Could More Sports And Entertainment Events Come To Detroit?

[emu steve]

I'm taking a clue from this Detnews article about trying to bring a number of new sporting events to Detroit and thought maybe we could put a lot of this stuff into a single thread.

Make sense?

Anyway, this article is about plans for a permanent sports organizing committee to seek various professional and NCAA events for Detroit.

The article lists their current endeavors.

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/spo...nts/106991170/

[EGrant]

-NHL ASG is a lock. Hockeytown + nicest arena in the sport.
-I think the NBA ASG, especially with Arn Tellum managing the Pistons' business side is very likely.
-NCAA events are a toss up. They'll get some and lose some.
-Super Bowl and Draft? Not so sure. We just hosted and they only seem to do cold weather locations for new stadiums. The draft could be interesting in the LCA.

[emu steve]

I also had thoughts of more entertainment but that is still by and large an event-by-event thing.

Could Detroit get say a political convention?

Anything else not sports related?

[EGrant]

A convention would be interesting. I'd assume it would be the DNC, right?

What about some kind of large music festival, like Lollapalooza? I know we have Movement and MoPop, but I am surprised there is nothing on a bigger scale.

[Jason]

Detroit is a Democratic city, but all major cities are, so either the RNC or DNC could come here. Last election we had a Democratic debate [[which they moved to Flint), and a Republican debate [[in the Fox Theater, known locally for the Ilitches who are Democrats). We could totally have a convention. And with some considering Michigan to be a swing state, with Detroit being useful for different narratives in different ways, with there being a fresh governor in office at the time, and some other factors, Detroit could be an attractive convention host.

Also, we'd do a better job of hosting it than Philly [[who didn't do a good job) or Cleveland. There's a lot of cities it can go to though. At this point though I'm not sure cities are quite as enthusiastic about hosting the RNC as they would be in normal circumstances.

But aside from these big events, my understanding is that Detroit is picking up a lot of smaller conventions, which is great.

[MicrosoftFan]

Michigan is now the most swingy swing state. Trump won by what, 10000 votes? Closest in the union. We are the forerunners for a convention.

[emu steve]

LCA is ready made for a quadrennial [[4 year) convention as they used to be called. Great location. Great acoustics. Plenty of places to eat. And, of course, the obligatory reference to the QLine. Etc.

I'd assume convention organizers would be pleased with the facilities.

[Bham1982]

LCA is ready made for a quadrennial [[4 year) convention as they used to be called. Great location. Great acoustics. Plenty of places to eat. And, of course, the obligatory reference to the QLine. Etc.

I'd assume convention organizers would be pleased with the facilities.

Detroit is an addict and sports is the drug. We have every team playing downtown, three taxpayer subsidized palaces, and yet it's never enough. Let's bring on the soccer, cricket, badminton, fencing, curling and water polo stadia and we'll REALLY be thriving then.

Crazy that actual vibrant places like NYC, Paris, London don't have all these sports venues in their core. Wonder how they survive.

Oh, remember when everyone said the Pistons problem was location, rather than team [[even though the Pistons led the NBA in attendance just a few years ago)? Well, since, moving downtown, they've actually dropped in relative attendance, going from 25th to 26th. Pretty amazing for a brand new arena.

Has there ever been such a precedent [[brand new U.S. professional sports arena with half empty building)? I don't think the Pistons could possibly have a worse start.

[Hypestyles]

... I guess we'll see..

[masterblaster]

Detroit is an addict and sports is the drug. We have every team playing downtown, three taxpayer subsidized palaces, and yet it's never enough. Let's bring on the soccer, cricket, badminton, fencing, curling and water polo stadia and we'll REALLY be thriving then.

Crazy that actual vibrant places like NYC, Paris, London don't have all these sports venues in their core. Wonder how they survive.

Oh, remember when everyone said the Pistons problem was location, rather than team [[even though the Pistons led the NBA in attendance just a few years ago)? Well, since, moving downtown, they've actually dropped in relative attendance, going from 25th to 26th. Pretty amazing for a brand new arena.

Has there ever been such a precedent [[brand new U.S. professional sports arena with half empty building)? I don't think the Pistons could possibly have a worse start.

Nobody is saying we need to build stadiums for badminton and fencing. Mr. EMU STEVE'S comment was that those convention organizers would be pleased with our CURRENT facilities.

Also, in order to attract an MLS squad, a new stadium is required by that league.

Detroit has never been in the same class as NYC, London, and Paris, and will never be 1/20 of those places [[nor will a whole lot of big cities in the U.S.).

Let me ask you this. You never, ever, ever give solutions. Only criticisms and put-downs. Since you criticize every single proposal or action to improve Detroit, what do you propose Detroit do to grow its economy, attract businesses, attract residents? Are you capable of offering any ideas or solutions, or are you only capable of knocking everyone else's.

[ghettopalmetto]

Nobody is saying we need to build stadiums for badminton and fencing. Mr. EMU STEVE'S comment was that those convention organizers would be pleased with our CURRENT facilities.

