With the Red Wings’ lease at Joe Louis Arena ending in December ’09, Ilitch Holdings President & CEO Chris Ilitch said that he would “like to make a decision by year-end on whether renovation or building a new stadium is the best option,” according to Snavely & Ankeny of CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS. HOK Sport Principal Steve Hotujac, who previously studied the facility, said that building a new arena “is preferable than revamping” it. Renovating could cost $180M or more, while a new 18,000-seat arena could be built for about $250M, not including an additional $100M for parking. Hotujac: “I would not throw another $200[M] down the drain at renovating that building.” First Public Corp. President Lou Beer, an arena consultant for the team, said that the way Joe Louis Arena was built “makes it difficult to upgrade.” Beer: “The engineering changes are so vast and expensive that it’s not worth it.” But Snavely & Ankeny note the three years left on the lease leaves “not much time to design and build a new arena, especially with other complicating factors, such as gaining approval for any amount of public funding that may be needed” ( CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS, 6/19 issue ).
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| Red Wings Hope To Make Arena Decision By Year’s End |
