Council Agrees to Stadium Sale for $175M MXD

The council has overseen numerous bid proposals by companies to take over the stadium, which is on Michigan Highway 59, just west of Interstate 75. All the proposals, for projects such as industrial parks, shopping malls and similar entertainment complexes, were denied by the council. Parker was part of a previous pack of bids that were dropped by the city, though the lawyer has temporarily shelved his plans to create a racetrack/casino at the site. "He has put the racino plans on hold because of what it takes to get a state license," says Myrna Burroughs with CB Richard Ellis, which was hired by the city to market the site. "Parker may bring back the racino concept in the future." She says Parker plans to keep up the famous dome, now reinforced by steel girders, atop the stadium. The interior of the facility has not been used since it was a practice stadium for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2006 Super Bowl in Detroit.

She says Parker and an unnamed partner will perform 90 days of due diligence on the site, and that the closing has to be no later than Nov. 1. That is, if Phillips doesn't veto the sale, a move that could be overridden by a favorable vote by five members of the council. Parker's proposal passed late last week by a 4-2 vote, with one member absent.

Burroughs says retailers and residents would love to come to the stadium in a new form, especially given its location right off major freeways. However, the site is in a rundown area, and retail in Pontiac has not done well, with tenants preferring to locate in Taubman's Great Lakes Crossing mega-mall a few miles north on I-75 in Auburn Hills. Also, a few area hotels and centers, including the Detroit Pistons basketball team's stadium, the Palace of Auburn Hills, already handle the meager amount of conferences that are held in this north Oakland County area.