Well....it looks like we have a name for the new arena. Thoughts?
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Well....it looks like we have a name for the new arena. Thoughts?
Tax motivated tactic. Probably couldn't get anyone else to pay enough so LC paid the RWs a lot of tax deductible money and the RW, which may be operating at a loss, avoids paying a lot of taxes.
SWAG obviously.
Looks like the LED roof is not happening.. to be replaced with a giant LC logo instead.
Arena! Arena!
No surprise. A number of us suggested it earlier this year...
Yuck, what a disappointment.
What is the nickname going to be? The Hot and Ready?
Ewwwwwwwwwwww
No surprise there.
But even if they put that logo on the roof, it doesn't mean they aren't doing the LED roof to display other images. It might just be predominately that image.
Yuck. I'm going to stick with "Red Wings Arena"
Ain't it coincidental that I once made a 3D mockup of the arena way back in 2012 and titled it with this exact name?
https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/mod...eb72b524f3e0ca
I am irate, and the social media reactions are quite bad. LC is an inferior fast food product like Taco Bell or McDs, and you do not see arenas named after such chains. This reflects poorly on Detroit and the franchise and I hope they change it.
They all but said the LED roof is gone. Tom Wilson said the sides of the building "made out of aluminum" will be able to "project images"
They kind of hinted this was coming when they said a couple months back that an LED roof might not work due to the weight of it. Oh well, would've been way cooler.
I think many of us don't like this name. Money drives the business and it doesn't surprise me at all. Still, I'll probably call it 'The LCA' or a variation of that.
What also is very disappointing is the giant Little Caesars man logo on the roof instead of LED lighting and changing colors and logos for different events.
We've gone from the "Joe' to the "Dough".....ijs
Where is everyone seeing the giant little caesars logo on the roof?
The big pizza pie in the sky.
LAME
Why not honor the city, state or local sports great? The evokes thoughts of the cheapest gimmick pizza out there.
I would've bet the name would have something to do with them though.
Underwhelmed. Yawn. 'Much like what I've thought of the Red Wings' on-ice performance the past five seasons.
Brad Galli tweeted it.
https://twitter.com/BradGalli/status/725712235243405312
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 name is bad. If they wanted a 'legacy' name, call it Ilitch Arena.
PS - I can never remember if that name has 1 l or 2.
So it won't be named Olympia, Gordie Howe Arena or some famous African American boxer.
Same ring and focus to it as the Mike Ilitch School of Business.
I guess the silliness is better than the coldness of "The District Detroit" name for the area. I preferred naming it after a great athlete like Joe Louis!
Attachment 30239
Here's a rendering released by Olympia.
To everyone disappointed by or hostile to the arena name: I think this has happened when most arenas have adopted corporate names. I know a lot of people hated Comerica Park, even more so when they up and left Detroit. The only one offhand that I can remember not being controversial was Ford Field. I think the name was predictable [[as noted above, many of us predicted it). It is also a Detroit-based sponsorship, which is nice both for the hometown connection and the likelihood that LC won't up and leave the city. My only [[slight) disappointment is that they didn't include a nod to the Olympia name [[I preferred the Little Caesar's Olympia Arena as the name). Corporate naming rights are reality for almost all major venues now. I don't think Little Caesar's Arena is in any way worse than MetLife Stadium or Staples Center or Amway Arena.
Indeed. It's not like what the Ilitches are doing is unusual.
It was so predictable that many of us predicted it when we had a name-the-arena thread... earlier this year. Don't have to be a $100 / hour consultant...
EDIT: Here it is. Not only the arena name but naming rights of specific parts of the arena and adjacent are. Mikey also nailed that date [[late April).
"MikeyinBrooklyn
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Join DateDec 2009Posts1,455
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http://www.detroityes.com/mb/images/misc/quote_icon.png Originally Posted by emu steve http://www.detroityes.com/mb/images/...post-right.png
can they work Olympia into something?
Will they have a lot of naming opportunities for the arena itself, the offices, residences, stores, plaza, etc.
