Former Uniroyal Site in Detroit Evaluated for WNBA Facility
Detroit is hoping a redevelopment project could woo the WNBA back to the Motor City.
The former Uniroyal tire production site on the Detroit riverfront west of the MacArthur Bridge leading to Belle Isle is being evaluated as a possible WNBA practice facility. An anonymous source familiar with the matter confirmed this information with The Detroit News on Monday, March 24.
“We built the Pistons Performance Center in partnership with Henry Ford, which really set a new standard for teams’ headquarters or practice facilities around the league,” Detroit Pistons vice chairman Arn Tellem said on Jan. 31. “They know the quality of the one we built for the Pistons, and we are committed to building an equal one for the new women’s team should we get it.”
A new sports complex of this type would support the WNBA’s priority to provide a premier facility to a WNBA expansion franchise.
“Our goal is to build this sports campus and develop a youth sports academy for the city of Detroit,” Tellem stated in January. “A facility to fill a void that currently exists for the children of Detroit where they lack equitable access to equal facilities that are in the suburbs. Hopefully, this will promote healthier bodies and strengthen a community, giving young people a vibrant sports program that they do not currently have.”
If Detroit were to acquire a WNBA team, the team would play at Little Caesars Arena. The team’s presence at this venue would bring approximately 22-plus sporting events to the city each year while boosting economic impact to restaurants and small businesses in the downtown area.
Earlier in March, Detroit terminated a brownfield redevelopment plan for the 44-acre Uniroyal site that called for a mixed-used development on the site with a targeted completion date of 2042.
