Vince Ellis | Detroit Free Press

Detroit Free Press

Vince Ellis, Detroit Free Press

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — The group seeking to lure a Major League Soccer franchise to Detroit is still committed to the effort to land a team for 2022.

But the proposed venue will remain Ford Field — despite MLS commissioner Don Garber saying last month that the decision to abandon plans for a soccer-only stadium was a factor in the bid falling short in landing a franchise for 2020.

“There’s no better stadium location than Ford Field,” Detroit Pistons vice chairman Arn Tellem told the Free Press on Thursday afternoon. “There’s no better stadium location than Ford Field. It’s in the heart of downtown Detroit.

“With everything happening in Detroit, we believe as far as development, young people moving back into the city and the sports district that’s been created downtown — which is unique to any city in America — that Ford Field is the perfect location.”

Tellem represents the group — which includes Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores, Quicken Loans founder and Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert and the Ford family, which owns the current Ford Field resident, the Detroit Lions.

“We also feel strongly it would be irresponsible to not have it at Ford Field,” Tellem said. “To build another stadium when you have three great facilities in this city already in Ford Field, Comerica Park and Little Caesars Arena, it would be irresponsible to build another one. It would be just the wrong use of land in the city when it could be used for housing, for offices or multi-purpose development. The city doesn’t want that.”

But in its expansion process, MLS has stated its preference for soccer-only venues.

Gores and Gilbert announced the plan in April 2016 to make the attempt to land a franchise and during a follow-up news conference, Gilbert unveiled plans to build a 23,000-seat stadium on the Gratiot Avenue jail site. The stadium was part of a development project that was estimated to cost $1 billion.

But the venture added the Ford family in November and announced that it would retrofit Ford Field for soccer usage to save costs.

Garber said last month that decision hurt the bid.

Rossetti

Nashville and Cincinnati topped Detroit and Sacramento in the most recent wave of expansion.

At the Cincinnati announcement, Garber said Detroit once held “front-runner” status.

Garber said Detroit remains in the mix when the league awards two additional franchises to start play in 2022 — if concerns over the venue are addressed.

“It set them back, 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.”

Tellem, who said communication is ongoing, is the group’s liaison with MLS.

MLS wants to add two more teams — giving it 28 franchises. (The league added a second franchise in Los Angeles this season, and plans for a Miami expansion team to start play in 2020.)

The backing of three billionaire families with professional sports ownership experience would also appear to help Detroit.

A 2016 league valuation by Forbes estimated that 11 of the 20 teams then in the league were operating at a loss.

The other cities that submitted expansion bids were Charlotte, North Carolina, Indianapolis, Phoenix, Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina, St. Louis, San Antonio, San Diego and Tampa/St. Petersburg.

When asked about the Detroit bid's future chances, Garber mentioned three cities.

“Detroit, Sacramento, San Diego are still in active discussions with us and we love all those cities and think we’d be great in those markets, but as evidenced by what happened (in Cincinnati), it’s a process.”

No timetable was given to award the 2022 franchises, and the bid process hasn’t been determined, according to an MLS spokesman at the Cincinnati event.

Rossetti

Ford Field doesn't match MLS' smaller-stadium concept, but its location and indoor environment could make it a viable and attractive option.

MLS franchises in Atlanta and Seattle play in venues designed for football. For 2017, they were the top two teams in attendance, averaging more than 40,000 fans per game. (The Vancouver, B.C., franchise shares its stadium with the city's CFL team, while New York City FC is a tenant in Yankee Stadium.)

“The MLS has a policy that’s been committed to giving cities that are willing to build a soccer-specific stadium,” Tellem said. “We disagree with that. MLS now is looking deeply into whether it could work at Ford Field.

“The real point of where we differ from the MLS in our perspective is we look at the success of Atlanta and Seattle and think that the location of a stadium is the most important factor in determining a team’s success.”

If the bid is successful, Detroit would become the only market with all five major professional North American sports leagues based within walking distance of each other.