Jason Posted November 18, 2009 Share Posted November 18, 2009 I was surprised by this: http://www.freep.com/article/20091117/NEWS05/911170324/1320/Silverdome-fetches-583000 Can you imagine: a (old) domed stadium that costs roughly what an average house in Calgary sells for? But more to the point, any idea which Toronto-based family real estate company would put in this bid? If their goal really is to put MLS in Detroit, I find it interesting. While I like MLS and soccer as a general idea, by the time they pay the expansion fee and fix up the old dome, will they be able to get people in such an economically depressed area buy tickets? If the Red Wings, who are steeped in tradition and are always a powerhouse, can't fill their building regularly, what chance does MLS have of being succesful? I wish them luck. Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TFCRegina Posted November 18, 2009 Share Posted November 18, 2009 Won't happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piltdownman Posted November 18, 2009 Share Posted November 18, 2009 This raises a few question. Was this a straight auction or a tax auction? If its a tax auction it means the cost of $583,000 is only the purchase price, and the buyer would still have to repay the debts on the property. If it really sold for just $583k then it might be a great purchase as a tear down and salvage. Detroit has been a city of decline since the late '50s. The population has halved since then, and people are still leaving the city at a rate of around 5% a decade, while the nation wide population is going up 8%. It wouldn't be a place I would consider a good place for a new sports team. http://www.swivel.com/graphs/show/13202138 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loud Mouth Soup Posted November 18, 2009 Share Posted November 18, 2009 The Silverdome isn't in Detroit proper, and is nowhere near the downtown. There's a reason it's called the Pontiac Silverdome. That's like saying The GM Centre is in Toronto. Or the Hershey Centre. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RS Posted November 18, 2009 Share Posted November 18, 2009 quote:Originally posted by Loud Mouth Soup The Silverdome isn't in Detroit proper, and is nowhere near the downtown. There's a reason it's called the Pontiac Silverdome. That's like saying The GM Centre is in Toronto. Or the Hershey Centre. Where Detroit is concerned, the further from the city, the better. [] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted November 19, 2009 Author Share Posted November 19, 2009 quote:Originally posted by piltdownman This raises a few question. Was this a straight auction or a tax auction? If its a tax auction it means the cost of $583,000 is only the purchase price, and the buyer would still have to repay the debts on the property. If it really sold for just $583k then it might be a great purchase as a tear down and salvage. Detroit has been a city of decline since the late '50s. The population has halved since then, and people are still leaving the city at a rate of around 5% a decade, while the nation wide population is going up 8%. It wouldn't be a place I would consider a good place for a new sports team. http://www.swivel.com/graphs/show/13202138 As I understand it, the building has no outstanding tax issues. However, the city of Pontiac will be charging them taxes in the future and even in its mothballed state, the dome costs $1.5 million a year to keep the roof in place and other maitenance costs. So there are some annual costs, but I still think at that price it's a good deal if they can book some events. I'm just not sure a MLS team can work there. Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted November 19, 2009 Author Share Posted November 19, 2009 quote:Originally posted by Loud Mouth Soup The Silverdome isn't in Detroit proper, and is nowhere near the downtown. There's a reason it's called the Pontiac Silverdome. That's like saying The GM Centre is in Toronto. Or the Hershey Centre. Thanks for clearing that up for us as I'm sure the title of "MLS in Pontiac and run by Canadians?" would've been far more of a useful description of the topic for most of the forum readers. I'm pretty sure if a MLS team ever plays out of the Silverdome, it will likely be called the Detroit Whatevers and not the Pontiac Whatevers. Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loud Mouth Soup Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 Not saying it wouldn't be called the Detroit Thingamajigs. The Lions played there for years, the Pistons played there until they moved 5 minutes down the road to The Palace of Auburn Hills, and the Detroit Vipers of the old IHL played at the Palace as well. It's that the area is much more white collar than the city of Detroit, and the area is better off. Not a great time for Michigan overall, but just want people to understand the area is better than the inner-city Detroit the media reports on. There's also Oakland University and a lot of country clubs in the area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macksam Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 I thought the stadium was named after the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macksam Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 I thought the stadium was named after the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trillium Posted November 20, 2009 Share Posted November 20, 2009 quote:Originally posted by Macksam I thought the stadium was named after the car. No its named after the native chief Pontiac of the Ottawa's, and frankly a team called the Pontiacs in the MLS would be very cool. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Pontiac Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSoccerFan Posted November 20, 2009 Share Posted November 20, 2009 Looks good in soccer mode Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted November 20, 2009 Author Share Posted November 20, 2009 quote:Originally posted by CanadianSoccerFan Looks good in soccer mode The big problem with it is that it's just SO big. I don't have the exact numbers in front of me, but it's 80,000+ total, with something like 42,000 in the lower bowl, 30,000 in the upper bowl, and the rest I'm assuming is club seats, etc. I just can't see MLS liking this place unless it's just completely redone like B.C. Place will be. And I believe that reno will cost something like $480 million or more than 800 times what the Silverdome sold for. The USL and/or the TOA would likely be willing to put a team there or anywhere else that has the cash for an expansion fee, so I could see that. Even if they drew 15,000 fans a game and led the USL in attendance, it would still be mostly empty. Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted November 20, 2009 Author Share Posted November 20, 2009 Has anyone heard of this guy - Andreas Apostolopoulos http://www.detnews.com/article/20091119/METRO/911190462/1361/Winning-Silverdome-bidder-still-hopes-to-finalize-deal Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheeta Posted November 20, 2009 Share Posted November 20, 2009 Sitting empty it's costing $120K month to keep the lights on and water running, before taxes, and before the actual staffing expenses which would be related to any event you'd want to do there. That's a fair number of dollars. I'm guessing this Apostolopouos fellow is just taking a punt on a venue he can get on the cheap. Speculating. I don't think he'll sink serious money into making things work there. He'll give things a go and hope to make a few bucks but if they don't he'll fold up his tent and leave town. A little poorer for the effort maybe but certainly not broke. Or he'll bulldoze the place level and sell the land. Who knows? Smells fishy though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loud Mouth Soup Posted November 20, 2009 Share Posted November 20, 2009 They used to do Friday night rollerblading around the concourse of the stadium, with music and drinks and such. I wonder if that's still a money maker? Nah. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted November 21, 2009 Author Share Posted November 21, 2009 quote:Originally posted by Cheeta Sitting empty it's costing $120K month to keep the lights on and water running, before taxes, and before the actual staffing expenses which would be related to any event you'd want to do there. That's a fair number of dollars. I'm guessing this Apostolopouos fellow is just taking a punt on a venue he can get on the cheap. Speculating. I don't think he'll sink serious money into making things work there. He'll give things a go and hope to make a few bucks but if they don't he'll fold up his tent and leave town. A little poorer for the effort maybe but certainly not broke. Or he'll bulldoze the place level and sell the land. Who knows? Smells fishy though. I would agree with your speculation theory. The building is structurally in good shape so he does not have to sink big money into it. It would need some cosmetic updates, adding in some new features developed in the last decade, and a new field (which would cost more than the building did) and he's good to go. Add in another million and you have a TOA or USL club. Try to get a few concerts, college football games and a couple of international soccer matches and maybe you have something. If not, you've maybe lost a bit of cash but well worth the risk. Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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