New Ultra-Enhanced Video/Renderings of the Arena District

[BottleOfSmoke 5,965]

@RedWingsFeed: HBO's John Oliver rips Red Wings arena financing: HBO's John Oliver got in a jab at the http://t.co/4mIZUNt87mvia @freepsports #RedWings

[kickazz 5,459]

@RedWingsFeed: HBO's John Oliver rips Red Wings arena financing: HBO's John Oliver got in a jab at the http://t.co/4mIZUNt87mvia @freepsports #RedWings

I'll contribute my tax payer money to make this s*** city LOOK better at the very least.

[Echolalia 2,961]

@RedWingsFeed: HBO's John Oliver rips Red Wings arena financing: HBO's John Oliver got in a jab at the http://t.co/4mIZUNt87mvia @freepsports #RedWings

I mean... Yeah. But owners are businessmen first and foremost. And none of them would be billionaires with hockey teams if they played the generosity card and didn't fight for every penny. It's a bummer that the city was dealing with this, especially during the whole bankruptcy fiasco, but it's not at all unexpected.

[HadThomasVokounOnFortSt 878]

@RedWingsFeed: HBO's John Oliver rips Red Wings arena financing: HBO's John Oliver got in a jab at the http://t.co/4mIZUNt87mvia @freepsports #RedWings

Got a point but I honestly don't care. Been saying for years we need a new arena. I can't wait!

[Z and D for the C 712]

I think he has a good point but Detroit is in a unique situation. A) it's more than just a new arena (it's a whole new neighborhood) and B) It's going in a blighted area. It's not just replacing something in the city, it's adding to the city. That is the difference.

[SetecX 139]

For anyone interested, I started a blog to follow the construction progress of the new arena, via my drone.

http://wingsarena.tumblr.com

[kickazz 5,459]

Red Wings counter John Oliver's arena rip with statement

"This project is about so much more than a world-class sports and entertainment arena; it's about transforming a core part of our city for the benefit of the entire community," the statement said. "The new Detroit arena and The District Detroit will create 8,300 construction and construction-related jobs, as well as at least 1,100 permanent jobs. To date, the Detroit Downtown Development Authority has approved nine contracts worth $121 million, of which Detroit-based and -headquartered businesses have won more than 88% — or $106 million. Initiatives of this size, scope and impact — $1.8 billion dollars for our city, region and state — are almost universally public-private partnerships. The majority of this development is being privately financed, and no City of Detroit general funds are involved whatsoever."

http://www.freep.com/story/sports/nhl/red-wings/2015/07/13/detroit-red-wings-oliver/30090113/

Edited July 14, 2015 by kickazz

[kickazz 5,459]

A bit misleading response but gotta hand it to Illitch family for standing up for their project.

[LeftWinger 4,936]

Ya, the Gem of The District is going to be the Red Wings Cadillac Centre©

Yes, that was my idea long ago and I am sticking with it! I am excited for the new place! Love the Joe, but its getting junky.

(if some of you remember back in the "Name the New Arena" thread, I used the Cadillac name, not for the car, but the founder of Detroit, Antoine de La Mothe Cadillac, but I am sure along with using the founders image, GM would love to have the Cadillac name and cars throughout the building. $$$$$$$)

Edited July 14, 2015 by LeftWinger

[Bring Back The Bruise Bros 1,029]

Ya, the Gem of The District is going to be the Red Wings Cadillac Centre©

Yes, that was my idea long ago and I am sticking with it! I am excited for the new place! Love the Joe, but its getting junky.

(if some of you remember back in the "Name the New Arena" thread, I used the Cadillac name, not for the car, but the founder of Detroit, Antoine de La Mothe Cadillac)

How about "The New Joe Louis Arena"?

[frankgrimes 1,836]

Whether people believe in New arenas or not I think one thing is clear: if billionaires want new shiny state of the art and even above that arenas pay for them with your own money..Lord knows those guys have more than enough of it.

Personally I would go as far as calling it crime if politicians - who by all accounts should work on behalf of the people - agree to such ludicrous deals. There is no way that a new arena should lead to closure of much more important stuff like education facilities , libraries, hospitals.

I mean it's proven that the city is Alex's getting the short end of the stick here. As much as I admire all the things that the best owner in all of sports has done something like this is not something were I agree with him but I for sure understand that he had to stand up for his biggest project. The politicians on the other side should be on the hook with their own money and not the tax payers one.

So the right answer would be want a new arena pay for it with your own money, period. If that leads to a team threatening to leave call their bluff

Edited July 15, 2015 by frankgrimes

[number9 3,297]

Whether people believe in New arenas or not I think one thing is clear: if billionaires want new shiny state of the art and even above that arenas pay for them with your own money..Lord knows those guys have more than enough of it.

