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A customized motorcycle celebrating Red Wings greats past and present greets visitors to the Ilitch family's Hockeytown Cafe in Detroit.Raising his stake in Motown
Ilitch pumps pride into Hockeytown
With $1 million in improvements to sports bar, ballpark, Detroit's titan of business hopes others will follow.
"We really want to create a stampede of activity" in Foxtown and beyond, says Detroit businessman Mike Ilitch.
Hockeytown booster
Mike Ilitch believes the city's downtown is finally ready for prime time and he's putting his money where his mouth is. Do you agree with him?
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DETROIT -- Mike Ilitch believes the city's downtown is finally ready for prime time and he's putting his money where his mouth is.
Ilitch, the mogul who owns the Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Tigers, is spending more than than $1 million to renovate the Hockeytown Cafe and Comerica Park.
"Ten years ago you didn't see the traffic downtown to support restaurants and entertainment because everyone went home after 5 p.m.," Ilitch said in a recent interview. "But now that we have two downtown stadiums, the corporations, the residential lofts and other entertainment, the city is really alive."
The co-founder of Little Caesar Enterprises Inc. with his wife, Marian, Mike Ilitch last year asked a core group of executives to travel the country to glean ideas for improving Hockeytown Cafe.
Ilitch sees the improvements as part of a larger story of downtown Detroit's comeback. Street renovations, civic improvements like the upcoming downtown branch for the YMCA and the addition of more than 500 residential lofts have brought back a sense of optimism for downtown, he said.
While many of the improvements are geared toward February's Super Bowl XL at Ford Field, Ilitch said the upgrades will last several decades.
"I can't remember downtown looking so good, except when I came down here as a child and things were humming," he said.
"Back then, almost everything that happened was downtown. But then the suburban flight came, and we lost some of our momentum."
Ilitch has been called part of the problem in the past because his company has purchased buildings downtown without renovating them. He said he is working with developers to forge new projects on some of his family's more than 20 downtown properties.
Ilitch already has two proposals for the site of the recently demolished Madison-Lenox Hotel in Harmonie Park. There may also be a new arena on the horizon for the Red Wings.
The team's lease at the city-owned Joe Louis Arena expires in 2009. Ilitch hasn't decided whether to renew the lease or build a hockey facility elsewhere downtown. "If we say we're building, the price of land goes way up, so I haven't decided what to do yet," he said.
Historic preservationists hope Ilitch will do more to address such notable, but shuttered, structures he owns. Those include the United Artists Theatre, Adams Theatre and the Fine Arts Building. "I think the missing piece in Mr. Ilitch's renovation efforts is residential," said Francis Grunow, executive director of Preservation Wayne. "He did a great job with the Fox Theatre, the entertainment ventures and Comerica Park, but a true 24-hour city has residents."
Ilitch recently appointed his son Atanas to head the family's development efforts. "I remember Atanas said 10 years ago that we should do residences, so perhaps it is something we can work on with other developers," he said.
In 1988 he moved Little Caesar Enterprises from Farmington Hills to the Fox Theatre.
"We were a little early with Little Caesar because I thought other companies would follow us," he said. "It just took more time."
Since 1996 General Motors Corp. and Compuware Corp. have spent close to $1 billion to renovate or build corporate headquarters downtown. Ilitch spent more than $120 million to build Comerica Park in 2000, while public entities and taxpayers invested the rest.
Now Ilitch wants to improve the ballpark even more. He intends to combine nine suites into one massive space devoted to the Tigers' four world championships.
The 3,500-square-foot space along the third base line will offer food, drinks and showcase plenty of memorabilia like the team's World Series trophies, vintage jerseys and equipment. "I have all these great artifacts sitting in my office and in our archives, and no one gets to see them but me and a handful of people," Ilitch said.
Ilitch said more projects are on the horizon, including family-owned properties at the southwest corner of Interstate 75 and Woodward.
George W. Jackson Jr., president and CEO of Detroit Economic Growth Corp., a quasi-public development group, said past and recent investments made by the Ilitch family have provided a "shot of confidence" in downtown Detroit.
"A guy like Mike Ilitch, you can take him for his word," Jackson said. Ilitch praised Red Wings defenseman Chris Chelios, who recently bought a tudor-style building at Adams and Witherell for a second Cheli's Chili Bar. It should open in time for Super Bowl XL. Chelios' first bar opened on Michigan Avenue in Dearborn in August 2003.
"We want to encourage other investors downtown and make I-75 and Woodward a pillar of Foxtown," Ilitch said. "We really want to create a stampede of activity."
Ilitch, chairman of Ilitch Holdings Inc., which last year reported revenue of more than $1 billion, said he believes in looking outside Detroit for ideas. He recently sent a group to Italy to scout new food offerings for Little Caesars.
"There are a lot of great people doing great things around the world, and if you can soak up their success, it helps you revitalize your own businesses," Ilitch said.
Some of that spirit will be seen as soon as patrons walk into Hockeytown Cafe. Ilitch ordered two custom choppers for the Detroit Tigers and Detroit Red Wings. The motorcycles now welcome visitors at the cafe's entrance.
Other improvements include a new bar that lets patrons look out at Woodward Avenue and Comerica Park, maple display cases featuring jerseys and other merchandise for sale, while a revamped menu offers pizza for the first time.
Still to come are a second-floor renovation at Hockeytown focused on the Tigers, along with a future renovation of the third floor and deck that overlooks Woodward. The outdoor patio north of the cafe will be renovated next year.
"I really do want to see more people down here enjoying themselves," he said.
You can reach R.J. King at (313) 222-2504 or rjking@detnews.com.
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