The plaza can be "The [[name) at Little Caesars Arena.
There really are no rules, except ones they impose on themselves. I would imagine significant sponsorships are category killers, though. For instance, since Meijer is a major Wings sponsor, I doubt the name would include Target or Walmart or another retailer.
There is almost a certainty as well that different areas [[Pepsi Plaza, Chrysler Concourse, etc) and events [[Fifth Third Bank Concert Series, Pure Michigan Halftime Show, etc) will be sponsored. It is widely done nowadays. As for the attached buildings that are not the arena proper [[apartments, shops, offices). I suppose they could be named without sponsorship or they could be named directly for a sponsor other than the arena. I bet, however, they carry names like "The Shops at **** Arena" and "The Residences at **** Arena."
Also, Hypestyles, Chris Ilitch said 2 weeks ago the name would be announced within 60 days. It has also been reported elsewhere that whoever the sponsor is, it is a done deal [[agreeing to sponsorship and agreeing to the actual name are not the same thing, however. A company might want to use a specific product or slogan or just the company name). So I'm hoping by the end of April we will know.
Now that we know the name of the arena, how about the "Gordie Howe Plaza at Little Caesars Arena"? Can they put a statue of Gordie there?
It was obviously going to be a corporate name so what does it really matter which one? It's important that Little Caesars is doing so well on a national/international level if only because it means the family is flush with cash and Chris Ilitch may choose to do a better job of development than his parents [[not to mention having 130 million laying around to spend on the MLB strikeout leader Justin Upton).
Interesting. I'm not offended, but I am curious about the finance aspect- Since the Ilitch family owns Olympia Entertainment as well as Little Caesars' Pizza, how does it work exactly that LCP pays Olympia Entertainment for the stadium branding rights? Is it as simple as one family owned corporation cutting a check to another? [[I am mindful, for example, that Mike Ilitch is not a named stakeholder in the Motor City Casino gambling operation, due to MLB restrictions on that kind of thing). As such, does it "really" help to offset costs in building/maintaining the stadium by having a wholly-owned "sister" company be the main sponsor?
I do not care what they call it. It would be nice if a night out for dinner and a hockey game for two would not cost hundreds of dollars, and nicer if the whole project was not subsidized, though.
Boise: Taco Bell Arena
Louisville: KFC Yum! Center 4th largest arena in US, 22,600 seats
Providence RI: Dunkin Donuts Center [[which has me thinking about Tim Bits)
Fresno CA: Save Mart Center
1) Social Media reactions are meaningless and mostly crowd mentality. Should be ignored.
2) I don't think it reflects poorly at all. Sure, LC targets the budget market -- but they run a fine operation. I don't think anything about the chain is anything but professional. Good ads, good store designs [[of course not all), good value product, good reputation. Don't see the problem at all. But then again, I like Mike Ilitch -- so I'm dusting off my asbestos leisure suit.
By far the most obvious outcome. And I don't care if there is no LED roof. What tiny percentage of people would have even been able to have seen that? I care much more whether they follow through with residences, a hotel, and retail in the vicinity. That they create a good neighborhood [[as promised), not a hockeyland that serves only hockey fans a few dozen nights a year. And sorry to say, but were I to guess: a few residences - yes, a hotel - perhaps, lotsa parking - of course, and bars and [[minimal) retail that cater to the hockey crowd, but a thriving neighborhood even for those not attending the game -- I doubt it. I'm still skeptical but much more optimistic about the potential MLS stadium, based entirely on the past performance of the individuals involved.
Now that we know the name of the arena, how about the "Gordie Howe Plaza at Little Caesars Arena"? Can they put a statue of Gordie there?
They really should have a statue to Gordie Howe. I would also like to see in or around the arena statues of the other players who have had had their jerseys retired. My single favorite picture of myself is a picture I have with Gordie Howe.
