Earlier this month, the council rejected another seven bids that were made in October with plans that included a convention center, hotel, stores, offices, theaters, housing and even racetracks and aquariums, by companies such as Danou Enterprises. It's not clear how many proposals the council has already rejected in the five years, but the number is at least more than 20, and could be more than 30.

Now, CBRE says the city has received five more proposals to purchase the site, and one lease plan. The submissions were received from Stuart Frankel Development Co., United Assurance Co./International Synergy Holding Co. Ltd., US Hospitality Inc., Global Baseball Inc., Silver Stallion International LLC and, again, Danou, under the cover of the company Smart Park International LLC. The proposals reportedly include a roughly $500-million plan by United Assurance to build a video-game/live broadcast theme park, and office parks and retail developments.

Neither a spokeswoman with CBRE nor city officials returned calls for comment on the bid announcement. "The proposals will be reviewed immediately and the council is prepared to move quickly to sell the property," according to a release statement by CBRE. However, the city has made similar pledges after bid announcements for the past five years.

The 80,000-seat Silverdome was impressive in its heyday, opened in 1975 as one of the largest football stadiums in the country and located in the prospering seat of Oakland County, one of the richest counties in the US. However, as automotive jobs left Pontiac and the state, the urbanized city died out with other similar communities such as Flint and Saginaw, leaving blight, high crime and joblessness. While General Motors has reclaimed part of its niche in the area, most of the city is struggling…with a multistory office building selling recently in the Downtown for just $1.3 million. A successful redevelopment project for the 127-acre Silverdome site could be the catalyst to bring the city in line with neighboring Auburn Hills, the home of the Chrysler headquarters…if Pontiac leaders ever decide on a project.