Will Detroit Ever Get A MLS Team?

[ABetterDetroit]

There does appear to be a double standard about field turf for some…

https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/charl...merica-stadium

[Hypestyles]

hmm.. I hope Detroit gets a team. share with Ford Field.

[ct_alum]

We should get a professional football team first, then worry about soccer.

[louis]

Just assembling a parcel for a MLS stadium anywhere near downtown/midtown will be nearly impossible, due to speculators, and lack of available space [Ilitchville is out of the question].

I really like the idea of putting the stadium on the Uniroyal site with lots of mixed use development surrounding it. Maybe we could even use it as an excuse to build a light rail line down Jefferson

[313WX]

The main sticking point with Ford Field was not the turf/grass, but the roof.

And frankly, even if the MLS eventually gives the OK with Ford Field, I don't blame Don Garber for being petty and making Detroit wait after Gilbert pulled that massive bait & switch on him [[the whole taxpayer funding thing notwithstanding).

[masterblaster]

I really like the idea of putting the stadium on the Uniroyal site with lots of mixed use development surrounding it. Maybe we could even use it as an excuse to build a light rail line down Jefferson

For long, I have envisioned a Navy Pier-type attraction at the Uniroyal Site, with the Uniroyal Tire Ferris Wheel as its headliner. A 25,000 outdoor stadium would be awesome there as well. [[Although I think the MLS has expanded too fast, the league is barely 25 years old and is already on pace to have 30 teams by 2023. I don't know how sustainable it is)

[ABetterDetroit]

Myself, I would pass on another riverfront stadia. Been there done that. Uniroyal site needs something bigger that engages the waterfront directly with people 363 days a year… Like a Aquarium!

[401don]

Myself, I would pass on another riverfront stadia. Been there done that. Uniroyal site needs something bigger that engages the waterfront directly with people 363 days a year… Like a Aquarium!

Ferris wheels and aquariums. Yeah let's copy what every other city has done for the last 20 years.

[EGrant]

As far as aquariums go, I wouldn't want to see anything bigger than what we already have at Belle Isle. Anything bigger than that will create some Sea World-like conditions, and I just am not a big fan of that.

I did like how the original MLS proposal for the jail site included offices/residential, which helps keep the site from becoming dead for a majority of the year. If a new stadium is needed, I hope its a mixed use stadium that can get some life when there isn't a game going on.

[softailrider]

Where ever the MLS team plays, please make the seating good for sleeping, because that what soccer does for me.

[masterblaster]

Ferris wheels and aquariums. Yeah let's copy what every other city has done for the last 20 years.

Do you have another idea for the Uniroyal site? Condos?

FANTASY LAND ALERT: In the past, on this forum, I had suggested a small municipal amusement park, a la Portland's Oak Amusement Park, Sand Diego's Belmont Park, and Green Bay's Bay Amusement Park.

It would include a roller coaster, bumper cars, a putt-putt golf course, permanent carnival rides, a large pool with a giant slide, a beer garden, a boardwalk overlooking the river with gift shops, ice cream shop, BeaverTails [[Oh Canada) shop, an outpost of Ryba's Mackinaw Island Fudge, etc. And of course, Uniroyal Tire restored to a ferris wheel.



Lastly, to provide an indoor space with year-round activities, dismantle the Albert Kahn-designed, Henry Ford-funded Dance Pavilion that is rotting on Boblo Island, and place it in this park.



With the Uniroyal site, Detroit has a golden opportunity to create a special cultural amenity that would be popular with locals and tourists alike, especially if they could make it affordable.

Now does this sound like something every city has done in the past 20 years? We have some wealthy benefactors around here who could help fund this - Penske, Ilitch, Gilbert, Ralph C. Wilson Foundation, etc.

[ABetterDetroit]

Ferris wheels and aquariums. Yeah let's copy what every other city has done for the last 20 years.

No reason to get your old person “I wouldn’t use it!” going here.

It’s not like there is a multi-billionaire philanthropist ready to bankroll an awesome aquarium on the Uniroyal site anytime soon… But if there were any old ladies around here who had already given her children everything like an NFL team, controlling interest in an auto company, plus gobs of wealth, that really wanted to leave something that had many permanent good paying jobs and was really enjoyed by children and families of all ages from diverse backgrounds… a modern Aquarium in Detroit would be an interesting idea!

[masterblaster]

No reason to get your old person “I wouldn’t use it!” going here.

It’s not like there is a multi-billionaire philanthropist ready to bankroll an awesome aquarium on the Uniroyal site anytime soon… But if there were any old ladies around here who had already given her children everything like an NFL team, controlling interest in an auto company, plus gobs of wealth, that really wanted to leave something that had many permanent good paying jobs and was really enjoyed by children and families of all ages from diverse backgrounds… a modern Aquarium in Detroit would be an interesting idea!

