Christos Member Username: Christos
Post Number: 86 Registered: 12-2006
| Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 1:52 pm: | |
From today's Detroit News: "Taking flight? A lot has been written about the possibility of the Red Wings moving out of Detroit to a suburban location. You can expect Oakland County executive L. Brooks Patterson to make a push to build the new Joe Louis Arena in Oakland County. However, it does not make sense. The Wings should remain downtown because their fan base is in Macomb County, Downriver and Canada. I never got the sense Oakland County was Red Wings country. Do not be surprised if a mixed-use project near Metropolitan Airport gets into the Wings bidding war." The link is here: http://www.detnews.com/apps/pb cs.dll/article?AID=/20070625/S PORTS08/706250304/1127, but you have to scroll down below the article about Dumars and the Lions. |
Patrick Member Username: Patrick
Post Number: 4601 Registered: 10-2003
| Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 1:58 pm: | |
Hmm, if the wings ever "had" to relocate to the burbs my guess would be in Macomb County....maybe even out near Lakeside or near Mt. Clemens. The fan base is still very Macomb County-ish. |
Detroit313 Member Username: Detroit313
Post Number: 375 Registered: 02-2006
| Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 2:02 pm: | |
Where ever the Wings decide to move they should carry the name of the city, county, township, village, ect. they move too. <313> |
Cambrian Member Username: Cambrian
Post Number: 1260 Registered: 08-2006
| Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 2:03 pm: | |
Nice try, These are Detroit teams. I still recall the Palace Brawl, the sports commentators were "Wondering what the Detroit Police Department Was going to do" Not the Auburn Hills PD. |
Johnnny5 Member Username: Johnnny5
Post Number: 531 Registered: 06-2005
| Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 2:03 pm: | |
I don't think the article was quoting L.B Patterson, but really could you blame him for being interested in having the new arena built in Oakland County? After all it's in his constituents best interest and it's his job to look after them. IMO there's no way in hell it'll happen. With all the real estate the Illitchs have bought up downtown; there's little doubt that it'll be somewhere within the city. |
Thejesus Member Username: Thejesus
Post Number: 1482 Registered: 06-2006
| Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 2:05 pm: | |
this "article" was already posted on Monday in the Ilitch thread... https://www.atdetroit.net/forum/mes sages/5/101533.html?1182824424 |
Christos Member Username: Christos
Post Number: 87 Registered: 12-2006
| Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 2:06 pm: | |
I suppose another team in the OC means more former athletes for L. Brooks to get hammered with then go 'a drivin'. (I'm referring of course to the fact that L. Brooks when driving like a maniac under the influence of I think it was pain killers and booze, was "hanging out with Vinnie Johnson) |
Jt1 Member Username: Jt1
Post Number: 9461 Registered: 10-2003
| Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 2:09 pm: | |
It is a random thought by Terry Foster. Foster carries no weight on politics or what politicians are thinking. Kind of pointless to even discuss. |
Thejesus Member Username: Thejesus
Post Number: 1483 Registered: 06-2006
| Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 2:16 pm: | |
it might be pointless to discuss Terry Foster, but it's not pointless to discuss the possibility of the Wings moving... OC would likely be interested in having the Wings new arena built there...they might be able to provide millions in financing that Detroit cannot... Also, Ilitch doesn't have control of all the land he would need yet to build behind the Fox(i.e., CC Bar), and there's a possibility he won't get it... While I'd say it probably more likely at this point that the new arena will be built in Detroit, other possibilities still remain |
Rb336 Member Username: Rb336
Post Number: 299 Registered: 02-2007
| Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 2:19 pm: | |
It would not make good business sense for Ilitch to move anywhere but Foxtown. They want an entertainment empire down there to feed the many other things they own |
Danny Member Username: Danny
Post Number: 6112 Registered: 02-2004
| Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 2:20 pm: | |
That Mayor of White Detroit has gone too far. Mr. Illitch will NEVER move the wings out of the city. Patterson is one of the KWAME/Detroit bashers who don't give a hoot about the city's progress. He's only about one thing keep Oakland County clean. |
