Hmmmm...Lions Practice Facility in New Center?

The Lions have talked recently about wanting a new facility and possibly moving out of Allen Park.

It's just a tweet, but Terry Foster - who I'm sure is still connected - is saying he's hearing "rumors" that the Lions are thinking of coming to New Center.

https://twitter.com/terryfosterdet/s...76104457994586

Makes sense and hope it happens. Or how about taking a chunk of the Brewster-Douglass site? I know there have been rumors of redevelopment there for years, but it's a fairly massive site and this would be a solid addition.

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Originally Posted by stinkytofu

The Lions have talked recently about wanting a new facility and possibly moving out of Allen Park.

It's just a tweet, but Terry Foster - who I'm sure is still connected - is saying he's hearing "rumors" that the Lions are thinking of coming to New Center.

https://twitter.com/terryfosterdet/s...76104457994586

Makes sense and hope it happens. Or how about taking a chunk of the Brewster-Douglass site? I know there have been rumors of redevelopment there for years, but it's a fairly massive site and this would be a solid addition.

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Id much rather they continue to build denser housing in that area. A practice facility is an island or fortress that doesn’t add to the community outside of tax dollars. There are some large industrial sites near New Center that seem large enough. There’s also Herman Keifer north of New Center or even the old incinerator site near 94.

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Originally Posted by southen

Id much rather they continue to build denser housing in that area. A practice facility is an island or fortress that doesn’t add to the community outside of tax dollars. There are some large industrial sites near New Center that seem large enough. There’s also Herman Keifer north of New Center or even the old incinerator site near 94.

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Agreed, it's just another land grab by the Fords.

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Originally Posted by southen

Id much rather they continue to build denser housing in that area. A practice facility is an island or fortress that doesn’t add to the community outside of tax dollars. There are some large industrial sites near New Center that seem large enough. There’s also Herman Keifer north of New Center or even the old incinerator site near 94.

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Eh, not sure that's true.

I've been in the Pistons Performance Center for multiple community events and they also have Plum Market open to the community which many HFH folks in particular use.

Plus this would bring all their full time employees from Allen Park to Detroit which is worth something.

Lastly, given Ford's fabulous renovation of MCS, would imagine integrating this into the community would be top of mind.

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Originally Posted by Henry Whalley

Agreed, it's just another land grab by the Fords.

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Any insinuation the renovation of MCS is a land grab at the expense of the city is incredibly laughable.

I like the idea but I'm not sure where in New Center they would put it. While a training center doesn't need to be enormous, New Center isn't that large of an area, and most of it is well occupied.

I'd love to see them move to the south end of the Herman Kiefer complex!

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Originally Posted by southen

Id much rather they continue to build denser housing in that area. A practice facility is an island or fortress that doesn’t add to the community outside of tax dollars. There are some large industrial sites near New Center that seem large enough. There’s also Herman Keifer north of New Center or even the old incinerator site near 94.

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I have to agree with Southen. A football facility in Midtown would disrupt the potential for more dense residential. There is a football field behind the Plymouth Educational Center [[Forest and Dequindre) that may no longer be used. If available, that would be a good spot for the Lions training facility.

E Forest from Russell to McDougall has plenty of land to build a training facility for the Detroit Lions. However, there's a vacant lot on Woodward just north of Mack that has a banner saying Midtown around it. That would be the perfect place for the Lion's training facility

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Originally Posted by stinkytofu

Eh, not sure that's true.

I've been in the Pistons Performance Center for multiple community events and they also have Plum Market open to the community which many HFH folks in particular use.

Plus this would bring all their full time employees from Allen Park to Detroit which is worth something.

Lastly, given Ford's fabulous renovation of MCS, would imagine integrating this into the community would be top of mind.

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Why would there be full-time employees, other than a dozen groundskeepers/security, at Allen Park?

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Originally Posted by 401don

Why would there be full-time employees, other than a dozen groundskeepers/security, at Allen Park?

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The bulk of the team's offices & staff are in Allen Park. Only a few functions [[ticketing for example) are housed in Ford Field

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Originally Posted by stinkytofu

Eh, not sure that's true.

I've been in the Pistons Performance Center for multiple community events and they also have Plum Market open to the community which many HFH folks in particular use.

Plus this would bring all their full time employees from Allen Park to Detroit which is worth something.

Lastly, given Ford's fabulous renovation of MCS, would imagine integrating this into the community would be top of mind.

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I think what you’re missing is the need for 2-3 football fields worth of space as opposed to a gymnasium. Nothing about it is dense and any retail won’t make up for the rest of the space that this facility will take up. It would be another dead super block in the city if placed in a place like Brewster Douglas.

if it’s an old industrial site or wedged near a freeway I think it would make a lot more sense for an urban environment. I don’t see a lot of spin-off coming from something like this but I do think it would be great for the city.

