The main building of the former Pinnacle Racecourse in Romulus sits vacant, barely five years since its initial construction. (Google photo)
Site plan showing the park at full operating capacity.
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At one time, horseracing was a very active spectator sport in Michigan. Although the Downriver area had not housed a course during the sport's heyday, many course were within an hours' driving distance.
Horseracing results would religiously be published in box-score format in the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press, with many individual events easily handling half a million dollars on a typical night. Results would also be aired during the sports reports on radio stations. The courses at Hazel Park, Northville and - most notably - Ladbrooke DRC became part of the fan's subconscious. Beginning in the 1990s, the local mainstream attitude began shifting away from the racetracks and onto casino gaming. The opening of Casino Windsor in the early 1990s attracted a steady stream of Detroiters who would take full advantage of a favorable currency exchange rate.
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Main entrance.
The indoor betting room.
A horse stall.
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At about the same time, Detroit Metro Airport's facilities were finally undergoing a needed modernization. The new mid-field terminal and runway expansions showed the potential for increased capacity. With this in mind, the new Airport Authority sought to develop the lands directly north and south of the airport perimeter, which then consisted of either farmland, broken parcels with scattered residences, and even dumping grounds.
When the idea of the Aerotropolis first emerged, it sought to target most lands along I-94 between Metro and Willow Run Airports as the potential area for Michigan's largest logistics hub. Research & development in both the industrial and medical fields were imagined and thought of first as a way to draw on the untapped new capacities a more efficient airport could bring. North of Metro Airport, the city of Romulus looked to step in another direction by announcing plans to develop two central meccas: a general casino and a racino; the latter being a new idea combining gambling with horse racing under the same roof. Howling protests over these proposals came from the east, as Detroit did not desire their gambling profits to be siphoned off. Between their efforts, plus ensuing confusion over an Indian tribe's right to the land and their subsequent agenda bumping heads with developer Magna Entertainment's visions, and owing perhaps to overall public sentiment growing weary of the entire issue, these lands north of the airport were never developed... in spite of the large billboards still trumpeting the idea years later. |
"The airport. which has been a distraction to a lot of developers, is an attraction to us. Other than a neon blinking light that says "Come," all of the factors are there for us to locate in Romulus."
- LORNE KUMER
President, Magna Entertainment
Jerry Campbell built the Pinnacle Racetrack and was the head of Post-It Stables.
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Trying and struggling to fill a limited nicheOnly the basic frills were ever completed: a grandstand of 1,000 versus the 4,000 originally planned for. Despite this, the track opened for a partial horseracing season in summer 2008. Its early highlight was likely hosting a "Michigan Sires Showcase" in the fall of that year. By November, Pinnacle was dubbed a success, and plans began for further expansion, which included badly-needed widening of the Sibley Road / Vining Road intersection.
However, what proved to be the first of many state budget slashes during the first part of 2009 threatened to put a damper on Pinnacle's first full year. Management, however, was still confident of a full season. Per Michigan Racing Commissioner Christine White, the budget was cut from $3.4 million to $2 million. A total of 101 races were expunged from the schedule due to insufficient funding. However, just one week later, the News-Herald would report that the entire racing schedule was restored by the State House Appropriations Committee, although it needed approval from both the State Senate and Governor Jennifer Granholm. |
In spite of these hiccups, the 2009 season concluded fairly successful due to a welcome gift. The Michigan Horsemen Benevolent & Protection Association had contributed $500,000 of its own purse money to Pinnacle operations in order to recover 74 lost race days. The complex would also receive $1 million of free dirt from Wayne County; earth excavated from Detroit Metro Airport's latest runway construction. This dirt would be used in the horse barns in order to raise their elevations.
With a $30 million investment to date, Pinnacle still generated a total of 1,000 direct & indirect jobs, and was still contributing $1 million in taxes to Wayne County. Still in the works were the permanent 4,000-seat grandstand, 600 additional horse stalls (bringing the total to 1,200), a restaurant and other retailers. |
"I see this as an experiment |
"Of course, if the racetrack failed, maybe the powers that be might concentrate their efforts on developing the area around the airport by sticking to their original plan, which involved high-tech facilities that brought in high-skilled, high-paying jobs. Wouldn't that be a nice change of pace?" |
Upon further investigation, even before the school district made its inital request regarding the tax payment, it was found Pinnacle management had gone to the Michigan Tax Tribunal, asking for a lower assessment on the buildings & grounds. Still, according to the paperwork mentioned above, Pinnacle technically didn't have any real property to declare. Management also sought to place a "land division" on the parcel, and sell part of the divided parcel to the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians for $179,000. The Indians' hope was to place a casino in the Aerotropolis area after all, despite Magna's failure to construct one north of I-94 a few years earlier. But according to state law, a land division could not legally take place unless the original owner was paying property taxes.
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After having been mothballed for over four years, the main building at Pinnacle Racecourse was dismantled in January 2016. (Photo: Scott Bolthouse)
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Proposed local headquarters of Brose Manufacturing, slated for construction in 2018. (Detroit Free Press)
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The idea of the airport aerotropolis has not faded over the years. While criticism over its apparent lack of progress has at times been deafening, it must also be understood that the entire concept has been more well-known and successful internationally, and had not been a common business practice in the United States at the time of its initial proposal. The Great Recession of 2008 also stalled progress in the ensuing years.
A 2017 Detroit Free Press article indicated that, while landowners still had over 6,000 acres of available land to offer to potential tenants, groundbreaking on several projects had begun. |