Thejesus Member Username: Thejesus
Post Number: 1484 Registered: 06-2006
| Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 2:21 pm: | |
Danny: In what way has LBP gone too far exactly? |
Wash_man Member Username: Wash_man
Post Number: 443 Registered: 05-2006
| Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 2:21 pm: | |
"The fan base is still very Macomb County-ish." WTF does that mean? |
Thejesus Member Username: Thejesus
Post Number: 1485 Registered: 06-2006
| Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 2:22 pm: | |
"It would not make good business sense for Ilitch to move anywhere but Foxtown. They want an entertainment empire down there to feed the many other things they own" It could make sense if OC or another location is willing to pay for a substantial portion of the arena... Or if Ilitch is unable to gain control of all the land he would need to build it in Foxtown... |
3rdworldcity Member Username: 3rdworldcity
Post Number: 734 Registered: 01-2005
| Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 2:24 pm: | |
Thejesus: My guess is that Ilitch now owns or has the CC Bar under contract, There has been no work on that bldg for weeks. Also, as I've expressed before, that's a loser location for a bar even if Ilitch builds around it. |
Danny Member Username: Danny
Post Number: 6115 Registered: 02-2004
| Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 2:27 pm: | |
Thejesus ( Whoever you are!) For one thing he doesn't like the activities that is going do in Detroit. Patterson always bashing the city for its mistakes in the past. SO WHAT! The suburbs made some mistakes in the past. That doesn't mean the most Detroiters bash the suburbs. The mayor of White Detroit needs to stay out of Illitch affairs. Mr. Illitch has no attention to move the Red Wings to a new stadium to White Detroit. |
Thejesus Member Username: Thejesus
Post Number: 1486 Registered: 06-2006
| Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 2:32 pm: | |
3rd world: I noticed that too but the lack of work could be indicative of a number of things... and I doubt the owner ever intended to build a functioning bar there...if Ilitch fails to gain control of it, it probably won't be because the owner wanted to have a bar there... it would be because the owner was asking more than Ilitch was willing to offer (say, 10,000% of market value) because they're speculating that this is last piece that Ilitch needs for the new arena... |
Gistok Member Username: Gistok
Post Number: 4677 Registered: 08-2004
| Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 2:40 pm: | |
3WC, I hope you're right! Can't blame the weather on construction stopping at that location! Now if only the Ilitch's can convince Freda Alibri to sell her 3 parcels... |
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw
Post Number: 3111 Registered: 02-2005
| Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 2:42 pm: | |
"A lot has been written about the possibility..." What? Terry Foster how stupid are you? The suburbs are not in the running. The city is the place to be, and, umm, we're talking about Ilitch here. With all the movement into downtown lately, anyone who moves out would be crucified. That blurb from Foster was a waste of ink. |
Scottr Member Username: Scottr
Post Number: 535 Registered: 07-2006
| Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 3:26 pm: | |
I'm inclined to agree, Mackinaw. Although it has never been explicitly ruled out, I've heard very little about the 'possibility' of the Wings moving to the suburbs - usually little more than a couple words stuck on the end of an article otherwise entirely about the other options (renovated Joe or new Foxtown arena). I don't know where he gets this 'A lot has been written' idea from. In any case, it is nothing but idle speculation - and OF COURSE LBP would want the Wings in Oakland, that's an obvious conclusion. But his assumption that OC isn't Red Wings country is ludicrous and has no basis in fact. However, his conclusion is correct, it doesn't make sense. Ilitch would have more to gain by keeping his enterprises together in downtown Detroit - what sense is there in Hockeytown Cafe if the hockey arena isn't even in the same county? Not to mention the amount he would make in parking on land he already owns, and making the land he is trying to sell that much more valuable, by eating up other vacant real estate and by creating an attraction and adding to the nightlife (particularly in winter). Unless OC builds him an arena on their dime and then gives him a hell of a deal on it (giving him a large portion of ticket, concessions, and parking proceeds), he'll stick with downtown. |