Personally I would go as far as calling it crime if politicians - who by all accounts should work on behalf of the people - agree to such ludicrous deals. There is no way that a new arena should lead to closure of much more important stuff like education facilities , libraries, hospitals.

I mean it's proven that the city is Alex's getting the short end of the stick here. As much as I admire all the things that the best owner in all of sports has done something like this is not something were I agree with him but I for sure understand that he had to stand up for his biggest project. The politicians on the other side should be on the hook with their own money and not the tax payers one.

So the right answer would be want a new arena pay for it with your own money, period. If that leads to a team threatening to leave call their bluff

I agree, however I don't blame the owner. The owner is operating in a system which allows him to conduct business like this. Why does he get to operate like this? because at the end of the day we allow it.

An owner worth billions can't afford a multi-million stadium? Doesn't make sense. I'd love to see our tax dollars not go to this arena, It's been shown that successful sports don't boost a city. Detroit should exhibit A in that department.

If people get mad about it... it will change. But for the most part we're all just excited to get a new arena. Arena combat was and is the glory of Rome.

[kickazz 5,459]

Can't waittttt

[GMRwings1983 8,793]

Ya, the Gem of The District is going to be the Red Wings Cadillac Centre©

Yes, that was my idea long ago and I am sticking with it! I am excited for the new place! Love the Joe, but its getting junky.

(if some of you remember back in the "Name the New Arena" thread, I used the Cadillac name, not for the car, but the founder of Detroit, Antoine de La Mothe Cadillac, but I am sure along with using the founders image, GM would love to have the Cadillac name and cars throughout the building. $$$$$$$)

Oldsmobile Arena sounds better.

[LeftWinger 4,936]

Edsel Rink?

[Helmethead 235]

The Brian McGrattan Thunderdome!

[rick zombo 3,739]

For anyone interested, I started a blog to follow the construction progress of the new arena, via my drone.

http://wingsarena.tumblr.com

This is really cool. Thanks for sharing.

[TheXym 2,606]

For anyone interested, I started a blog to follow the construction progress of the new arena, via my drone.

http://wingsarena.tumblr.com

Great link for those of us not in the metro Detroit area to see what's happening there.

[The Datsyukian Deke 127]

We're not European. Thank god.

You're not. Thank god.

[The Datsyukian Deke 127]

Can't wait! As much as I'll miss the Joe for the tradition and all the memories, it's getting old and run down. And we'll make new memories in the new arena. The best organization deserves the best arena. And unfortunately the Joe is a dump. Still has tons of charm, but it's time to move on. Plus the new arena is a much better location.

I think the best way is an appropriate museum, which has to be state of the art in its own way, too.

And have pictures of Holland playing golf on them.

Or him with his head in Clearys ass.

For anyone interested, I started a blog to follow the construction progress of the new arena, via my drone.

http://wingsarena.tumblr.com

Brilliant! I have a new bookmark.

[BobL 28]

I agree, however I don't blame the owner. The owner is operating in a system which allows him to conduct business like this. Why does he get to operate like this? because at the end of the day we allow it.

An owner worth billions can't afford a multi-million stadium? Doesn't make sense. I'd love to see our tax dollars not go to this arena, It's been shown that successful sports don't boost a city. Detroit should exhibit A in that department.

If people get mad about it... it will change. But for the most part we're all just excited to get a new arena. Arena combat was and is the glory of Rome.

That's the trick, isn't it? How do 'we' stop allowing it? Part of it is certainly that the fans are excited to get a new arena (and really, who could blame them?), but the other part of it is that there is very little recourse for the little people (which is basically all of us) to wield any meaningful power. Wish I knew the answer. It does temper my love of watching Red Wing hockey to know that this is how the business runs, even in a franchise that is held up as a gold standard... and I'm not even a Michigan taxpayer, so it's not my money, but I feel for those of you who are.

This article breaks things down even more:

http://deadspin.com/detroit-scam-city-how-the-red-wings-took-hockeytown-fo-1534228789

Seems like the trade off for the city is the removal of the direct revenue they received with the current deal at the Joe. I think sports teams and museums and things of that nature are good for a city, important to a city, even if they are potentially drains on the resources of the city at some level, because those are really things we should value... but it's harder to swallow when you are talking about billionaires (not to mention the corporations of billionaires, which have a much higher value than the one guy) who could fund these direct business developments themselves...

If there's a sports franchise, and a city that could use a new arena along with revitalizing a part of the city - the Red Wings, and Detroit would be at the top of the list.

The question, really, is if it actually revitalizes anything.

