Mayor Duggan, Chris Ilitch, Tom Gores at Pistons press conference
Mayor Duggan, Chris Ilitch, Tom Gores at Pistons press conference
A lawsuit filed Thursday in Wayne County Circuit Court is attempting to tear up a preliminary agreement that paves the way for the Detroit Pistons to move from The Palace in Auburn Hills to Little Caesars Arena in downtown Detroit in the fall of 2017.
The suit, filed by local activist Robert Davis, claims that five members of the Detroit Downtown Development Authority finance committee approved the Pistons' move in violation of the state's Open Meetings Act when they met privately to discuss the deal right before the full board voted on the matter, Joe Guillen of the Detroit Free Press writes.
All five members of the Detroit Downtown Development Authority's finance committee met privately for four hours on Nov. 22 to comb over the Pistons deal, the lawsuit says.
The city has said that the deal is still subject to public input and must be approved by the city council.
The Pistons' move is expected to cost an additional $34.5 million in public money, in addition to taxpayer funds being used to build the new arena.
DDA spokesman Bob Rossbach responded to the Freep by email:
"The Detroit Downtown Development Authority has not been officially notified of a lawsuit, and in general it does not comment on pending litigation. The DDA does reaffirm that, as it conducts its business, it meets all the requirements of the state of Michigan’s open meeting and other applicable laws."