Thejesus Member Username: Thejesus
Post Number: 1488 Registered: 06-2006
| Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 3:37 pm: | |
^Exactly. OC (or wherever) could entice Ilitch by offering to pay for a substantial portion of the new arena and giving him a larger portion of the revenue... That's why this whole "Ilitch is rich enough to pay for the arena himself" way of thinking that many Detroiters hold doesn't fly... The question is not one of whether he has enough money to pay for it himself...it's whether or not Detroit is willing to offer enough of an incentive to justify him declining an offer made from another place like OC... This is why Detroit needs to pony up to $$$ to help pay for the new arena...the city of Detroit does not own the Red Wings, and no matter how many times you say that sports teams "belong" in a city's CBD, it still doesn't affect the FACT that the owners of a team can build a new arena somewhere else if they choose to do so... |
Detroitnerd Member Username: Detroitnerd
Post Number: 1099 Registered: 07-2004
| Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 3:45 pm: | |
Absolutely right! We can't afford not to pay Ilitch so we can keep the arena here in Detroit. I think we should offer to pay for the entire stadium for Ilitch, and even offer him some deal where he and his descendants never has to pay taxes on anything ever again. All hail mighty Ilitch! |
Thejesus Member Username: Thejesus
Post Number: 1489 Registered: 06-2006
| Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 3:53 pm: | |
^I suppose if I were in your shoes and knew my position was untenable I'd result to sarcasm and satire as well, so I don't blame you... I'd still be interested in hearing someone from your crowd actually address the issue of what Detroit's response should be if and when Ilitch receives and considers an offer from one of the suburbs...should Detroit allow the Wings to leave the city or should they offer a higher bid? I know you guys don't want to contribute any $$$ to a new hockey arena...but I also know you don't want the Wings to leave...so I guess I'm wondering which one you want more? |
Iheartthed Member Username: Iheartthed
Post Number: 1040 Registered: 04-2006
| Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 3:55 pm: | |
Honestly... Detroit can do without the Red Wings about now if it really came down to it. Unlike 10 years ago, the city should not be spending its efforts trying to court the Red Wings right now. |
Detroitnerd Member Username: Detroitnerd
Post Number: 1102 Registered: 07-2004
| Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 3:59 pm: | |
What don't you understand, TheJesus. I'm with you 10,000 percent. How can we expect to keep billionaires like Mike Ilitch using Detroit as a base of operations unless we pay their expenses for them? That's why we need to raise money, right now, to hand over to him so that we don't lose the Red Wings. And you, YOU FOOL, you fritter away precious time TALKING about it. Somebody might be whispering ideas in L. Brooks' ear RIGHT NOW! |
Thejesus Member Username: Thejesus
Post Number: 1490 Registered: 06-2006
| Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 5:33 pm: | |
thanks IHD...I disagree with you on the notion that Detroit shouldn't fight to keep the wings from going the way of the Pistons, but at least you know what your position is and have the balls to address the issue... |
Detroitnerd Member Username: Detroitnerd
Post Number: 1110 Registered: 07-2004
| Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 5:37 pm: | |
Heresy! How can you allow anybody to even ENTERTAIN the idea that the Red Wings would leave. I'd gladly burn down half the neighborhoods in Detroit if it meant the Red Wings would play ONE MORE GAME in the city. |
Paulmcall Member Username: Paulmcall
Post Number: 203 Registered: 05-2004
| Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 5:38 pm: | |
Sounds like Terry doesn't have enough to write about to fill his column. Wings would not move out of Detroit after all these years. What Mikey wants Mikey gets. Remember what the (former outlaw) Sheriff said in Silverado about what a sweet deal they had there? Same applies in Detroit. |
Verifiable Member Username: Verifiable
Post Number: 68 Registered: 05-2007
| Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 9:08 pm: | |
