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Super Bowl XL & Auto Show


GRGridGirl

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With the upcoming Superbowl XL in Detroit, Michigan is going to be in the news. What do you think the media will say about Detroit/Michigan? Is the Auto Show & Super Bowl just what the Dr. ordered to give Michigan the push to move forward or will it be a couple of great weeks and then poof, gone?

Here is what the Host Committee is saying:

"Metro Detroit is currently in the midst of a $17 billion dollar revitalization. In just under two years the area has added two major museums, a new downtown baseball stadium, a 117-acre mega mall and two casinos. Super Bowl XL will be a big coming out party for a new and exciting Detroit. The $300 million Ford Field, which opened in 2002, is carved into the famous Hudson's warehouse and offers a spectacular view of downtown Detroit through its steel, glass and brick structure. With over 31,000 hotel rooms in the Detroit metro area, ample indoor space at Cobo Conference/Exhibition Center and the Michigan State Fairgrounds, Detroit will not only exceed expectations but provide first class options for the NFL key events and VIP guests." - www.superbowl.com

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I hope the press goes with the 'Detroit has turned the corner' angle. As long as there aren't any major incidents, I think it will be difficult for the national media to look at things any other way after years of nothing but negative reporting.

As for continuing any positive spotlight on the region, I think Detroit and its leaders would be smart to follow New York's example and focus on improving the perception of safety. I think this was the backbone of Giuliani

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Comerica Park opened in 2000 and I'm not sure the mall and museums were built in the last two years like that first quote says. I honestly think the Superbowl will do very little for Detroit after the game is over. Hopefully no one in the media will treat the city like the Sacramento Kings did.

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I think the media will go with the a "Detroit is turning the corner" angle. I agree with Gary that its biggest problem is the idea that it is unsafe. There have been some good things going on there I think, even outside of DT, but I think when most people hear "detroit" they still think its a s***hole.

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Missed this topic before. I think the media will give the "Is Detroit turning the corner?" angle. It will be short-lived though. They love to bash the "rust-belt" as opposed to their love affair with the "Sand-sa-belt" (I call it). The idea that Detroit is unsafe is not just perception though. My brother lived just off-campus from UofD on Livernois. It is utter anarchy for blocks and blocks around that area. It will take some real hard-core Guiliani style leadership to clean up decades of crime-ridden neighborhoods (if it's not already too late).

BTW: $17 Billion in redevelopment??? Where??? :huh:

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Comerica Park opened in 2000 and I'm not sure the mall and museums were built in the last two years like that first quote says. ...

What mall? There've been a few new centers, but nothing I would classify as a mega-mall. Auburn Hills? That newest monstrosity in Novi? Yep, that was a result of the downtown ballpark, riiight.

The casinos predated Comerica Park. Their "permanent" plans have been under review by the city since before I was there (2003) and since I've left. First it was the tribal lawsuit, then it was...

I can't think of any new museums that have opened, other than the reconstructed Greenfield Village (with 20thC curb and gutter, and sidewalks).

--Veloise

formerly with Detroit Planning & Development, Detroit-area native

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Having visited Detroit in September and being an "all Michigan" Cheerleader, I would consider Detroit "piss-poor". Honestly, when people think of Michigan I would rather have them think of Traverse, Grand Haven, Grand Rapids or almost anyplace else. Not to bash on Detroit because I know its historical prominence on the nation is huge, but the Detroit I saw was nothing more than a cesspool. A few nicely restored buildings amongst crap.

I have always said if you have a full tank of gas, you can drive out of any bad area. In September, with 96 closed, we kept going and going and going... I am *ALL* about historic preservation, but I felt more like I was in Sarajevo than Detroit. I hope the world's attention gets a better point of view than a full on supporter of anything Michigan!

Joe

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The tough part too is that how much of the public remembers where the SuperBowl was? I didn't even remember it was in Jacksonville last year until I read that article. People will have forgotten it was in Detroit a few days after it is over. At least with hosting the Olympics, it usually involves building new sports venues and transportation options (Salt Lake City and Atlanta). I wish Detroit the best. It's going to be a tough couple of days.

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After reading that article I get the two different impressions. The first is that there has been a lot of talk about Detroit getting spiffed up for the Super Bowl, and I am afraid that people are going to go there expecting a lot, like the person quoted in the article complaining about the large pot holes in the road. To me that is just getting nit-picky.

The other impression I got is that Detroit is trying to convince visitors that it has turned itself around by painting a few buildings and paving the roads. While it may work for the Super Bowl rubber-neckers, it doesn't seem like a good way to generate any lasting changes. Empty buildings are still empty builings, whether they have fresh paint or not.

There are a lot of things I really like about Detroit, foremost its history and tough, gritty image. But I don't think the Super Bowl is going to change much because it seems like they just want people say "Oh, look how clean it is downtown! Detroit is making a comeback!" And I fear this is not the case.

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Yah, I agree that the pothole comment from the German reporter was a bit stupid. Does Germany even have freeze/thaw cycles? At least with the Auto Show, Detroit can lay claim to being the world experts on the subject. The SuperBowl will be entirely different. I think once the press starts showing up (and different press people then those that cover auto shows), people will be hoping that it ends as quickly as possible :(

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  • 2 weeks later...

