Canadian company's $583,000 bid wins auction for Silverdome

Last Updated: November 16. 2009 3:27PM
Canadian company's $583,000 bid wins auction for Silverdome
Mike Martindale / The Detroit News

Pontiac -- The city will sell the Pontiac Silverdome for $583,000 to a Canadian company that hopes to maintain it as a sports venue, city officials announced this afternoon.

The company's name is not being released until final details are being worked out, said Fred Leeb, the city's emergency financial manager. The company hopes to bring a soccer league to the site.

The company was one of four bidders considered today during an auction at the Marriott Hotel for the Silverdome, the former home to the Detroit Lions.

The 80,300-seat stadium and 127 adjacent acres are being auctioned by Tulsa, Okla.-based Williams & Williams auctioneer firm. Bidders had to submit their proposals by Thursday.

The Silverdome has sat largely empty since the Detroit Lions moved to Ford Field in 2002.

Its $1.5-million-a-year upkeep has been a drain on the city of Pontiac, now beset by budget woes and supervised by Fred Leeb, the city's emergency financial manager. The city invested $100,000 in marketing and advertising for the Silverdome's auction globally.

Last Updated: November 17. 2009 2:52PM
Development company sues to block sale of Silverdome
Mike Martindale / The Detroit News

Pontiac -- A development company that has sought to buy the Silverdome for two years has filed an injunction to block Monday's sale of the sports facility to a Canadian group.

The injunction filed Monday afternoon in Oakland Circuit Court was too late to stop the auction, according to Bloomfield Hills attorney H. Wallace Parker, who has headed the Silver Stallion Development Corporation. But it may be able to stop the sale of the Silverdome, which went for $583,000 Monday in a closed door auction between four top bidders.

"We believe we have strong grounds to challenge this sale," said Parker, whose group once offered $20 million for the Silverdome only to see negotiations break down over disputes over repair work and a required fee. "There are a lot of angry, upset people in Pontiac right now. And we think we can open this back up and have it done right."

Parker said he hoped to be before Oakland Circuit Judge Edward Sosnick on Wednesday but said at this point, the city is blocked from continuing forward until the matter is decided by Sosnick.

The complaint for injunction names as defendants: the city of Pontiac, Mayor Clarence Phillips, Emergency Financial Manager Fred Leeb and Williams & Williams Marketing. It alleges breach of contract and racial discrimination against Silver Stallion Development, which is described as a minority corporation.

mmartindale@detnews.com (248) 338-0319

Last Updated: November 18. 2009 11:47AM
Oakland County judge blocks sale of Silverdome
Mike Martindale / The Detroit News

Pontiac -- An Oakland Circuit judge Wednesday temporarily blocked the recent sale of the Pontiac Silverdome and ordered attorneys to submit additional pleadings in the case.

Silver Stallion Corp., led by Bloomfield Hills attorney H. Wallace Parker, sought the injunction after a closed-door auction Monday in which a Canadian group purchased the city-owned sports facility with a winning bid of $583,000.

Silver Stallion, which was not invited to the final auction, claims its ongoing effort to purchase the Silverdome for $17 million -- and an August 2008 purchase agreement with the city -- should be honored. The city counters Silver Stallion never submitted a $250,000 deposit as required of other bidders.

"Nothing is going to happen until next week. The judge has stopped the sale at this time," Silver Stallion attorney David E. McGruder said after Wednesday's hearing.

Judge Edward Sosnick told attorneys to submit legal arguments by Friday afternoon and he would make a ruling at 1:30 p.m. Monday.

The still-unidentified Toronto developer wants to bring men and women's professional soccer leagues to the Silverdome, city officials said. The Detroit Express soccer team played two seasons at the facility in the late 1970s as part of the now-defunct North American Soccer League but moved to Washington due to lack of interest. World Cup Soccer matches were held there in the mid-1990s.

Parker has expressed interest in a racino -- a thoroughbred horse racing track and casino with slot machines at the Silverdome, once home to the Detroit Lions and Pistons. The 80,300-seat Silverdome was built in 1975 at a cost of $55.7 million, but since the Lions moved out in 2002, it has largely sat vacant and dark.

mmartindale@detnews.com (248) 338-0319