
Along with Gores, the owner of the Detroit Pistons, he’s now proposing to put a 20,000-seat MLS stadium in the heart of that complex.
It isn’t hard to see where Gilbert is looking next. He’s never made a secret of the fact he’d love to own the Tigers, but he could do a lot more if he strikes a deal with the Ilitch empire for all of Olympia Entertainment.
He’d get the Tigers and the Red Wings, plus a 40,000-seat baseball stadium that only opened in 2000 and a 20,000-seat hockey arena that will open in 2017. He’d also get the Fox Theater – the crown jewel of Detroit concert venues, located a couple hundred yards from both Comerica Park and Little Caesar’s Stadium.
Gilbert has positioned himself to be the biggest landowner in Detroit 2.0, and owning three stadiums and multiple concert venues in the heart of the city would make him an enormous power broker.
The Ilitch family can’t match that, but they could walk away with a gigantic payday and their company’s name still flying high on a state-of-the-art arena.

Anyone remember this rumor from from two years ago? It came from the same guy that predicted Babcock would end up in Toronto.

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2014/10/...ittle-caesers/

McGown said, “There are some issues — I’m hearing repeatedly that the Red Wings and the Tigers and Little Caesars are all for sale. The Ilitches are in the process of doing estate planning and have let it be known that somebody could buy the whole kit and kaboodle.
“If I know that, I’m quite sure Mike Babcock knows that. I can’t speak to his relationship with the ownership, but maybe he sees a culture change, a seat change happening at a larger level in Detroit.”

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out, but from what I'm hearing Chris Ilitch is in charge and he's not into the sports business like his dad. If Mike was running the show, there's no doubt he would have jumped at the MLS opportunity with Gilbert. This latest rumor confirms that not only the Tigers, but the entire Olympia Entertainment could be up for sale. Little Caesars and the Casino would be the only thing he keeps, which is why it makes perfect sense to name the arena after LC. That way he has his business' name on the arena long after the sports teams are sold.

[restoretheroar]

The only issue with this idea is that in 2014 Mike was in failing health... Fast forward a couple of years... and a few trips to the stem cell clinic [[see Howe, Gordie, and Wayne State School of medicine donation.) and maybe things have changed a bit as Mike has his health and fire back a bit.

Little Caesar's Arena: Accounting trick or sign of big changes?


Anyone remember this rumor from from two years ago? It came from the same guy that predicted Babcock would end up in Toronto.

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2014/10/...ittle-caesers/


It will be interesting to see how this all plays out, but from what I'm hearing Chris Ilitch is in charge and he's not into the sports business like his dad. If Mike was running the show, there's no doubt he would have jumped at the MLS opportunity with Gilbert. This latest rumor confirms that not only the Tigers, but the entire Olympia Entertainment could be up for sale. Little Caesars and the Casino would be the only thing he keeps, which is why it makes perfect sense to name the arena after LC. That way he has his business' name on the arena long after the sports teams are sold.

[401don]

Bob McCown [[not McGown as in the article), does have good connections as he is best buddies with many Rogers/Blue Jays execs. But, like most sports talk guys, he shoots off the cuff about everything, especially Friday afternoons when they have the roundtable on the Fan590, which is when I first heard him say Ilitch might be getting ready to sell. Nothing to it then. Nothing to it now. And I certainly don't think it had anything to do with Babcock leaving the Wings.

[CrashDummy]

Illitch did the exact same thing with Comerica Park. Many of the promised amenities were never completed, the promised surrounding buildings were never built, the streetscaping was discarded and the facade and materials were value-engineered over time.

At least thank the Fords for the football stadium being built exactly as announced, alongside ancillary development. They don't know football, but at least they didn't cheap out and kept their promises.

Is this the gem that we were baited with and switched? What a shame. At least the Fords kept their promises. Exactly as announced. Just like we like it.

[Lombaowski]

Yuck, what a disappointment.

And it's worse than "Comerica" Park how? It's 2016 where I am, enjoy 1966 over there.

[Honky Tonk]

Looks like a heart and a "U", "love U", hmmmmmm......

[tkelly1986]

There was talk a few years ago about Illitch going after the Pistons'PS&E, which fell apart. What about Gores going after the Wings and Olympia and Gilbert buying the Tigers?

Though it may sound like a conspiracy theory, but if the Cavs with the Championship in the next few years, does Gilbert sell high and wait for the Tigers?

[MikeyinBrooklyn]

There was talk a few years ago about Illitch going after the Pistons'PS&E, which fell apart. What about Gores going after the Wings and Olympia and Gilbert buying the Tigers?

Though it may sound like a conspiracy theory, but if the Cavs with the Championship in the next few years, does Gilbert sell high and wait for the Tigers?

Gilbert and Gores both have enough money to buy any Detroit franchise were they up for sale. Gilbert would not need to sell the Cavs to buy the Tigers. Considering his considerable Cleveland business interests, I'd be surprised if he sold them anytime soon.

The Ilitch-Palace tentative deal didn't "fall apart" really. Ilitch made a $400M initially accepted bid, and then lowered it by $100M after the audit. That's what businesses do. Mrs. Davidson then rejected the offer as too low. They ultimately disagreed on the relative value of the Palace/Pistons enterprise.

It remains to be seen if the Ilitches want out or not of the sports game. When Mike and Marian pass, the kids will need to decide what, if anything, to sell, and how anything that remains will be structured. I think it is more likely they keep both Tigers & Wings, and run them in a new sports & entertainment standalone company. Little Caesar's and the Casino would be a second and third new company. If they decide to sell one team, I suspect they will decide to sell both.

