Detroit MLS expansion group: Ford Field retractable roof is no-go

Vince Ellis | Detroit Free Press

Show Caption Hide Caption Lions' Rod Wood rooting for Michigan in Final Four Detroit Lions president Rod Wood talked about the Final Four that Ford Field hosted in 2009 during the NFL owners meeting on Monday, March 26, 2018, in Orlando. Video by Dave Birkett/DFP

The Detroit group trying to attract a Major League Soccer franchise will not retrofit Ford Field with a retractable roof to sweeten the expansion bid, the Free Press has learned.

Dan Gilbert, Tom Gores and the William Clay Ford Family are clear they will “not move forward with this proposed retrofit, because the risks that would inhere to such an undertaking would substantially outweigh the rewards,” according to a letter obtained by the Free Press that was addressed to MLS commissioner Don Garber and MLS president and deputy commissioner Mark Abbott

The four-page letter, dated Sept. 24, was signed by Gilbert and Detroit Pistons vice chairman and minority owner Arn Tellem, who is serving as the bid group’s liaison with MLS. The letter indicates Gores, Detroit Lions owner Martha Firestone Ford and Lions president Rod Wood received copies.

It’s not clear whether the decision will impact the future of the bid, but Garber has said multiple times the league prefers open-air, soccer-specific venues. Detroit is among the cities in the running for one of the remaining two bids in the league's rapid expansion to 28 teams.

Garber responded to the letter on Sept. 26: “We will be reaching out soon to set up a time to meet and look forward to continuing the discussion to determine if there’s a mutual path forward to achieve our collective vision for MLS in Detroit.”

But the impasse could jeopardize the bid.

Top choice – once

Garber said in May the Detroit bid once held “front-runner” status.

But when the group abandoned plans to build a soccer-specific, open-air stadium at the former Wayne County jail site in downtown Detroit, and instead announced last November that it would retrofit Ford Field for soccer usage to save costs, it hurt the effort to put a MLS franchise in downtown Detroit in time for the 2020 season.

“It set them back,” Garber said in May in Cincinnati, where he announced FC Cincinnati as the league's next expansion club. “But in many ways, they have come together to retrofit Ford Field, which could make it very MLS-ready and they can talk about what those ideas might be, but they were really front runners when they were looking at the jail site.”

The letter from Gilbert and Tellem describes an exhaustive look at the proposed Ford Field project.

After an MLS visit in April, the group instructed an architectural firm, Rossetti, structural engineers and construction experts to examine the project. They focused on venues with retractable roofs, including Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta and BC Place in Vancouver.

The letter cites “operational issues” with both venues, which would include a water leakage at BC Place in 2014 and initial leaks and audio issues at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The group still moved forward with a feasibility study to examine several options for roof modifications at Ford Field.

The study determined:

Any such undertaking would “require the strengthening of columns, foundations and bridging trusses.”

Opening the roof “exposes the field, seating bowl and other interior spaces to a host of new issues, including waterproofing, drainage and thermal issues.”

The study estimated a 14-month schedule to complete the work, “which would cause significant interruption and inconvenience to Ford Field’s calendar of events, to the Detroit Lions, and to the building’s other tenants.”

The letter cites many other issues.

There isn’t a cost estimate, but in 2016, the U.S. Open added a retractable roof to 23,000-seat Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing, N.Y., that cost $150 million.

The competition

Gilbert and Gores announced their intentions to pursue the MLS bid in April 2016, and the MLS announced its expansion plans in December 2016.

Nashville and Cincinnati already have been awarded teams, beating out finalists Sacramento and Detroit among the 12 cities to submit bids.

Other cities are gunning for the two final spots, but no firm timetable for announcements has been announced.

The Columbus (Ohio) franchise was all set to move to Austin, Texas, before a last-hour rescue. There’s speculation Austin will get one of the remaining franchises.

“MLS also remains very committed to (Crew owner Anthony Precourt's) plan to launch an MLS club in Austin and is excited for Austin to become a great addition to MLS. We will continue to work with (Precourt) and the City of Austin on the timing around the launch of Austin FC,” the league said in a statement.

There’s also a renewed bid for a franchise in St. Louis.

The other eight cities that submitted expansion bids in January 2017 have been invited to remain in the process. The league has 26 franchises.

The letter from Gilbert and Tellem highlights Detroit’s virtues.

It cites a potential ownership group headed by three entities with professional sports experience – Gilbert owns the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, Gores owns the Pistons and the Ford Family owns the Lions.

It cites important metrics like population size, TV market size, the number of high-income households, millennial population and corporate base.

It cites Ford Field’s recent $100-million upgrade to the fan experience.

It cites a $25 million-plus investment to retrofit Ford Field for soccer.

Along with Detroit mayor Mike Duggan, the group commits $50 million-plus to build a “state-of-the-art training facility and soccer academy” at the corner of Woodward and Seven Mile.

The group commits another $20 million-plus to open soccer parks with more than 100 fields in Detroit over the next three years.

The letter estimates the facility would serve more than 150,000 youths just in the city.

“If you consider our bid objectively through that broader lens – instead of focusing on the presence and absence of a retractable roof – you will reach the same conclusion as we have: that MLS should seize this opportunity to expand to Detroit.

“We look forward to meeting with you again to present to you our vision, our plan, and our path.”

Follow Vince Ellis on Twitter @vincent_ellis56.