In basketball parlance, financing the Detroit Pistons' move downtown should be a slam dunk. Instead, it has been tied up in a court battle over the issue of secrecy.
Joe Guillen of the Detroit Free Press reports:
A Wayne County judge issued an order Thursday prohibiting Detroit's Downtown Development Authority, and its staff, from meeting privately or making any decisions related to Little Caesars Arena, until further notice.
The order from Judge John Gillis Jr. comes as the Detroit DDA is under a tight schedule to complete a bond deal to pay for $34.5 million in upgrades at the under-construction arena. The upgrades are necessary to make room for the Detroit Pistons in time for the start of next season in the fall.
Gillis' order was in response to a complaint on Wednesday claiming that the DDA set up a committee to privately negotiate terms of the bonds — in violation of a recent legal settlement the DDA entered into to open all of its committee meetings to the public. A hearing on the complaint is set for Tuesday.
The DDA denies the allegations of secrecy, and the work to accommodate the Pistons at the arena has already been underway even though the bond financing has not been finalized, the Freep reports.
Palace Sports and Entertainment and the Ilitch family's Olympia Development of Michigan are covering the costs for now.
