$52 million in construction contracts awarded to local companies in new Detroit arena
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On Monday, the Downtown Development Authority approved an additional nearly $52 million in new contracts for Olympia Development's new 20,000-seat Red Wings arena and auxiliary "District Detroit" development.
According to a press release, more than $27 million of the new contracts are going to Detroit-based businesses, such as Motor City Electric's $16 million contract for electrical work in the arena and Ideal Contracting's $11 million contract for foundation and steel work. In total, the sum of contracts comes to $257 million, with 65 percent of the contracts going to Detroit businesses and 95 percent of the contracts going to Michigan businesses.
The arena, slated to open for the 2017-18 hockey season, was financed through a $450 million in state-issued bonds in a "daisy chain of borrowing."
Read our 2014 cover feature on how owner Mike Ilitch scored the new Red Wings arena here.
About The Author
Lee DeVito
Leyland “Lee” DeVito is the editor in chief of Detroit Metro Times since 2016. His writing has also been published in CREEM, VICE, In These Times, and New City. He once asked porn star Stormy Daniels to spank him with an issue of Metro Times. She obliged.
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