What will $583,000 buy you these days?

[USRufnex]

This  lovely, spacious 4,900 sq ft home in the Sapulpa school district built in 1989.....


OR....

The Detroit Silverdome


Unidentified Toronto-based real estate company buys Pontiac stadium for $583,000 - a fraction of the $55.7 million it cost to build.
http://money.cnn.com/2009/11/17/news/economy/silverdome_buyer/index.htm

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- An unidentified Canadian real estate company was the winning bidder for the Silverdome, snatching it up for a mere fraction of its original value.

A Toronto-based family-owned company bid $583,000 for the under-used stadium on Monday, which is currently owned by the City of Pontiac, Mich., according to auctioneer Williams & Williams.

The company plans to refurbish the Silverdome into a stadium for men's Major League Soccer and women's professional soccer teams, said the auctioneer. While the stadium was the former home of the National Football League's Detroit Lions, it also played host to some of the World Cup games in 1994. Brazil's victory over Italy occurred elsewhere, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.

The auctioneer Williams & Williams, based in Tulsa, Okla., said it will not identify the buyer "until the final details are worked out and the sale closes."

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When are you moving to Pontiac? 

Detroit Lions (former) home in Pontiac, kind of like if the Drillers went to Jenks?  (In terms of miles, it would be more like Coweta.)

[USRufnex]

Why would I move to Detroit?  Pontiac has an unemployment rate of 35%.
We already bought their WNBA team.  Do you think "local investors" in the cities of Pontiac or Detroit would have the financial commitment to pony up close to $40mil to get MLS there.... I think they have more pressing needs....

Somehow I think the Tulsa auctioneer probably confused "MLS" the real estate term with "MLS" the soccer league...... as for the Drillers, well, they're moving downtown and the old ballpark could be retrofitted for USL-1/NASL soccer easier than morphing the Pontiac Silverdome into a Major League Soccer venue....

Posted: 9:31 p.m. Nov. 16, 2009
Could Silverdome purchase usher Major League soccer to Pontiac?
http://www.freep.com/article/20091116/SPORTS18/91116085/Could-Silverdome-purchase-usher-Major-League-soccer-to-Pontiac

"About seven years ago, Duggan was part of a group that launched a spirited campaign to bring Major League Soccer to the Detroit area. Their efforts failed in part because no investor stepped forward to build a soccer-specific outdoor stadium in the 25,000-seat range.

Since then, MLS is no longer the bargain it used to be. The fee alone for a franchise is now between $35 million and $40 million."

Pontiac Silverdome may not become new pro soccer venue
By David Alire Garcia 11/25/09 2:13 PM
http://michiganmessenger.com/30910/pontiac-silverdome-may-not-become-new-pro-soccer-venue

Lewis: Fire sale for civic pride
By Al Lewis
Dow Jones Newswires
Posted: 11/25/2009 01:00:00 AM MST
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_13862899

Some media reports have indicated that Apostolopoulos wants to use the Silverdome for soccer games, but the developer told me that's just one of his ideas.

"There are all kinds of different ideas," he said. "We're going to ask the people in the area what they would like to see. Nothing is sure yet."

Here's an idea: How about new reality TV show? "Flip This Superdome."

"I think he's going to sell it," Davenport said. "He can get $15 million to $20 million for that stadium."

The City of Pontiac hopes to net a meager $420,000 from the sale after expenses.

One of the biggest beneficiaries of all the tax dollars it spent over the years may turn out to be an entrepreneur who was born in Greece and runs a real-estate company in Canada.