This month, a major land deal has come together between the city of Detroit and the owners of the Detroit Red Wings to build a new $650 million entertainment district. The Red Wings would acquire a new stadium as part of the deal in an effort to spur up job growth in the economically devastated area. For the city of Detroit, this seems like the safest way to stimulate the economy and create an industry that will not pick up and leave like others have in the past. However, for many, this initiative is not addressing the reality of Detroit’s financial situation.
On July 18, 2013, the city of Detroit formally declared bankruptcy, finally moving forward on something many thought was inevitable. The real question was: what did this mean for the people of Detroit? Despite the fact that the auto industry had received multi-billion dollar government bailouts, the city that the industry was built in had gone bankrupt. The auto industry had been saved, but none of the money had gone to essential services within the city of Detroit. Today, there are situations in which there are no bus services, streetlights, or even emergency services in the city. This includes fire fighters who struggle to fight against the fires scattered across the greater metropolitan area without enough men or resources to get the job done.
With problems like this, it is mind boggling to think that there is an effort to spend $650 million of public funding on an entertainment district. The people of Detroit have suffered tremendously under the tides of economic change, and it appears as though the people organizing the city’s recovery are struggling to prioritize.
If the efforts of the city and Red Wings ownership are to revive Detroit, the question must be: for whom? As it turns out, the arena will actually be decreasing by 2000 seats based on the new floor plan, something that could potentially drive prices up. Knowing this, it is important to note that Red Wings tickets are already out of reach financially for many people living in the inner city.
It goes without saying that Detroit deserves to be successful after decades of hardship, and a waterfront entertainment district would certainly help the city become more enticing, but what is the cost? This entertainment district will be constructed over the next few years, and in the mean time, Detroiters will continue to live without streetlights and fire fighters.
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issue, it might not be a taboo subject but generally folks don’t speak about such topics.
To the next! Kind regards!!