I think that it is way more important how the residents of Detroit feel about their city than anyone else. What Detroit needs is to stop or slow the hemorrhaging of residents and I KNOW from personal trips to the city that many residents are excited about the changes taking place in the city, even if many of them are superficial....its a better fa

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In regards to the image of crime, I think it would be fair to say that Detroit is no more crime ridden than Grand Rapids is conservative or racist. You can find crime in Detroit and you can find conservatism and racism in Grand Rapids.

But the figures show that Detroit is still at the top of the charts nationwide for crime, especially murders. Thanks for assuming all of Grand Rapids is conservative or racist. Also thanks for throwing conservative, something not wrong or immoral, in with two things that are wrong: racism and crime. Great comparison there.

Labels based upon some truth can be and often are unfair and can hurt an area. The truth is that Crime in Detroit, particularly homicides, are at levels of the 60’s and back then there was about 1.5 million people in the city proper.

Just because murders are back at the level of the 60s doesn't mean it's still not a huge problem. Detroit is still ranked second in the country and there is something wrong with that.

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"In regards to the image of crime, I think it would be fair to say that Detroit is no more crime ridden than Grand Rapids is conservative or racist. You can find crime in Detroit and you can find conservatism and racism in Grand Rapids."

Sorry, but the feelings of "racism" or "conservatism" are just that, feelings. Crime is a statistic that can be measured.

oops, sorry dbrok.

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"In regards to the image of crime, I think it would be fair to say that Detroit is no more crime ridden than Grand Rapids is conservative or racist. You can find crime in Detroit and you can find conservatism and racism in Grand Rapids."

Sorry, but the feelings of "racism" or "conservatism" are just that, feelings. Crime is a statistic that can be measured.

oops, sorry dbrok.

I don

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racism and political preference are feelings or attributes that can be measured statistically.

"In regards to the image of crime, I think it would be fair to say that Detroit is no more crime ridden than Grand Rapids is conservative or racist. You can find crime in Detroit and you can find conservatism and racism in Grand Rapids."

Sorry, but the feelings of "racism" or "conservatism" are just that, feelings. Crime is a statistic that can be measured.

oops, sorry dbrok.

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But the figures show that Detroit is still at the top of the charts nationwide for crime, especially murders. Thanks for assuming all of Grand Rapids is conservative or racist. Also thanks for throwing conservative, something not wrong or immoral, in with two things that are wrong: racism and crime. Great comparison there.

Just because murders are back at the level of the 60s doesn't mean it's still not a huge problem. Detroit is still ranked second in the country and there is something wrong with that.

As I noted before Detroit is at the top because the vast majority of residents are African America. The homicide rate in the African American population is much higher than the non-African American community (for reasons I will not discuss now). Thus, cities that are predominantly African America and are a microcosm of the African American condition in America have much higher rates of homicides. Detroit is nearly 90% African American. If you go to Atlanta, DC, New Orleans, Gary or any other predominately African American city the same is true.

That having been said, I think that while there is a long way to go, the decline in homicides should be celebrated...as there are 300 less homicides a year then at its peak. 300 lives spared a year is noteworthy in my book.

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"In regards to the image of crime, I think it would be fair to say that Detroit is no more crime ridden than Grand Rapids is conservative or racist. You can find crime in Detroit and you can find conservatism and racism in Grand Rapids."

That statement is about the dumbest thing I've ever heard. There is no need to equate conservatives to racists, nor is there a need to suggest that conservatism is "bad" for a city, which that also suggests. Good lord. <_<

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"In regards to the image of crime, I think it would be fair to say that Detroit is no more crime ridden than Grand Rapids is conservative or racist. You can find crime in Detroit and you can find conservatism and racism in Grand Rapids."

That statement is about the dumbest thing I've ever heard. There is no need to equate conservatives to racists, nor is there a need to suggest that conservatism is "bad" for a city, which that also suggests. Good lord. <_<

Well, there was recently a topic dealing with why people left Grand Rapids and would not come back...and conservatism was seen as a negative and was correlated with lack of diversity and racism. In the same respect, crime is also a negative perception that hurts Detroit image. If a drug dealer kills a rival drug dealers...its a homicide true...but unless a you are involved in such nefarious acts you likely will not be a victim of it.

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That having been said, I think that while there is a long way to go, the decline in homicides should be celebrated...as there are 300 less homicides a year then at its peak. 300 lives spared a year is noteworthy in my book.

Yippee!! Tell that to the 384 people who were murdered in 2005. By the way, the murder rate went up last year from 366 in '04. And I'm sure part of the reason homicides have gone down in general over the years is at least partially due to population decreases.

Well, there was recently a topic dealing with why people left Grand Rapids and would not come back...and conservatism was seen as a negative and was correlated with lack of diversity and racism. In the same respect, crime is also a negative perception that hurts Detroit image. If a drug dealer kills a rival drug dealers...its a homicide true...but unless a you are involved in such nefarious acts you likely will not be a victim of it.

You might not be a victim, but it sure is hard to open a business in the crossfire.

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Well, there was recently a topic dealing with why people left Grand Rapids and would not come back...and conservatism was seen as a negative and was correlated with lack of diversity and racism. In the same respect, crime is also a negative perception that hurts Detroit image. If a drug dealer kills a rival drug dealers...its a homicide true...but unless a you are involved in such nefarious acts you likely will not be a victim of it.

You could also ask people who left Portland or San Francisco or Detroit why they didn't like it and they might tell you that it was "too liberal." That experiment (I assume thats what you're talking about), while interesting, isn't really valid for much of anything except entertainment.

Sorry we are getting... :offtopic:

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