Currently, the fairgrounds are unused about 49 weeks a year.

The developers' Detroit Thoroughbred Raceway Inc. says the project will include:

* A 164-room hotel, convention center and premier restaurant

* A thoroughbred horse race track

* A proposed complex that will house the Detroit Mounted Police Division, the Northern Operations Center for the Detroit Police Department, the Wayne County Sheriff and the Michigan State Police

* A new Amtrak passenger rail stop.

Additionally, the McLemores say, the project will include the historic renovation of the Coliseum and other State Fair structures.

The project hinges on approval from the governor's office and having the project included in the state Legislature's annual agricultural budget. So far, the governor's office hasn't issued a comment on the proposal.

Horse racing has been absent from the state fair for a number of years.

Andrew McLemore says the track at the fairground would be different from other areas horse tracks in the type of racing offered. The other two racetracks in the Detroit area offer harness racing. The new track, if built, would be only the second in the state to offer thoroughbred racing. The only other thoroughbred track is in Muskegon, in west Michigan, some 200 miles away.

DTR says the proposal could create 1,900 new jobs, plus hundreds on construction jobs.

DTR says if its proposal is approved by this summer, horse racing at the fairgrounds could begin by fall 2005. Other proposed facilities will open in time for the 2006 Super Bowl.

Instant Insights /

GlobeSt.com UPDATE: McLemores Detail $125M Fairgrounds Plan

Related Stories

Recommended For You