If you have to give a guy who you've given much to already the best deal in the NHL to keep him in town -- a town that struggles to provide its residents basic services as it is -- then you've got a systemic illness that's never going to go away. People won't move back to Detroit because it has a hockey team, People will move back to Detroit because its safe, its schools are decent and they don't have to think twice about whether or not their garbage will be picked up on some regular schedule. If Detroit has to give Ilitch subsidies in order for him to break even or make some reasonable profit; then you can be sure Detroit isn't making any money. Ilitch should do what's right for everybody this time, not just what's in his interest. This is the time he should be thinking about his legacy. If they're truly committed to a revitalization of Detroit, then they should be committed even if that means they make only hundreds of millions rather than billions. Mike Ilitch will either be remembered as the billionaire who abandoned Detroit or the billionaire who brought brilliance and luster back to Detroit. Men like Henry Ford sat in a similar seat a century ago. |
Verifiable Member Username: Verifiable
Post Number: 69 Registered: 05-2007
| Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 9:20 pm: | |
If Ilitch were a good man, (and if public relations people had greater sway with him than the damn attorneys or the family's political bag man) he'd step up and say, "hell, I'm not even considering a move. I want to be in Detroit; after all, we didn't work hard to make this Hockey Town for nothing! So let's put all that nonsense talk to rest and figure out how we can work together for the good of all parties! That would be a true measure of character! Set the cornerstone for the man's legacy. It's something a publicly traded company would never do but he's in a unique position having retained the various brands in the hands of the family. Unfortunately we'll probably have to endure the bullying, threats and mud slinging from all sides that does more to divide a community than unit. This will be a defining moment for the Ilitch clan; much like the decision to move their core employees into Foxtown originally. (Message edited by Verifiable on June 27, 2007) |
Flyingj Member Username: Flyingj
Post Number: 14 Registered: 08-2006
| Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 9:46 pm: | |
Jokes on you guys, during the Anaheim Ducks Stanley Cup Victory Celebration(hey, you throw in free concerts by the Blasters & Pennywise, free rally towels, free grub & Pepsi from Wienerschnitzel AND the 1st West Coast Hockey Team to win the Stanley Cup since 1917 & see if you guys pass that up?-but of course in 1917 the Red Wings WERE a West Coast hockey team), both the mayor of Anaheim AND Governor Arnold declared Anaheim "the NEW Hockeytown". Nobody could hear me scream "blasphemers!" |
Scs100 Member Username: Scs100
Post Number: 1191 Registered: 12-2006
| Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 9:49 pm: | |
quote:both the mayor of Anaheim AND Governor Arnold declared Anaheim "the NEW Hockeytown". Nobody could hear me scream "blasphemers!" That was the quietest arena during the first two rounds. What do they mean "New Hockeytown"? Idiots. |
Rocket_city Member Username: Rocket_city
Post Number: 312 Registered: 04-2006
| Posted on Thursday, June 28, 2007 - 12:11 pm: | |
Why wouldn't L. Brooks fight for something that is Detroit's? That county exists because of what was once Detroit's. Not to hate, it's just the truth. Aside from what Oakland has become (Michigan's leading county), Detroit and Oakland County are seemingly inverse relationships. |
Ndavies Member Username: Ndavies
Post Number: 2667 Registered: 10-2003
| Posted on Thursday, June 28, 2007 - 12:19 pm: | |
quote:both the mayor of Anaheim AND Governor Arnold declared Anaheim "the NEW Hockeytown". Since the Red wings hold the copyright/trademark to the name hockeytown, I'm sure their attorneys quickly sent Anaheim a polite stop using it note. Too many people around here confuse marketing slogans with reality. |
Defendbrooklyn Member Username: Defendbrooklyn
Post Number: 291 Registered: 11-2005
| Posted on Thursday, June 28, 2007 - 12:46 pm: | |
stay in the D and hopefully the pistons will follow. |
Detroitnerd Member Username: Detroitnerd
Post Number: 1115 Registered: 07-2004
| Posted on Thursday, June 28, 2007 - 1:42 pm: | |
