The Silverdome may get a new lease on life.According to the Detroit Free Press, the Silverdome may get a new lease on life . . . as host to an MLS franchise. The Toronto-based real estate company that purchased the property for a measly $583k, more on that in a minute, told the real estate firm conducting the auction that they had plans to bring in an MLS team, as well as a women's professional soccer team. Montreal is reported also in the mix for a new franchise, and, I'm assuming, are probably a lot closer to getting a deal done.
I really do question the timing of this move. I don't feel I need to discuss how economically depressed the Detroit market is, on top of the country in general. However, on top of that, is there really a market for professional soccer in Detroit? I know a lot of kids play the sport when they're really young, and we all loved the Neon and Rockers when they were around, but I can't see them drawing incredibly well. It'll also beweird to see them play in an 80,000 seat stadium that they'll never even come close to selling out, let alone filling 1/8th of the way.
Finally, just to comment briefly on the price tag, it's ridiculous. Four years ago, there was a $20 million offer for the Silverdome, and now we're down to 1/40th of that! It's pretty nuts, but, if an MLS team does come in, maybe we'd see some good sports return out of it.
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