Interesting. I'm not offended, but I am curious about the finance aspect- Since the Ilitch family owns Olympia Entertainment as well as Little Caesars' Pizza, how does it work exactly that LCP pays Olympia Entertainment for the stadium branding rights? Is it as simple as one family owned corporation cutting a check to another? [[I am mindful, for example, that Mike Ilitch is not a named stakeholder in the Motor City Casino gambling operation, due to MLB restrictions on that kind of thing). As such, does it "really" help to offset costs in building/maintaining the stadium by having a wholly-owned "sister" company be the main sponsor?
As long as both the Wings and Olympia are privately held companies controlled by the Ilitch family [[Note: only 1 L in Ilitch), it is just accounting minutiae. But if either company is sold or goes public, you can bet that they want to have the signed agreement in place about who has to pay what, when, and for how long. Little Caesar's will benefit from the exposure, because familiarity is a driver of consumer behavior. If naming it the Little Caesar's Arena makes the average person hear "Little Caesar's" X-number more times per week, they will sell more pizzas. How much is that worth? Well, I am sure some people are paid to study that exact question.
I think there is plenty of financial motivation now. With demand and prices going up for square footage in every category downtown, I think Olympia wants to capitalize on the upswing. I bet an announcement this year, construction work starts next year, occupancy 2018 [[note: the theatre's restoration work will be a longer-term project than the rest of the building, due to detailed craftsmanship needed).
The Pizzarena
Off topic but I wonder how the family business will be transferred to the children when the time comes. It is now a very large, growing, privately-held, multi-national company with several divisions. There are, I believe, 7 children, with only Chris involved with the family business. Lots of accountants working overtime on this one.
More dispatches from the "Field of Schemes" playbook.
I don't like it either.
I was shocked when I came back to Louisville to see they had a "JFC Yum! Center" [[and the fact that almost all of the community kitchens started serving that MSG-loaded crud that passes for chicken at their lunches), and R.I.'s Dunkin Donuts made me snuff in contempt.
When do we win on this here?-When we name something after some old robber-baron fart noone remembers, like in the old days? Or should it be when it's more selflessly objective in it's naming?
Yet, slapping a cheeeesey corporate logo abd name onto some huge infrastructure we all share....it just seems so....Nascar.
Oh and yes, I never wanted to lose Briggs stadium to Comerica, and I'm such a stubborn such-and-such that I've never even set foot in the new stadium once, so far.
Dropping my vote in the "name is lame" hat...
Our largest downtown employer also owns an arena in Ohio. It's branding bears the company's full name, but the arena's name is called the Q. No one there seems to mind, so maybe the lesson to be taken from that is simple is better.
Why don't we all vote on a better name? Have the local news media host online polls and narrow the list down to the top names, and ask the Illiches to consider the public's proposals. That gesture would go a lot farther than his shitty cardboard pizza that costs over 20 bucks at the game. We chipped in over $285M in taxes to build this, why shouldn't we be allowed some input?
And what is up with the LED roof bait and switch? You mean our 285M won't have to cover any costs for that failed part of the deal? What state-of-the-art roof are we getting instead?
I'm still calling the area the Corridor, they can call it whatever repugnant name they want.
I Really hope that image of the Little Ceasers logo on the roof is just a spoof. The Red Wings logo in bright lights is what got many people excited about this project.
Woof.
Little Ceasers Arena doesn't sound bad at all compared to those. I give my condolences to Louisville.
Well, you kind of answered that question on another recent thread: "Maybe they could just meet in the alley and have a fight with clubs and knives. How's 11:00 after the kids are in bed?"
As you all can tell, I'm not taking any of this seriously.
Except for Louisville....all eyes will be on Louisville for those exciting two minutes of sports real soon.
I think people cared about this not because a few people in Detroit would have seen it but because millions of people would have seen it on TV every time they played a national game. The blimp shots from midtown to downtown, with an illuminated arena and then downtown behind, would have been pretty glorious.
Agreed on all this, especially since we are now starting off with this roof bait-and-switch on the arena itself. If they actually build their new headquarters building across from Comerica, a hotel next to the arena, and renovate the Eddystone I'll consider it a success.