[Gistok]

Remember that Baseball forbids casino involvement. So Gilbert would not be eligible to buy the Tigers. Is there a Mrs. Gilbert? Marion Ilitch owns MotorCity Casino alone and is joint owner of everything except the Tigers, which Mike Ilitch owns alone.... at least on paper.

[emu steve]

Remember that Baseball forbids casino involvement. So Gilbert would not be eligible to buy the Tigers. Is there a Mrs. Gilbert? Marion Ilitch owns MotorCity Casino alone and is joint owner of everything except the Tigers, which Mike Ilitch owns alone.... at least on paper.

Did Mike consult with his wife before signing Jordan Zimmerman?

She probably said, I'll bet, that Zimmerman becomes a top of the rotation pitcher.

And she'd be right...

[Wesley Mouch]

...It will be interesting to see how this all plays out, but from what I'm hearing Chris Ilitch is in charge and he's not into the sports business like his dad. If Mike was running the show, there's no doubt he would have jumped at the MLS opportunity with Gilbert. This latest rumor confirms that not only the Tigers, but the entire Olympia Entertainment could be up for sale. Little Caesars and the Casino would be the only thing he keeps, which is why it makes perfect sense to name the arena after LC. That way he has his business' name on the arena long after the sports teams are sold.

First, its gonna matter what M/M I have in their wills. Chris is in charge, but after they pass, whoever has the most cash invested is in charge. Family dynamics may come into play.

I've never heard that Chris cares one way or the other about OlyEnt, sports or Casinos. I'd bet that he'd be happiest running a more straightforward business like LC. He seems to be like his mother. Once Mike's gone, the question is gonna be who has any vision -- and power. Mike has both. Once power and vision are separated, who knows.

[emu steve]

The Ilitches speak and clear things up:

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/spo...plan/83990532/

[mikeg19]

The interesting caveat is that with Christopher as the successor, he can't operate the Tigers and MotorCity, so he will need to bring in someone else to run one or the other. As for family dynamics, there doesn't seem to be another viable person within the Illitch family that would take over one of those responsibilities. Denise burned that bridge awhile ago and probably would't be back, and the others, from what I've read or heard, don't really have any experience in those areas to perform that function. So it will be interesting to see what happens eventually. Chris is certainly more business than emotion, so I'd suspect that those $200M Tiger payrolls will be a thing of the past.

[1953]

CrashDummy - I remember and love that picture you shared. I think we should make the Ilitches put Hudson's back as it was in that drawing, like they obviously were promising to do with that image.

[dtowncitylover]

And it's worse than "Comerica" Park how? It's 2016 where I am, enjoy 1966 over there.

I will enjoy my Tiger Stadium, Shea Stadium, Yankee Stadium, and Comiskey Park.

[drjeff]

I will enjoy my Tiger Stadium, Shea Stadium, Yankee Stadium, and Comiskey Park.

Shea Stadium was awful the day it opened.

[dtowncitylover]

Shea Stadium was awful the day it opened.

I just yearn for the days before corporate branding for everything.

[drjeff]

I just yearn for the days before corporate branding for everything.

I agree with you there. Why can't there be more creative names than just the company? Why not "Little Caesar's Olympia" or something like that? At least that gives it some character. I bet you could compile a list of all the modern big 4 sports stadia and it would be practically impossible to tell where they are or what sport[[s) are even played there in most cases.

[Enduro]

I think we should rebrand this "Bait n' Switch Arena"

From restoration promises walked back to allow for a loading dock to a featured roof in renderings and proposals being swapped out for a giant billboard to mediocrity this has already been a colossal railroading... and we haven't even seen the jobs numbers or the "district" that will surround the thing.

Only in Detroit do people fall for the same old sports BS time and time again. Can't wait to hear the 10-6 Lions chatter once the Tigers are eliminated from the playoff hunt.

[248lurker]

Robert Davis now wants to launch a ballot drive to repeal $35.4 million for the new arena.

http://www.freep.com/story/news/loca...ena/452472001/

The ballot effort is being led by Highland Park resident and activist Robert Davis and Holly resident John Lauve, who has vocalized his opposition to the funding at a number of public meetings. Davis said he's launched a new organization, Citizens United Against Corporate Welfare, to help spearhead the issue.

Hmm, Citizens United Against Corporate Welfare hasn't yet [[as of this posting) been registered with the state. But, he had registered Citizens United Against Corrupt Government back in 2012, only to have it dissolved in 2015 for failing to file three straight annual reports .

Also interesting to see John Lauve has also filed at least one lawsuit himself concerning Little Caesars Arena. [[ http://law.justia.com/cases/michigan...17/329985.html )

[313WX]

City of Detroit to federal judge: Don't toss Pistons public funding lawsuit

http://www.freep.com/story/news/loca...uit/455799001/

[stasu1213]

City of Detroit to federal judge: Don't toss Pistons public funding lawsuit

http://www.freep.com/story/news/loca...uit/455799001/

Mr Davis and Ms Wilcoxson had claimed to that the money is coming from the DDA that was supposed to be used for DPS. My question is how much money annually does DPS reclive from the DDA? If none, then why hasn't it been an issue these past years especially when school supplies weren't being allocated to students

[313WX]

Mr Davis and Ms Wilcoxson had claimed to that the money is coming from the DDA that was supposed to be used for DPS. My question is how much money annually does DPS reclive from the DDA? If none, then why hasn't it been an issue these past years especially when school supplies weren't being allocated to students

Davis is an obstructionist and a felon convicted of robbing the same money he's being a so-called watch dog of in this frivolous lawsuit.

[SammyS]

Davis is an obstructionist and a felon convicted of robbing the same money he's being a so-called watch dog of in this frivolous lawsuit.

Wow, the nerve of some people.

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/new...sets/22522955/

How and why would any one take him seriously and more importantly, who's funding his frivolous litigation?