DDA MOU Approval Opens Door to More Investment in Wayne County

DETROIT, June 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Editors' Note:  The following statement has been issued by and may be attributed to Wayne County Executive Robert A. Ficano.  Mr. Ficano's news media contact for inquires is Kevin H. Byrnes, [email protected], 313-224-8791.  It is provided here by the Robert A. Ficano Committee to facilitate newsroom access:

"The economic recovery in Wayne County is poised to take another step forward following the approval today (6/19/13) of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) among the Detroit Downtown Development Authority (DDA), Olympia Development of Michigan (ODM) and Wayne County. The MOU describes the proposed public and private financing as well as location for a new sports and entertainment district in Downtown Detroit.

"Today's MOU represents the culmination of a lot of hard work toward the creation of a sports and entertainment district in Downtown Detroit," said Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano. "Despite our fiscal challenges, close to 30,000 new jobs were created in Wayne County in 2012. When realized, we believe this project could bring millions of investment dollars and thousands of more jobs to Wayne County," Ficano added.

"The multi-purpose arena is anticipated to be a 650,000 square foot facility with 18,000 seats that will accommodate Red Wings hockey games as well as other sports and entertainment events. The MOU envisions expanding the boundaries of the DDA several blocks north of I-75 and west of Woodward Ave. to accommodate the arena and entertainment district.

"A key element of the anticipated project will be construction of a pedestrian bridge over I-75 at Park Ave. The bridge would help connect the area to the rest of the Central Business District and create walkable access to other nearby venues such as Comerica Park and Ford Field."

For more information on economic development opportunities in Wayne County, go to www.waynecounty.com and click on the Economic and Development Growth Engine (EDGE) tab.

SOURCE Wayne County