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.
It's like Linus and Lucy with the football. You'll get your Pizza Pizza park, with $300 million in taxpayer subsidies, and that's it. Count yourself lucky if the damn thing opens on time and doesn't turn every piece of property with a half-mile into a surface parking lot. You're dreaming if you think this will create some "new urban district" or whatnot. It's 40 hockey games a year, a few concerts, and lots of parking agita.
It's JLA, but newer and a mile north. Nothing more or less.
Barclays has a major presence in the U.S. especially in terms of trading and investment banking.
Bank branches are almost irrelevent to bulge bracket investment banking revenue. It would be like saying Little Caesars doesn't even sell sushi rolls. The most important bank in the U.S., and the world, is Goldman Sachs, which has never had a retail branch.
Deep Dish or Deep Dish Arena for sure!
How about the LC Arena or LCA for short ? If there are any uninformed attendee's wondering about the name, they could whip out their cell phones to find out, and get bombarded with pizza commercials. :p
Win-win for all of us !
And skip the awful cartoon logo on the roof, what would alien UFO's think of it ?
Sure. True. But not at all unusual.
Just how many jobs was the new Poletown plant supposed to provide? Answer: About 3 times the plant's worker-count. Why? Because that number was needed to make the public argument about spending per various laws. Both public and private lie to make their cases.
What a stupid name. I guess they can't just call it Caesars due to competition of that name across the river, ala Windsors casino.
While opinions, by definition, have no truth value, all the opinions about this topic have validity and are rooted, for the most part anyway, in civic pride. I think a couple of years from now all the hoopla over the name the arena will have gone away. And we will collectively be more concerned with the performance of the Wings, and how the ongoing rebirth and growth of Detroit is progressing. #LGRW
why does the logo look the way that it looks? What is the rationale in the design?
Call it "The Public Arena" to reflect the $250 million of taxpayer money that went to build it.
How did $300 million in taxpayer subsidies become $5 million? Is this more "make up the numbers" downtown subsidy spin?
http://www.fieldofschemes.com/2014/0...ore-than-300m/
John Oliver had a great piece on this taxpayer boondoggle late last year. Of course Illitch replied with correlation/causation fail nonsense about "spinoff effects" as if people will eat lunch, drive cars or work in jobs based on whether or not a hockey arena is built.
The details of the financing of the arena financing are complicated and hard to understand. But supporters of the arena tend to minimize the public investment, and dream big about its potential benefits. Let's stick to the facts.
The arena was financed by $450M in bonds. Olympia will pay back $200M. Detroit's Downtown Development Authority [[DDA), run by the Detroit Economic Growth Corp [[DEGC), will pay back the remaining $250M. Crain's explains:
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...re-are-answers
This article from the Metro Times provides more detail, including an important bit how if Olympia invests or "causes to invest" at least $200M around the arena within 5 years after it opens, the DDA will credit Olympia up to an additional $74M:
http://www.metrotimes.com/Blogs/arch...ed-wings-arena
An earlier article put the credit at $62M, not $74M. I'm not sure why there's a discrepancy:
http://www.metrotimes.com/detroit/ol...nt?oid=2144114
I'm also not sure if Wayne State's new Ilitch School of Business will count toward that $200M. If so it would provide a clearer picture why it will be located next to the arena, off campus.
According to the article referenced by Bham, the city has also sold Olympia publicly owned properties for $1. Several blocks of public streets were donated too. I'm not sure how to value it, but that amounts to a taxpayer subsidy too.
If it ends there, the overall taxpayer subsidy for the arena would seem to be $250M, up to $324M, plus the donated land. But is that where it ends?
I was encouraged by something in the first Metro Times article referenced above:
"...the $200 million in private investment [Olympia invests or causes to invest] could include everything from planned housing and retail developments, to 'tens of millions' of dollars in infrastructure upgrades [Olympia] says it has committed to spend for landscaping improvements, street upgrades, and new streetlights."
