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Rendering of the proposed redevelopment of the former Uniroyal Site on the Detroit River.
(FOX 2) - The public is invited to a meeting on Wednesday about a proposal to redevelop the former Uniroyal Site on the Detroit River for a potential Women's National Basketball Association franchise expansion.
The 42-acre plot of land would house the headquarters for a future Detroit WNBA team as well as a youth sports facility.
The current timeline for completing the project by 2032 includes construction beginning in 2027.
WNBA Detroit expansion
Detroit learned in June that it would be part of the WNBA's expansion with an announcement of a franchise coming to the city in 2029.
Once the host city of the Detroit Shock, the city hasn't had a women's professional basketball team in years. Over the summer, Detroit was announced as one of three cities that would be getting a new team, increasing the WNBA league to 15 teams.
The team is expected to play at Little Caesars Arena, where the Pistons and Red Wings currently play. The announcement included plans for a future practice facility.
Big picture view:
The proposal for the Detroit WNBA franchise's practice facility was presented before the Detroit Brownfield Redevelopment Authority in October. The developer includes Richard Haddad, who is an executive vice president of the Pistons and oversees corporate and real estate development for the team.
Planning documents identify 6000 E. Jefferson as the property for a future development of a 75,000-square foot multi-sport complex that includes the following buildings:
Detroit WNBA headquarters and practice facility that would be 75,000 square feet
Youth Development Academy that would be 100,000 square feet
Multiple outdoor and indoor athletic fields
It would cost approximately $50 million and would lead to 71 permanent jobs. Another 291 jobs would be created for construction.
Timeline:
Barring any delays, preparation of the site would begin in 2026 with expectations that the land would be ready for construction by 2027.
After that, construction on the site would commence in 2027 in hopes of it being ready by the 2029 WNBA season.
What you can do:
Anyone interested in providing comments on the proposal is invited to a public meeting Wednesday at 5 p.m. at the Cred Café on Jefferson Avenue in Detroit.
Find more details here.
Former Uniroyal Site
The property has been an eyesore for years and only recently had part of the land developed into public space. In 2023, the Detroit Riverwalk along the property was unveiled as a 3.5-mile pathway, which stretched from Mt. Elliott Park to Belle Isle.
But the rest of the land adjacent to the riverwalk remains unused. The vacant site was once an old industrial tire manufacturing plant before it closed in 1980.
Making the land usable won't be cheap. Forever chemicals, asbestos-containing materials, and other volatile compounds contaminate the soil, which must be remediated before development can begin.
The Source: Brownfield Redevelopment Authority planning documents and previous reporting was cited for this story.
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