Technicalities be damned.
Sure, Detroit City FC wasn’t technically a pro team when they won the Member’s Cup this past fall, Le Rouge still brought the first title to Detroit since the Red Wings won the Stanley Cup all the way back in 2008.
With that in mind — and given the state of Detroit pro teams not named DCFC — I would wager that City will still be the best Detroit team in Detroit this upcoming season.
On the pitch.
Off the pitch, there’s no question — technicalities and all — that Detroit City FC is without the doubt the best team in Detroit.
This isn’t even taking into account the numerous amounts of charities the club has undertaken which is impressive even when you juxtapose it to a large corporate franchise like the Red Wings or Lions. Detroit City FC has still managed to give back to the city of Detroit and Hamtramck — in large sums — despite being a supporter built club that didn’t benefit from large corporate handouts.
What may be most impressive about what City has been able to accomplish off the field in such a short amount of time though was what they were able to do just this week.
According to the team and several media outlets including the Detroit News, DCFC has begun making their final payments in loans taken to renovate the historic Keyworth Stadium in Hamtramck which became their permanent home in 2016.
Now a pro team monetarily paying back loans is eye-opening enough, however, Detroit City FC is paying back what they borrowed two years ahead of schedule.
Through the state’s Michigan Invests Locally Exemption Act, DCFC raised $725,500 to renovate the stadium, which opened in 1936. Structural improvements included painting and mending of bleachers, locker rooms, restrooms and lighting.
The campaign received overwhelming support, involving 499 state residents who contributed in investment tiers ranging from $250 to $50,000 over a three-month span.
Money was repaid at an internal rate of return of over 13 percent on an annual basis, the club said.
“The community investment campaign was a tremendous success thanks to our community and supporters,” DCFC co-owner and chief operations officer Todd Kropp said in a written statement “Investors helped us breathe new life into Keyworth Stadium and establish a solid foundation on which we will continue building DCFC.
“We are pleased to be in a position to pay back the investments earlier than projected and to have delivered a solid rate of return to those that took a chance in supporting our project.”
So, while Chris Ilitch continues to fuck over the City of Detroit with the clown show that has become the “District Detroit”, DCFC is actually repaying their debt while investors (both large and small) net a 13 percent return. And sure people will sit here and argue that a Red Wings game, Lions game, and/or Pistons game may draw more fans on a given night giving a quick shot of revenue for local businesses in and around the stadiums, relatively speaking though what Detroit City FC is able to do from home match to home match is more than likely better for the area. Especially when you weigh in any corporate subsidies large franchise owners like Chris Ilitch, Martha Ford, and Tom Gores leach off Detroit and their taxpayers.