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Originally Posted by southen

I think what you’re missing is the need for 2-3 football fields worth of space as opposed to a gymnasium. Nothing about it is dense and any retail won’t make up for the rest of the space that this facility will take up. It would be another dead super block in the city if placed in a place like Brewster Douglas.

if it’s an old industrial site or wedged near a freeway I think it would make a lot more sense for an urban environment. I don’t see a lot of spin-off coming from something like this but I do think it would be great for the city.

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I get what you're saying, but look how much the whole PAL complex is activated from field to conference room.

There is no reason a little creative thinking couldn't make the complex a ton more functional than you are implying, especially during the offseason.

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Originally Posted by stinkytofu

I get what you're saying, but look how much the whole PAL complex is activated from field to conference room.

There is no reason a little creative thinking couldn't make the complex a ton more functional than you are implying, especially during the offseason.

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Again, the space required for the facilities just for the Lions would kill all of the density that is happening in a place like Brush Park, even with some sort of conference room or event space. Furthermore NFL teams don't just let people rent out their practice facilities, just like we can't go play pickup at the Pistons facility.

PAL is there because of the history of the site. Nobody developing in Corktown today would propose that sort of usage on a block that big because of how dense the neighborhood is and how much homes are going for there.

I am all in favor of putting the facility in Detroit, but placing it in any area that is booming or adjacent to downtown is silly given what the facility is.

Who has the biggest field existing or closed DPSCD high schools? Just asking. I would think Northwestern HS [Grandriver and West Grand Blvd].

If they could get that kind of space...

BTW Cass Tech has the smallest. Goodness - postage stamp size!

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Originally Posted by Zacha341

Who has the biggest field existing or closed DPSCD high schools? Just asking. I would think Northwestern HS [Grandriver and West Grand Blvd].

If they could get that kind of space...

BTW Cass Tech has the smallest. Goodness - postage stamp size!

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Northwestern High School is still open and the field is used during the fall and spring months.

Cass Tech's field is 97 yards long, yet there are wide enough sidewalks behind the end zones that could be reduced to add the required three yards. Even if the correction is made, this field still wouldn't be available for the Lions practice field.

The space requirements for this would be large. The lions training facility in Allen Park consists of 2 full football fields, another drills field, full size football indoor turf room, weight training facilities, locker rooms, staff offices, classrooms, auditorium, etc... Plus the necessary parking. All fenced and surrounded by complete privacy landscaping. What they do not have or the room for is the large stands and concessions that are now becoming the modern norm for open to the public NFL practices and joint scrimmages with another NFL team during training camp. Where something like this would fit in New Center is a question.

This area is roughly 4 more acres than their current facility. Might be a couple homes and one small business they might have to buy out but seems like land acquisition would be pretty easy. Now it is on the opposite side of the Pistons facility and most activity in New Center and in an industrial area but it would be enough space. Might also be to noisy for them as it is the intersection of I-75 and I-94. Large expressway sound barrier walls with landscapingAttachment 43056?

That site isn't possible with the Fisher Body 21 redevelopment underway.

Apparently they're considering the southern portion of the Herman Kiefer Hospital site.

https://x.com/terryfosterdet/status/1766405067148493073?s=20

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Originally Posted by gratiotfaced

That site isn't possible with the Fisher Body 21 redevelopment underway.

Apparently they're considering the southern portion of the Herman Kiefer Hospital site.

https://x.com/terryfosterdet/status/1766405067148493073?s=20

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I think that would be a great spot and hopefully jumpstart the renovation of the larger building if they don’t do it themselves.

The southern portion of Herman Kiefer is not large enough at 16 acres considering they already have 22 in Allen park without enough room to accommodate 15,000 fans. The entire hospital site comes in at roughly 24 acres.

If anyone would like to see the Lions move into the Herman Kiefer they would probably have to also except the inclusion of the Hutchinson Intermediate site along with the closure of Byron street bringing the total footprint to 35 acres. Something more along the lines of what the Lions would require.

Would the demo of the main Herman Kiefer Hospital and Hutchinson Intermediate School and park be acceptable or possible for a new Lions training facility?

Next up is dual use for the stadium portion. Soccer? High school Football?

https://www.mlive.com/lions/2023/03/...llen-park.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin_C...ormance_Center

One of the reasons they want to move is more space for fans to attend training camp. I believe Allen Park can only accommodate 3-4 thousand fans. I don’t know how many they want to attend but if it’s 10k or more thats a lot of space. Plus bathroom and food facilities along with several outdoor fields, an indoor field, gym, lockers, cafeteria, offices etc.