If you’ve gotten the chance to take in the new Little Caesars Arena in “The District Detroit”, there’s not question you were either blown away or very much impressed by marvel that was the arena itself.
And why wouldn’t you be? It would seem the building that is the Little Caesars Arena was everything the billionaires in charge, namely the Illitch family promised the people of Detroit and fans of the Red Wings and Pistons.
However, a shiny new building to house two rebuilding franchises wasn’t the only thing promised to Detroit.
To go along with the Arena was and is still presumed to be budding residential and business areas that would eventually make up five different neighborhoods as part of “The District Detroit” project. This was part of the caveat that went along with the $324 million dollars in taxpayer money that helped fund the construction of the LCA.
And that’s where HBO comes in.
Debuting Tuesday will be a one-hour episode of “Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel,” titled “Motown Blues” that’ll bring to light “…the sweetheart arena deal to the wealthy Ilitch family despite Detroit facing an $18-billion bankruptcy — the largest of any city in U.S. history,” and not to mention the roughly 50 empty blocks that are mostly owned by the Illitch family and intended for this new development that has seen nothing but a genuine lack of progress and delay after delay after delay.
Now that’s not to say that nothing has been done.
Aside from the Arena, The Wayne State University Mike Ilitch School of Business and new Little Caesars headquarters have been built but I’m guessing we can see the theme and assumed urgency in getting those buildings constructed. Beyond that, the Detroit News makes mention of something else “The District Detroit” has given back, traffic gridlock, 27 parking facilities — some taking up entire blocks — and fewer places to live.
Understandably the old cliché that Rome wasn’t built in a day probably immediately comes to mind as it should. However, the News notes Francis Grunow of the Neighborhood Advisory Committee for the Arena District which has expressed their concerns over the lack of development and secretive nature of the Illitch plans that don’t seem to go far beyond some ambiguous neighborhood drawings that were originally proposed to the public when “The District Detroit” project was just getting underway.
