Cityscape

Bill Ford: I Was Told Moving Lions Back to Detroit Would Be 'The Biggest Mistake'

February 25, 2019, 3:12 PM by  Allan Lengel


Publisher KC Crain, left, and Bill Ford at Monday's luncheon.

Before moving the Detroit Lions from Pontiac to Detroit in 2002, Bill Ford, now the executive chairman of the Ford Motor Co., says he was warned that it wasn't a good idea.

"I got some advice from a very famous Detroit Pistons person, who said to me: 'If you move to Detroit it will be the biggest mistake you'll ever make," Ford told a crowd Monday at a MotorCity Casino Hotel luncheon honoring him as Crain's Detroit Business Newsmaker of the Year.

He said the person went on to warn: "The fans won't follow you. They won't feel safe, there's nothing to do before and after the game. And don't do it."

"Fortunately," he said to loud applause, "I don’t listen very well."  Ford did not say who gave that advice, though one guess might be the late Pistons owner Bill Davidson. 

Ford, 61, who made his remarks while being interviewed at the luncheon by Crain's Publisher KC Crain, also talked about the train station his company recently purchased in Corktown.

He said he was "so sick" of seeing national stories that used  photos of the decaying landmark to illustrate Detroit's decline.

"I hated that," he said.

He said he would often drive by the station while driving down Michigan Avenue when returning to Dearborn. 

He said he asked his wife Lisa if it was crazy to think about buying the station.  

 “She said 'I think it would be crazy if you didn’t.'”

"It’s much more than  just a train station," he said, adding that "It really is about creating the future of transportation in Corktown. It will be a whole community. It’s not just a train station, although that clearly will be the center piece."

Ford said Volkswagen or other companies could be part of the mix at the campus in Corktown for autonomous and electric vehicles.



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