Pistons-to-downtown gaining steam

[mercury]

From the Freep...
"The Detroit Downtown Development Authority would generate that money by refinancing $250 million in bonds previously issued to help pay for the arena’s construction. The arena bonds are to be paid off using property tax collections captured for downtown economic development. No funding from the city of Detroit's general fund will be used.

The $34.5 million from the bond refinancing would pay for new features at Little Caesars Arena for the Pistons – NBA locker rooms, training facilities and rebranding the arena for both teams.

It is possible the DDA will issue taxable bonds of up to $55 million for a Pistons practice facility. The Pistons would repay those bonds."

[DetPistons04]

I'm a fan of it.
Initially I was a little apprehensive because I really like The Palace, but this is going to be an awesome state-of-the-art facility. Gores did what he could with The Palace since he took over as far as amenities and such, but there just isn't anything to really do right around there. Being downtown will be a HUGE upgrade there.
Also it's no picnic driving from SW of Ann Arbor to Auburn Hills during rush hour in the Winter. Once it took me over 2 hours when it was snowing... Brutal.

[Kilo]

[Kilo]

"It's about time," Marcus Morris said. "They excited, man. I'm happy too. We're going to have some of the inner-city people here come to the games. I think our crowd, not that it's bad, but I think it's going to be a lot more electric down there in Detroit."

“I think being downtown is really good for us,” Drummond said as music blared. “The people of Auburn Hills don’t really need the type of stuff. They’re well-off, with the exception of the people in Pontiac, but other than that, being down here to help these type of people, their energy brings up our vibe and excitement.”

[WC NBA Fan]

FWIW, the Pistons are paying the entire cost of the practice facility and headquarters as well they should. It would be nice if we didn't see the $34 million but compared to other deals, this isn't really that bad.

[DetroitSho]

Those Red Wing banners far in the distance really ruined my viewing experience of this picture.

/green