DETROIT, 2037: The city that slogged through some of the toughest times of any American municipality is back on its feet, experts say, and it's all thanks to the sports industry. From his office at One Stadium Center, I. Dunn Bilkdemall, president of the Greater Detroit Sports Authority, surveys a downtown of stadia with satisfaction, knowing he helped contribute to the city's rebirth. Though it's hard to believe, 35 years ago Detroit was a city with few prospects. Manufacturing jobs were going overseas, economic inequality was driving trouble at home, and the Glorious War for Worldwide Peace was in its infancy. But Bilkdemall knew that, even though Detroit's remaining blue-collar workers would be delivering pizza and stuffing envelopes, they'd still be enthralled with big-league sports. And Bilkdemall envisioned downtown Detroit looking as it does today: A cluster of stadia, parking structures, high-speed freeways and pedestrian overpasses, a downtown where one can drive in and see any game without ever having to set foot on the sidewalk. Following the lead of Mike Ilitch, Bilkdemall set up the quasi-public authority to streamline city efforts to court stadium developers and retain sports teams. But, under a special clause that allowed the authority to levy taxes on downtown and to profit from attendance at stadia, the authority grew exponentially. And the stadia mushroomed under his supervision. After successfully convincing the public to pay Mike Ilitch $1 billion for a new hockey arena, Bilkdemall set about transforming the central business district from a cluster of decaying, beaux-arts oddities to a profitable, if heavily subsidized, "stadiopolis." After attracting the Detroit Pistons in 2010 with a special, one-time $1.5 billion subsidy that involved felling an obsolete building at Washington Boulevard and Michigan Avenue, Bilkdemall successfully lobbied for yet another one-time-only tax that raised $2 billion to build a stadium for the Michigan Wolverines cricket organization in 2015. In a coup, he used earnings from the taxes and surcharges levied on parking and attendance to fund a public campaign to raise another $4 billion to build four new stadia downtown, for the Detroit Shock women's basketball team, the Detroit Iguanas softball league, the Michigan Stoneheavers curling franchise, and the Dutch Uncles featherbowling all-stars. Not everybody is pleased with Detroit’s emphasis on sports. Unemployed homeowner I. Ben Scrood, standing in front of his neighborhood’s abandoned police station and middle school, says that stadia haven’t improved life much in his neighborhood on Detroit’s east side. "I called 911 when I had a gang of killers outside trying to burn down my house. It took several days for the police to arrive. It was like something out of Resident Evil. What do I care about sports? I couldn't even afford what they charge for a cup of coffee at one of those stadiums." But such rare and irrelevant complaints haven't deterred Bilkdemall's zeal. He has ambitious plans that include ripping out Detroit's outdated "RiverWalk" and building an extension out into the river for several new sports stadia and a new riverfront expressway. "Detroit is a great sports town," Bilkdemall says, clasping his hands behind his head and reclining with satisfaction. "Our motto should be" We got game." |
Danindc Member Username: Danindc
Post Number: 2778 Registered: 10-2003
| Posted on Thursday, June 28, 2007 - 1:46 pm: | |
^^^That's not funny. Philadelphia already did that. Granted, Philly's stadiumplex isn't in Center City, but it's certainly there on the South Side! |
Gistok Member Username: Gistok
Post Number: 4694 Registered: 08-2004
| Posted on Thursday, June 28, 2007 - 2:19 pm: | |
Detroitnerd, it's time dude... When sarcasm is new and fresh it's funny. But when it gets repetitive and expected it becomes stale... dude it's time to put it to rest. |
Detroitnerd Member Username: Detroitnerd
Post Number: 1116 Registered: 07-2004
| Posted on Thursday, June 28, 2007 - 2:28 pm: | |
SCIENTISTS UNCOVER 'SATIRE GENE' Scientists working in a top-secret location have isolated the gene that appreciates and understands satire. "The subject did not have the sequence in his DNA, and, as far as we can tell, he does not respond to satire at all." The mysterious patient, known only as "GISTOK," is a humorless fellow fond of using the word "dude." |
Thejesus Member Username: Thejesus
Post Number: 1505 Registered: 06-2006
| Posted on Thursday, June 28, 2007 - 2:52 pm: | |
Gistok, you're right, but just let him go...he needs this |
Gistok Member Username: Gistok
Post Number: 4696 Registered: 08-2004
| Posted on Thursday, June 28, 2007 - 3:08 pm: | |
Me humorless, hardly... just ask the folks at the DetroitYes Picnic or the folks who know me at Preservation Wayne. But I do like my humor subtle... Your's is about as subtle as heat rash at a nudist colony! |
Detroitnerd Member Username: Detroitnerd
Post Number: 1117 Registered: 07-2004
| Posted on Thursday, June 28, 2007 - 3:09 pm: | |
Haha. That's a good one, anyway. |