While the Ilitch family usually immediately evoke good thoughts from Detroit sports fans, it hasn’t been the smoothest of sailing lately.
Controversy surrounding the lack of progress on the District Detroit as well as the use of tax subsidies to build Little Caesars Arena led to a scathing report from Crain’s Detroit last year, as well as an HBO segment that immediately put the family on the defensive.
As far as sports are concerned, both the Red Wings and Tigers are in the midst of rebuilds; the latter of which is being run by a maligned general manager that was just signed to a contract extension.
According to Detroit Free Press sports writer Anthony Fenech, the Ilitch family (led by Chris Ilitch since the passing of his father Mike in 2017) is still defending their actions in the face of criticism. And to that end, they’ve allegedly brought in professionals to assist in shaping a different narrative.
Oh, last week Ilitch Holdings brought in a PR research firm to meet with their companies’ communications departments and share ideas on how to get Detroiters and the media off their backs.
— anthony fenech (@anthonyfenech) October 28, 2019
It will certainly be interesting to see what the defense for the lack of progress on District Detroit is. The restaurants, bars, retail, and residential and office space we were promised when the project was introduced in 2014 have yet to be started.
