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Monday April 21, 2003
This week Crain's Detroit had an interesting article..
The party's over, hockey fans.
As emotionally painful as that is for fans, the Red Wings' premature playoff demise represents a financial loss of perhaps as much as $80 million to the metro Detroit economy, according to local economic oracles.
Detroit is a sports-crazy town. And the four major pro teams pump millions into the economy. So could there be room for more?
That intriguing question was posed in a conversation last month with a former pro star who spun an interesting "dream-team" scenario for downtown Detroit.
With the Red Wings, Lions and Tigers all playing downtown, could it ever get better than that? Yes, the former star said. You just need the Pistons.
Could they ever play ball downtown?
Consider this scenario:
The Red Wings get a new home in a dual-purpose arena behind the Fox Theatre. They share the facility with, ta-da, the Pistons. Meanwhile, The Palace of Auburn Hills becomes the premier concert venue for the northern 'burbs, and it, in turn, shares its space with a new team: the Detroit (formerly Tampa Bay) Lightning.
Yikes. Two NHL franchises in one metro region? If ever there were a population that could support two hockey franchises, it's metro Detroit - which includes, of course, a good chunk of Ontario.
Yes, the friction between the Ilitch organization and Bill Davidson's Pistons/Palace juggernaut has been grist for gossip for years. They've supposedly dueled over everything from sports supremacy to suing each other over concert dates for their showcase entertainment venues.
How could this marriage of two rivals ever happen?
Money has a way of making things work. If both parties saw they could make true financial gains by working together, well, stranger things have happened. Here's a possible game plan:
Mike and Marian Ilitch agree to cohabitate a single arena with Davidson's Pistons. Who owns what can be worked out, but the main thing is two private owners would contribute to the construction of the arena, not just one. The owners of both teams would share luxury-suite revenue generated by a heavily used arena.
The Red Wings get a new ice arena with even better luxury suites. The Ilitches, who own much of the parking in the sports district, benefit from increased parking revenue and a boost to their entertainment properties in the district.
Why would Davidson ever move the Pistons? To get the boost of the excitement of a new venue, the psychic buzz of a "homecoming" and a more diverse fan base at the games. And, most important, he could get the Ilitch blessing on moving his Lightning team from Florida. The Lightning, ironically, made the playoffs this year and lasted longer than the Wings.
Detroit would be the undisputed sports capital of the country, with four teams playing within four blocks of one another. Detroit's chances of snagging national athletic events, such as NCAA play, would increase astronomically. Cha-ching.
It's not a Stanley Cup. But it's an interesting fantasy to play around with since we don't have to stay up late to catch those West Coast playoff games.