According to Crain’s Detroit, there was an announcement of financing a 1.6 million square foot sports entertainment center by Metro Sports LLC. The problem is they don’t have a piece of land yet. According to Crain’s even though there is pretty of land out there and this is a buyers market, once a plan is financed there can be a lot of tugging in different directions as to where the project should be built. The development would include a 12,000-seat arena, three basketball courts, four hockey rinks, a running track, indoor lacrosse, physical rehabilitation center and two IMAX theaters.
Although it sounds like good intention, the whole thing sounds like a debacle to me. First, the developer is a first time developer, formerly CEO of what Crain’s called a “now-defunct” computer company. Second, the initial marketing information for the project was announced for a piece of land in Romulus, when asked the owner of the parcel said there is no such purchase agreement for the property. When the development was announced the invitations said Granholm and Wayne County Executive Ficano would be there, neither of them were. And all this for a $167 million development. I think Jordan will show them up with $500,000, but we’ll see.
Right Now 