Detroit lawmakers helped usher in the next generation of local pro sports, approving a new stadium for the city’s pro soccer team, plus a WNBA facility and youth sports academy on the east riverfront.
The projects, both being approved within hours of the other, did not face significant opposition from community members — unlike stadium deals of the past.
Critics of the tax abatement developers received for Little Caesars Arena in 2013 who said the plan didn’t adequately connect Midtown to downtown have not been proven wrong. The promised mixed-use business district surrounding the arena has not materialized, even after council members approved another round of abatements ten years later in 2023.
Despite the project not happening as planned, LCA has received at least $403 million in public subsidy commitments from the Downtown Development Authority since 2013.
Criticism of the tax abatement for the arena largely focused on the fact that public dollars should not be going to private developers as the city was in municipal bankruptcy.
Detroit City Council on Wednesday, Nov. 26, signed off on tax breaks and a community benefits agreement for AlumniFi Stadium, DCFC’s planned $198 million stadium at the site of an abandoned hospital.
The surrounding Corktown area nearby the abandoned Southwest Detroit hospital will see $1.2 million as part of the agreement. The club has promised to give away 3,000 free tickets each season to residents and has committed $50,000 toward public art. Developers say the abatement is necessary for the demolition of the hospital.
The club also promised a $17 minimum wage, union neutrality for workers and more than $1 million earmarked for community organizations over the next 12 years.
Union advocate and Detroit resident Jasmine Kaltenbech came to council Wednesday to call for universal labor standards for all taxpayers subsidized developments.
“DCFC agreed to labor standards – those standards should apply to all taxpayer-subsidized developments in the city. But, because of preemption laws, Detroit can’t require that,’ said Kaltenbach, director of the Home Rule Project. “Preemption laws fly in the face of Detroit’s home rule powers and prevent Detroit from holding developers accountable – as a result, Detroiters are living under Corporate Rule rather than Home Rule.”
The stadium, located at 20th street and Michigan Avenue, will include 15,000 seats and 76 apartment units.
While some local business owners called into public comment during council session to criticize developers for a perceived lack of parking, the club says there are 421 parking lots planned.
The council also unanimously approved the plans to bring a $50 million practice facility for Detroit’s yet-to-be-named WNBA team, plus a nearby youth sports academy that developers say is separate.
The development is planned for the contaminated Uniroyal site off East Jefferson near the riverfront.
“The youth development academy is a separate project,” the COO and chief legal officer for Pistons Sports & Entertainment. group told reporters at city council last month. “It’s going to be developed by separate funding, it’s going to be developed by a nonprofit entity, and it’s on a later phase of this project. So we’re expecting that there’s going to be more information on that sometime in 2026.”
Pistons Sports & Entertainment assets currently include the Detroit Pistons NBA franchise, the Henry Ford Detroit Pistons Performance Center, the G-League franchise Motor City Cruise, and the live entertainment company 313 Presents.
The group came under fire from tax justice advocates during the council approval process due to the nature of the development happening in separate phases. Developers say the practice facility and sports academy are two different projects despite presenting them together.
Detroiters for Tax Justice argues the financing proposal splits the project into separate ownership and cost components in order for the developer to avoid triggering Detroit’s community benefits ordinance.
The ordinance forces developers to provide benefits to the area nearby developments exceeding $75 million receiving at least $1 million in public subsidies.
“This structuring raises concerns that the developer is sidestepping community input and accountability, despite relying heavily on public resources for private gain,” the group wrote.
Public commenters who called into council about the WNBA facility and sports academy mostly supported it, including former Piston Rick Mahorn, who called into council on back-to-back weeks to urge members to green light the 75,000-square-foot headquarters and practice facility.
The practice facility will trigger a city requirement for developers to partner with Detroit workforce agencies to provide job opportunities to residents.
It’s not clear how much the youth sports academy will cost. The plans appear to be similar to boarding school academies that host regional tournaments like Ohio’s Spire Academy or Florida’s Montverde Academy.
Supporters said the deal will create opportunities for local youth.
The plan for the WNBA expansion team set to launch in 2029 is to play games at Little Caesars Arena and the Wayne State fieldhouse currently occupied by the G-League’s Motor City Cruise.
It has been since 2009 that Detroit had a WNBA team. The Detroit Shock moved to Tulsa after former owner Bill Davidson died. The franchise is now the Dallas Wings.