Martha Firestone Ford!!!

[K-slice]

Ford Field could use a roof upgrade anyways, and the LAST thing Detroit needs is another underutilized stadium.

It's like broken record with the MLS stadium stuff...

[Zads07]

With Don Garber in charge of the MLS, it's unlikely.

I find it odd that Detroit was a contender when it was a soccer specific stadium that was going to be built on the former jail site. When it changed to Ford Field, MLS just immediately said no.

1. A publicly funded field should not be something that anyone should consider. If an owner wants a stadium, they should fund it themselves.

2. We have Detroit City FC, of which I'm a huge fan of, full disclosure, because sometimes the fans get a bad rap. I would like world class soccer here, but the way MLS does business is not good for fans, the team or the community at large. What DCFC is doing is one-of-a-kind. Let's embrace that. They have built something from the ground up and the community has benefitted from that. Embrace DCFC that started as a summer league and is now a lower-level pro team.

[Rochelle St.]

We had one once, The Detroit Express, the star player was Trevor Francis.

[Honky Tonk]

We had one once, The Detroit Express, the star player was Trevor Francis.

Detroit actually has had several through the decades.

https://www.dbusiness.com/business-f...ry-in-detroit/

[KnnNike]

What's MLS?

Lol, keeping the discussion grounded

[KnnNike]

Ferris wheels and aquariums. Yeah let's copy what every other city has done for the last 20 years.

You mean every other big city that has not continued to bleed people like Detroit? Yeah, what a terrible idea that would be...

[KnnNike]

As far as aquariums go, I wouldn't want to see anything bigger than what we already have at Belle Isle. Anything bigger than that will create some Sea World-like conditions, and I just am not a big fan of that.

I did like how the original MLS proposal for the jail site included offices/residential, which helps keep the site from becoming dead for a majority of the year. If a new stadium is needed, I hope its a mixed use stadium that can get some life when there isn't a game going on.

Seaworld isn't an aquarium, it's a waterpark that happens to have sealife do tricks for visitors. Have you never been to a place like the Shedd Aquarium in Seattle?

[EGrant]

Seaworld isn't an aquarium, it's a waterpark that happens to have sealife do tricks for visitors. Have you never been to a place like the Shedd Aquarium in Seattle?

I don't want to derail this topic, but I've been to Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and I think it's really sad that there's beluga whales and dolphins in a tank.

[girlcriedcomet]

Do you have another idea for the Uniroyal site? Condos?

FANTASY LAND ALERT: In the past, on this forum, I had suggested a small municipal amusement park, a la Portland's Oak Amusement Park, Sand Diego's Belmont Park, and Green Bay's Bay Amusement Park.

It would include a roller coaster, bumper cars, a putt-putt golf course, permanent carnival rides, a large pool with a giant slide, a beer garden, a boardwalk overlooking the river with gift shops, ice cream shop, BeaverTails [[Oh Canada) shop, an outpost of Ryba's Mackinaw Island Fudge, etc. And of course, Uniroyal Tire restored to a ferris wheel.



Lastly, to provide an indoor space with year-round activities, dismantle the Albert Kahn-designed, Henry Ford-funded Dance Pavilion that is rotting on Boblo Island, and place it in this park.



With the Uniroyal site, Detroit has a golden opportunity to create a special cultural amenity that would be popular with locals and tourists alike, especially if they could make it affordable.

Now does this sound like something every city has done in the past 20 years? We have some wealthy benefactors around here who could help fund this - Penske, Ilitch, Gilbert, Ralph C. Wilson Foundation, etc.

The dance pavilion on Boblo Island wasn't actually designed by Albert Kahn as is commonly thought, it was designed by John Scott. Also, considering that the island is located in Canadian waters, I don't think it'd be feasible to relocate the pavilion to Detroit.

[Satiricalivory]

You mean every other big city that has not continued to bleed people like Detroit? Yeah, what a terrible idea that would be...

Ferris Wheels and carnival attractions have nothing to do with city populations. This is such a weird take.

We already have an aquarium BTW and it's pretty nice.

[Bucket]

About 20 years ago, I attended an event hosted by Dan Duggan, brother of the mayor and owner of a minor league soccer club then called the Mid-Michigan Bucks, now the Flint City Bucks. Way back then, and we're talking early 2000s, Duggan was working to drum up interest, publicity and investors in an effort to bring MLS to Detroit.

[Downriviera]

Where ever the MLS team plays, please make the seating good for sleeping, because that what soccer does for me.

i hear this a lot, but hard to understand. Soccer is non stop action. No boring tv timeouts, no taking forever to change pitchers. How long does it take to play the last two minutes of an NBA game, like 30 mins with all the timeouts? NFL games are 60 mins but actual game play is about 5 mins.