[datsallfolks 3]

That's the trick, isn't it? How do 'we' stop allowing it? Part of it is certainly that the fans are excited to get a new arena (and really, who could blame them?), but the other part of it is that there is very little recourse for the little people (which is basically all of us) to wield any meaningful power. Wish I knew the answer. It does temper my love of watching Red Wing hockey to know that this is how the business runs, even in a franchise that is held up as a gold standard... and I'm not even a Michigan taxpayer, so it's not my money, but I feel for those of you who are.

This article breaks things down even more:

http://deadspin.com/detroit-scam-city-how-the-red-wings-took-hockeytown-fo-1534228789

Seems like the trade off for the city is the removal of the direct revenue they received with the current deal at the Joe. I think sports teams and museums and things of that nature are good for a city, important to a city, even if they are potentially drains on the resources of the city at some level, because those are really things we should value... but it's harder to swallow when you are talking about billionaires (not to mention the corporations of billionaires, which have a much higher value than the one guy) who could fund these direct business developments themselves...

The question, really, is if it actually revitalizes anything.

The Detroit arena issue is far more complex than most including Oliver and deadspin care to examine.

Ilitch bought up ridiculous amounts of land in what investors called lottery tickets. What wasn't historically available was bought up a decade ago and they asked for sometime 5 times as much as the estimate, so no he didn't get the arena land for $1 like some would like to claim. The DDA state money which is collected annually can be applied to large developmental projects like this one. So no to the education, police and fire crowd, it isn't accessible for those so that angle is really irrelevant. The Cass Corridor is a wasteland. This project connects Woodward from the river to the entertainment district on to Wayne State. It makes the M-1 light rail project, that much more important in my opinion because this will truly connect Midtown with Downtown. Detroit desperately needs this type of investment, Ilitch is going to wind up spending north of 500 million in personal wealth. Will he make a profit? Sure he will. But the Cass Corridor is a ghost town, it is everything people like to point out is wrong with Detroit. The Wings also leave behind waterfront property for redevelopment (the Joe is already scheduled to be demolished for a hotel/residential project). Olympia will also bring the biggest concert venue in from the suburbs where the Palace will now surely lose dates. Plus the Pistons will eventually move to the new arena giving the city 40 extra dates to collect income taxes on (Gores has pretty much stated it's his dream for the team to play in Detroit). There are a lot of net gains here, but people will see what they want to see, and parrot the stuff John Oliver said with no regard for the differences in situations.

[datsallfolks 3]

The question, really, is if it actually revitalizes anything.

Considering this is what the area looks like... I would say there's a very good chance the arena will help revitalize this part of town.

M-1 Rail helps get Woodward developments rolling

Near the 12 stops along M-1’s route, at least 10 housing plans are in the works. Some are still on the drawing board and others will be open by the end of the year. They include:

■A 300-unit complex is intended on the site of the parking lot in front of Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers. That project is being spearheaded by Olympia Development of Michigan, the real estate arm of Ilitch Holdings Inc. The Ilitches, who own the Tigers, also are behind the plan to overhaul 45 blocks north of downtown. The area includes the Red Wings arena being built along Woodward and will have an M-1 Rail stop.

■A 200-unit housing project is slated for an empty lot in Brush Park, developed by the principals of Broder & Sachse Real Estate Services Inc. in Birmingham.

■Also, 250 residential units are part of the huge plans for the former Hudson’s site, which will include 225,000 square feet of mixed-use space and 900 parking spaces. That project is being developed by Gilbert.

The rail project also is drawing investments in smaller buildings, key to erasing the pockets of blight that still plague Woodward.

As you can see this is a much bigger project than just a sports arena. I'm very hopeful that the city is finally moving in the right direction.

[datsallfolks 3]

For anyone interested, I started a blog to follow the construction progress of the new arena, via my drone.

http://wingsarena.tumblr.com

Love the drone footage and you have some of the best photos I've seen from the arena site since the start of construction. Keep up the good work.

ps-I read last week they were supposed to start construction on the foundation, has that happened yet or are they still cleaning up from the building implosion?

[ValpoHockey 126]

He's got a good point.

Here in Milwaukee the chances of a new arena getting approved/built is somehwat of a long shot...Their current home (Bradley Center) was funded by the Lloyd, and Jane Petit, and was completed in 1988 for an NHL expansion franchise.

Well - the Petit's didn't spend the extra $$$ for the franchise fees, and so now the NBA Bucks are looked upon as the main tenant, and the new owners of the Bucks feel the building is antiquated.

Personally - I feel the Bradley Center is just fine, and if the Bucks leave.....Oh well.

Off topic, but this is incredibly uninformed. First of all, the deal passed the state senate and was never a long shot to get done. Second, the NBA, not the owners, set a deadline of 2017 for the Bucks to have an arena in place before the owners even bought the team. If a deal wasn't done, the NBA would forcibly buy the team back from the new owners.