DETROIT-Local business magnate Mike Ilitch, who owns the Detroit Tigers baseball team and Detroit Red Wings hockey team as well as being founder/owner of Little Caesar’s Pizza, said Monday that he wants to buy the for-sale Detroit Pistons basketball team. If the purchase goes through, it’s believed that Ilitch would move the Pistons’ stadium from the northern suburbs to Downtown Detroit in a new double-use stadium.

Karen Davidson, widow of late Pistons owner William Davidson, said earlier this year that she wants to sell the team, which plays at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, MI. Ilitch is one of the only people in Michigan who could pull it off to keep the team local. He’s also one of Detroit’s largest landowners through his company Ilitch Holdings, including the Wings’ Joe Louis Arena and the MotorCity Casino Hotel.

He said in a statement Monday that he wants the team to stay local. “Detroit is our home. When I read in the paper there was the chance that this great sports town could lose one of its professional sports franchises, I just didn’t see how we could let that happen,” Ilitch said.

 He said his business team, including many family members, discussed the Pistons buy and agreed to “take a run at it. We believe we could bring a lot to the table that could be tremendously positive for the Pistons franchise, the NBA, and the fans of this community. So, today, we formally notified the Detroit Pistons that we have interest in purchasing the team. This is a required first-step and we look forward to the opportunity to move forward in the process,” Ilitch said in the statement.

The Pistons are reportedly worth almost $500 million. A new stadium would likely cost about $400 million, though Ilitch is still negotiating its lease for the next hockey season at the 30-year-old Joe Louis Arena in Downtown Detroit, meaning that it’s possible a new stadium could serve both teams. Ilitch has said the Wings will play for at least another year at the Joe.

After a devastating couple of years, Detroit is starting to see a light at the end of the Rust Belt tunnel. Pres. Barack Obama recently authorized a study to help bring light rail back to Detroit along Woodward Avenue, the automakers are reporting better results and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan recently said it would move 3,000 employees into two towers at the General Motors Renaissance Center office complex.