Improved public infrastructure will be needed for the arena and it seems Olympia may pick up at least part of the cost. I expect it will be more than their idea to widen Temple to ease customers to their casino.
But that's not a complete picture. What's the full list of necessary infrastructure improvements [[electrical, water, sewers, lighting, roads...), and who will pay for them? Any city, county, state, or federal funds for these expenses should fairly be considered indirect taxpayer subsidies too.
I'm also interested where the money the DDA will use to repay their share of the bonds comes from. This part gets murky for me. The Crain's article [[above) explains the DDA is supported by property taxes levied within its district, and that they would otherwise go to the city's general fund, Detroit Public Schools, Wayne County, Huron Clinton Metropolitan Authority, Wayne County Intermediate School District, Wayne County Community College District, and the state. With so many erstwhile recipients of this property tax revenue, I'm not sure why the discussion seems to always center on the diversion of state school funds.
State Rep. Rose Mary Robinson, unhappy with the arrangement, asked Attorney General Schuette whether it violates a provision of the state constitution that mandates money from the State School Aid Fund be used for schools. He determined it's constitutional, since the money is diverted before it gets there:
http://www.metrotimes.com/Blogs/arch...ed-wings-arena
Bob Rossbach, spokesman for the DDA, said the diversion of these funds will not impact schools because the state will replenish the lost revenue for schools with money from elsewhere:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-09-03/detroit-billionaires-get-hockey-arena-as-bankrupt-city-suffers
In 2014, a cap that limited the state school taxes the DDA could divert was lifted. It's estimated it will amount to about $15M per year or more. The DDA was also approved to engage in a risky financial bet known as an interest rate swap. The Metro Times reports a bad bet on an interest rate swap cost the Detroit Water & Sewerage Department $571 million in 2012:
http://www.metrotimes.com/detroit/fi...nt?oid=2249280
All this included, does that make the taxpayer subsidy $250M, up to $324M, plus the donated land, plus possible infrastructure improvements, plus interest rate swap risk? Is there anything I missed?
And as an aside, Olympia estimates the new arena will have a lifespan of of 48 years:
http://www.metrotimes.com/detroit/re...nt?oid=2202739
That could happen. 9 MLB and NFL stadia are older. But the average lifespan of an arena today seems less. The Joe was built 37 years ago. Madison Square Garden is the oldest in the NHL and turned 48 this year. Only the NBA's Oracle Arena in Oakland is older, at 50. With amenities and technology changing at an accelerating pace arena lifespans aren't likely to increase. Then there's the possibility a suburb or other city will some day make an offer the Red Wings can't refuse. It'd be a travesty, but wouldn't Pontiac love an NHL team? Or Windsor? Seattle sure would.
Olympia has options to renew their lease on the arena for up to 95 years. But is there any requirement the team stays? If so, until when?
http://www.metrotimes.com/detroit/ho...nt?oid=2201553
Remember how in 1995 St. Louis enticed the Los Angeles Rams to relocate with a new stadium built entirely with taxpayer money? The Rams are back in LA, but St. Louis will continue paying for the stadium until 2022:
http://www.insidesources.com/nfl-sub...e-los-angeles/
Its easy for conversations about financing new arenas and their potential economic impact to become clouded by distortions, misconceptions, and wishful thinking. Let's cut through and chase down the facts. They're tedious to uncover and many of the details are a chore to understand, but they matter a lot. The Red Wings arena may be a done deal, but its execution has just begun. The most optimistic projections may never materialize, but there are still ways to influence the result. And whatever happens, there will be other public-private ventures, and more opportunities to get things right.
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.
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.Quote:
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.
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.Quote:
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.”
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.
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.
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.
http://enquirer.com/editions/1996/12...ms_600x297.jpg
Looks like a heart and a "U", "love U", hmmmmmm......
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.
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.
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.
The Ilitches speak and clear things up:
http://www.detroitnews.com/story/spo...plan/83990532/
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.
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.
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.
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.
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/
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 :rolleyes:.Quote:
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.
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 )
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
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?