17 Developers Line Up for Silverdome RFP

PONTIAC, MI-A field of 17 developers has paid $100 each for informational packets on the renovation of Pontiac Silverdome. The developers are interested in various rebuild plans that could destroy or leave standing the large domed stadium, the former home of the Detroit Lions football team.

The Lions will start the 2002-03 season in Detroit at the newly-constructed Ford Field. Elizabeth Kerby, spokeswoman for the Silverdome, says the city’s deadline for development proposals is Sept. 23. Meanwhile, tours are being offered on Monday to developers who are interested in putting together proposals.

“It will just be a walkthrough for the developers to see the site, to see what they’re going to be working with,” Kerby tells GlobeSt.com.

All plans for reuse of the building will be considered, Silverdome officials say.

“People who are considering the re-use of the building can go online and get specifications and modifications of the building,” Silverdome executive director Eric Walker tells GlobeSt.com. “We’ve had people from as far away as Florida, talking about tech parks and all kinds of mixed-use projects. The sky’s the limit.”

The 127.5-acre site is surrounded by the cities of Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills, home of many automotive suppliers and the North American headquarters of DaimlerChrysler.

Members of the Stadium Building Authority and Pontiac city officials will be involved inthe proposal review process.

Additional dates and timing will be announced once they are confirmed.

The Silverdome is owned and operated by the building authority. The authority was incorporated in 1968 by the city to acquire property and to construct the large covered stadium, which cost $55 million to construct.

The Ford Motor Co.-owned Detroit Lions will pay Pontiac more than $27 million. The team was supposed to stay at the Silverdome until 2006. However, the new $300-million, 1.3-million-sf Ford Field is currently under construction next to the Detroit Tigers new ball park, Comerica Park, along Woodward Avenue.

Ford Field is also set to host Super Bowl XL in 2006.