The City’s preference has always been to re-use rather than demolish the stadium and Michigan & Trumbull president and CEO Peter Comstock Riley said his organisation "stands ready to satisfy that preference''.
The catalyst for the plans are a companion six-year lease and management agreements, under which the City would receive a base annual rental fee of $120,000 ( B133,000) and the same guaranteed sum depending on a cut of gate receipts and signage.
According to Michigan & Trumbull, the City would probably realise at least $350,000 (B390,000) annually from the lease, an estimate the organisation termed "very realistic'".
The agreements call for Michigan & Trumbull to take over management of the stadium, from January 1, 2002, for an annual fee of $18,000 (B20,000). The organisation would use this to provide a free bus service to and from the stadium for up to 500 Detroit fans.
Michigan & Trumbull would also retain the right to purchase the stadium from the City for up to five years.
The anchor attraction for 'The Ballpark at the Corner' would be a Detroit entry in the Frontier League, an independent professional baseball league with 12 teams located in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Ontario, Canada.
According to Commissioner Bill Lee, team owners are ready to welcome Detroit into the Frontier League, which is entering its tenth consecutive year of operation, either through granting Michigan & Trumbull a new franchise for the current expansion fee of $650,000 (B725,000) or by approving the organisation's purchase and relocation of an existing franchise at a negotiated price.
