By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor
Detroit Lions’ former home in Pontiac hit the market again for around $30 million. That’s a huge price tag compared to the modest $583,000 paid by Toronto-based Triple Properties Inc. who purchased the crumbling stadium at auction six years ago.
Pontiac Silverdome
After investing $6 million in upgrades for the restaurant and VIP areas, Triple Properties’ plans to revitalize the stadium into a professional soccer franchise were stalled and the property continued to deteriorate and become a ruin.
MLive.com, who first reported the news earlier this week, revealed that the Southfield office of CBRE is marketing the entire 127.5-acre property for sale or lease, and even the option to Build to Suit. 10 acres are currently leased to a local soccer league, and FCA North America occupies another 15 acres. This generates a total revenue of $1 million per year, according to the news source.
According to CBRE’s marketing flyer, the blighted property comes with an entire list of redevelopment options—from office campus to convention center space to mixed-use play community—which indicates that a potential buyer would have to tear down the stadium to make room for new development.
The Silverdome is located at 1200 Featherstone Rd. in Pontiac, roughly 30 miles from Detroit. Designed by the architectural firm of O’dell, Hewlett & Luckenbach, the 82,000-seat venue was completed in 1975 for $55.7 million—less than 1 percent of what Triple Properties paid six years ago and almost double the price it’s being marketed for by CBRE.
The venue was first closed in 2006, four years after the Detroit Lions moved to Ford Field, but the city decided to give the dome another chance and sold it at auction in 2009. After hosting several events, the former Pontiac Silverdome closed permanently in 2013.
Image credits to Flickr user Don Robson