The Detroit Red Wings arena plans have hit … not exactly a snag, but possibly a speed bump, as city residents have belatedly realized that the area Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch is asking to have rezoned for development includes two historic hotel buildings, and Ilitch hasn’t specified whether he’d preserve them or raze them. And the city council is desperately interested in this matter:
On Thursday, a crowd of residents, activists and representatives of the Ilitches’ company, Olympia Development of Michigan, packed the council chambers for a committee meeting on the issue, but only two council members — Brenda Jones and Andre Spivey — showed up. The predicament left the council without a quorum and unable to ask questions.
Okay, somewhat less than desperately, then. The council has a hearing on Tuesday at which it could vote on the rezoning, or could kick everything back to January, depending on how committed it is to this whole “asking questions before voting” thing.
A Milwaukee Bucks rep told Milwaukee mag they had their eye on some sports bars a block from a new arena site (plus a city-owned parking garage), not for the arena, but for a giant bar district under the arena umbrella, so the Bucks can “capture” more revenue.
So instead of bars with character that pay property taxes, we’ll have tax-exempt mega-plex bars, built by taxpayers. All the charm of a mall–just next to a monolithic arena!