NEWS RELEASE, 7-10-02

DETROIT readies new stadium for Lions for 2002 season.
The Story of Detroit’s two stadiums has relevance to San Diego

At http://detnews.com/2002/lions/0206/30/index.htm, learn more about Detroit’s new NFL football stadium Here are some key facts that relate to us in San Diego:

  • It is a mixed-use football complex encompassing sports, entertainment, retail, restaurant, office, and conference space and facilities.
  • The costs is kept down to $350 million, a "bargain" in the day of $400 and $450 million roofed stadiums, a good sign for San Diego (and we don’t need the cost of a roof). It is being delivered on time and within budget.
  • Creates a "place to be" destination spot for locals and tourists: Lions stadium, Opera House, new restaurants, and a $150 million adjoining retail/office space development, that will encompass 350,000 square feet of office space, to be completed by Spring 2004.
  • Fewer seats: from 80,000 seats in previous stadium to 65,000.
  • Creates 1,500 new jobs every time there is a game or event.
  • It opens for the 2002 season.
  • The Detroit Tigers baseball team opened their new stadium, next door, for the 2000 season.
  • Together they create an urban village, with design, architecture, and planning that says "welcome". For the fans in the stadiums, all planning efforts established fan sight lines as the highest priority. And then, outside the stadiums, the surrounding buildings and places and spaces all work together to create an urban village, a village that includes shops, restaurants, offices, and other attractions. Eight, two- and three-story buildings of varying sizes and heights make up this village of buildings which house many of the service facilities surrounding the park. On the baseball Tiger’s side, there is nearly 70,000 square feet of retail space and another 36,000 square feet is dedicated to Tigers offices. The result is a landscape that blends into the surrounding street life of Foxtown. And with no upper deck outfield seats, no ballpark offers a better view of a downtown skyline than Comerica Park. This joins the football Lions’ side, with its 350,000 square feet of commercial space. And with its new glass wall on one side, it too offers an incredible view of downtown Detroit.

Let’s all get on board to bring San Diego into the elite era of key cities of the United States. If Detroit can do it with its terrible winters, certainly San Diego can do it with its perfect weather.