Also, in order to attract an MLS squad, a new stadium is required by that league.

Detroit has never been in the same class as NYC, London, and Paris, and will never be 1/20 of those places [[nor will a whole lot of big cities in the U.S.).

Let me ask you this. You never, ever, ever give solutions. Only criticisms and put-downs. Since you criticize every single proposal or action to improve Detroit, what do you propose Detroit do to grow its economy, attract businesses, attract residents? Are you capable of offering any ideas or solutions, or are you only capable of knocking everyone else's.

I think Bham is contending that you can't build an economy focused on professional sports and events, which are heavily subsidized by taxpayers. Detroit was arguably the wealthiest city on earth during the 1920s, and it wasn't because of the Red Wings or NCAA.

Events are nice, but they're bread and circuses. I tend to agree with Bham that too much energy is expended on "attracting events" in lieu of making reasonable policy choices that can help to grow an economy.

Sure, Cleveland hosted the RNC in 2016, which attracted many visitors. But the locals stayed home, and most downtown restaurants that had not been rented out for the week did less business than usual. Even our public market--outside of downtown--that is usually busy on weekends and a tourist attraction in its own right, was absolutely dead during the convention. The real improvements have been incremental and painstaking, taking place with the construction of new housing and opening of small businesses.

If you want to be Indianapolis, though, go nuts.

[EGrant]

Maybe you can work to attract new events and continue working to improve infrastructure, education, etc at the same time?

[iheartthed]

I think Bham is contending that you can't build an economy focused on professional sports and events, which are heavily subsidized by taxpayers. Detroit was arguably the wealthiest city on earth during the 1920s, and it wasn't because of the Red Wings or NCAA.

Events are nice, but they're bread and circuses. I tend to agree with Bham that too much energy is expended on "attracting events" in lieu of making reasonable policy choices that can help to grow an economy.

Sure, Cleveland hosted the RNC in 2016, which attracted many visitors. But the locals stayed home, and most downtown restaurants that had not been rented out for the week did less business than usual. Even our public market--outside of downtown--that is usually busy on weekends and a tourist attraction in its own right, was absolutely dead during the convention. The real improvements have been incremental and painstaking, taking place with the construction of new housing and opening of small businesses.

If you want to be Indianapolis, though, go nuts.

I agree with you both that public funds shouldn't be used for sport stadiums. I think that discussion is extremely tangential to the point of this thread. And now that Detroit has the stadiums Detroit needs to pay for them, so they should be fighting tooth and nail for every event they can physically host.

[Zads07]

Getting back to the original post, I think it's highly likely we see more sports and entertainment events with the LCA. It's already been home to a number of concerts and sporting events since it opened around a month and a half ago.

With Cobo finally updated, Joe Louis to be demolished and whether a hotel/condos/office/retail/apartments gets built there will add to the Cobo dynamic, more hotels are being built/renovated, the downtown core on a considerable upswing, Detroit could be an entertainment destination for shows, sports, events, conventions, etc. in the near future.

Think big like yes, the DNC and RNC conventions, larger trade shows, NFL/NBA/NHL Drafts, All-Star games, large scale college sporting events and more.

Sports won't jumpstart the economy in Detroit, it will only help it. I truly hope the next thing that happens in the city is fixing the neighborhoods and school district. Only then will the city be a true destination not just to visit, but to live in as well.

[401don]

The political conventions are probably at best a wash in terms of revenue. Yes they book a lot of rooms and the arena for 4-5 days but there are tremendous local security costs and it's proven in the past these conventioneers don't go out on the town much at all.

[ghettopalmetto]

Sports won't jumpstart the economy in Detroit, it will only help it. I truly hope the next thing that happens in the city is fixing the neighborhoods and school district. Only then will the city be a true destination not just to visit, but to live in as well.

See, there's the rub. There isn't any evidence that Big Events translate into an increase in economic activity, as the locals [[frankly, a more loyal customer base) often stay home.

I think people get upset about the Big Events strategy because the "fixing the neighborhoods and school district" part never seems to happen. The public is told, in so many words, that billionaire sports franchise owners, the NCAA, and Whomever Else We Want to Impress is more important than they are. In my humble opinion, that's a bullshit way to run a city.

[emu steve]

...Sports won't jumpstart the economy in Detroit, it will only help it. I truly hope the next thing that happens in the city is fixing the neighborhoods and school district. Only then will the city be a true destination not just to visit, but to live in as well.

Sports and entertainment are also a 'quality of life' factor.

When I was in Detroit late September, Saturday night, there was Tigers, Red Wings, Sistine Choir at the Opera theater, events at the Fillmore and Fox. Lions and Tigers on Sunday afternoon.

Using my "live, work and play' mantra. Lot of employment in the central business district [[CBD), and a lot of play in the sports and entertainment district.

Quite frankly, CBD employment and sports and entertainment aren't the heaviest lifts. It is the 'live' issue: housing, schools, public safety, etc.