Want to own the Pontiac Silverdome?
stown
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Auction link
<< <i>Outstanding Investment Opportunity
Considered an excellent high-profile redevelopment opportunity, the Pontiac Silverdome, an 80,300-seat stadium, is prominently situated on 127+/- acres accessible by I-75 and M-59. Built at a cost of $55.7 million, the dome was the largest arena in the NFL when it opened in 1975. The “gateway site” will lend interested buyers an array of development options.
"We are excited about the Pontiac Silverdome Auction and finding a new owner to become a key member of our community,” said City of Pontiac Emergency Financial Manager Fred Leeb. “The decision to sell via absolute auction illustrates our commitment to sell the stadium and convert an expense into a vibrant future development."
According to Leeb, “What's important for bidders to realize is that this is not just a large site. This is a prominent location and it is in a city that will do all it can do to welcome business and foster a new way of operating in the state of Michigan. Oakland County, where Pontiac is located is ranked the fourth most affluent county in the US, featuring the wealthy townships of Bloomfield Hills, Birmingham and Royal Oak. The Silverdome is located next to major thoroughfares such as I-75, M-59, University Drive and Woodward Avenue. All pluses for new owners.”
To walk into the huge structure that is the Silverdome can still take your breath away. With a seating capacity of 80,311, its still one of the largest in the world. The Silverdome was home to the National Football League’s Detroit Lions, the National Basketball Association’s Detroit Pistons and the United States Football League’s Michigan Panthers. It has seen major events such as Super Bowl 16 and the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
The dome established the largest indoor attendance record for a sporting event when Hulk Hogan met Andre the Giant in the World Wrestling Entertainment’s WrestleMania III. The Lion's franchise moved from the Silverdome in 2002 and while the Silverdome has had periodic and varied use since then, its owner, the City of Pontiac has chosen to auction the dome and the land it is on in an effort to stimulate development in their city. >>
<< <i>Outstanding Investment Opportunity
Considered an excellent high-profile redevelopment opportunity, the Pontiac Silverdome, an 80,300-seat stadium, is prominently situated on 127+/- acres accessible by I-75 and M-59. Built at a cost of $55.7 million, the dome was the largest arena in the NFL when it opened in 1975. The “gateway site” will lend interested buyers an array of development options.
"We are excited about the Pontiac Silverdome Auction and finding a new owner to become a key member of our community,” said City of Pontiac Emergency Financial Manager Fred Leeb. “The decision to sell via absolute auction illustrates our commitment to sell the stadium and convert an expense into a vibrant future development."
According to Leeb, “What's important for bidders to realize is that this is not just a large site. This is a prominent location and it is in a city that will do all it can do to welcome business and foster a new way of operating in the state of Michigan. Oakland County, where Pontiac is located is ranked the fourth most affluent county in the US, featuring the wealthy townships of Bloomfield Hills, Birmingham and Royal Oak. The Silverdome is located next to major thoroughfares such as I-75, M-59, University Drive and Woodward Avenue. All pluses for new owners.”
To walk into the huge structure that is the Silverdome can still take your breath away. With a seating capacity of 80,311, its still one of the largest in the world. The Silverdome was home to the National Football League’s Detroit Lions, the National Basketball Association’s Detroit Pistons and the United States Football League’s Michigan Panthers. It has seen major events such as Super Bowl 16 and the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
The dome established the largest indoor attendance record for a sporting event when Hulk Hogan met Andre the Giant in the World Wrestling Entertainment’s WrestleMania III. The Lion's franchise moved from the Silverdome in 2002 and while the Silverdome has had periodic and varied use since then, its owner, the City of Pontiac has chosen to auction the dome and the land it is on in an effort to stimulate development in their city. >>
So basically my kid won't be able to go to college, but at least I'll have a set where the three most expensive cards are of a player I despise ~ CDsNuts
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Hell Yeah!
by Bruce Watson
The town of Pontiac, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, sold the 80,300-seat Silverdome on Monday, along with 127 acres of nearby land. The massive stadium complex, which once hosted the Detroit Lions, the Detroit Pistons, and the Michigan Panthers, cost more than $55 million to build in 1975.
Its selling price in 2009? $583,000.
The Silverdome isn't just a stadium; it's a historical site. In addition to hosting two huge sports franchises, the Silverdome was also the site of the 1994 FIFA World Cup, the first World Cup ever to be played indoors. It held numerous Cherry Bowl games, the 1979 NBA All-Star Game, and Superbowl XVI. It has hosted major cultural figures ranging from Michael Jackson to Elvis Presley, Led Zeppelin to Pope John Paul II.
The stadium's sale has a certain symbolic power: over the past few years, the creep of urban decay in Detroit has become a sort of national spectator sport. In 2003, housing prices hit a high of $97,850; today, they are pegged at $11,596. In the meantime, razed buildings and demolished houses have created an urban prairie that brings to mind the worst of the Bronx in the 1970's.
Of course, Detroit's decay extends beyond its residential areas. As upsetting as it is to see once-beloved Victorian homes and beautiful apartment buildings sinking into disrepair, the loss of industrial space is even more significant. The hulking ruins of auto buildings like Fisher Body 21, the Packard Plant and the Piquette Plant (where Ford's (F) Model T was first built) seem to suggest not only a local loss of population but a larger loss of purpose.
And, if the destruction of the area's industrial capacity is devastating, the sale and destruction of its civic buildings takes Detroit's downfall to yet another level. The decay of the Michigan Central Depot, the city's grand, sprawling train station, suggests something more than just hard times: it symbolizes Detroit's inability to provide the minimal services and infrastructure that one expects of a city. The same goes for the Silverdome: although the Detroit Lions haven't played there since early in this decade, its bargain-basement sale price suggests that some standard of civic pride has fallen by the wayside.
Admittedly, Pontiac had little choice in the recent sale, since upkeep on the Silverdome costs $1.5 million per year, and was bankrupting the city. By selling it, they have not only relieved themselves of an insupportable cost, but may have opened a line for more revenue. Taxes on the stadium, which may be used by a professional soccer team, should provide a fresh -- and much needed -- income stream.
Even so, some members of city government are holding out hope that this isn't the last word on the Silverdome. There are 45 days before the sale becomes final and The Detroit News reports that at least one councilman expects that a former bidder will step forward to challenge the sale. Still, with population dwindling and Motor City reverting to prairie, even a better sale price will be cold comfort.
now that's funny.
<< <i>Its selling price in 2009? $583,000. >>
Maybe my math is wrong but that comes out to $0.10 psf (583000 [$] /127 [acrage] /43560 [sqft per a]).
Right?!?!
If that's the case and unless that's the worst neighborhood in DET, I would have made an Offer on principal alone.
edited to add: just selling scrap and "memorabilia" easily covers purchase.. EASY!