Jump to content

Super Bowl XL

torgo

By torgo
in Grand Rapids

Recommended Posts

torgo Town

torgo

Posted
Posted

Well the Super Bowl is over. I didn't hear too much negativity about Detroit, and I think that overall they came out looking pretty good. Below is an excerpt from a sports column about "Winners and Losers":

Winner: City of Detroit

Maybe it was because Jacksonville set the bar so low last year

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 15
  • Created
  • Last Reply
GRDadof3 Ecumenopolis

GRDadof3

Posted
Posted

I think it went smashingly well from what I've read and seen. Just the fact that so many metro Detroiters went downtown for the first time in 20 - 30 years and were pleasantly surprised says a lot. Hopefully they can build off the momentum and keep the cooperation that was needed between the city and the suburbs to pull this off. An improved Detroit image can only help us :thumbsup: (see, not one thing negative)

Plus, we don't normally watch the SuperBowl anymore, but we tuned in this time to catch the "downtown Detroit shots". It looked awesome with all the lighting :shades:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Veloise City

Veloise

Posted
Posted

All the hype persuaded me to zip over yesterday for a dash-in visit.

Traffic was light. Disappointed by all the trash in the Northland (shuttle) parking lot, but I guess D-dot had bigger concerns. Also could have used signage (SBXL SHUTTLE HERE) in that humonguous parking lot.

Not a huge crowd on the bus (Steeler fans were hilarious) and our driver made a spiel as we pulled up to the dock. ("Where did I pick you up?" "Northland." "What bus will you go back on?" "NORTHLAND!") Better signage/organization at shuttle stop for next time. (Guess shuttle bus use far exceeded expectations, which helps validate why Detroit needs mass transit, too!)

Downtown looked incredible, all fixed up with toenails painted. I hadn't seen Campus Martius since I left the Planning & Development dept in '03 (at that time it was a dusty construction zone). Nice layout and beautiful street fixtures. In addition to the historic monument, there's a fountain, a restaurant, ice rink, couple tall sculptures with flaming tops, street furniture (including block tables for the chess players), nice antique street lights.

Amazing to see storefront after storefront of retail on Woodward. OK, mostly SBXL souvenir shops and walk-in party houses, but still.

Merchants Row lofts (the former Kresge building, across from Compuware) are done and look great. I wich I could have watched a user of the car elevator parking deck.

Winter Blast: impressive. I see where the organizers want to make it annual, and so many attendees showed up that they kept it open an extra couple of hours.

Nice new wayfinding signage.

SBXL volunteers everywhere. (Guess they were tired by Sunday; I helped one of *them* find her way back to the shuttle buses, and I offered guidance to anyone I saw looking at a map.)

Riverfront area looked beautiful. Cobo spotlights, RenCen decorations, lots of pretty lights. Trees still sporting their light strings (always left up for the auto show).

Returning to the shuttle bus, I chatted with police (Wayne County, state police, City). Every one of them was cold but happy.

Shuttle bus badly needed ID signage stating which buses went where. A nice gift: no charge for the return trip.

I'd do it again, and I'd leave earlier next time (or come for Saturday and stay at my ancestral home in Oakland Cty). One of the volunteers lives in *Pittsburgh* and signed up because she grew up in Detroit. I could have done that!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
torgo Town

torgo

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Reading some of the other posts in the Detroit forum, it sounds like some of the Detroiters we disappointed (and annoyed by the Detroit suburbanites), but many out-of-towners were pleasantly surprised. Low expectations? Maybe. :dontknow:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Rizzo City

Rizzo

Posted
Posted

Theres the problem, Detroiters annoyed by the suburbanites, more separatism less unity.

Press was good, visitors were good... vendors hyped Detroit. Lets just wait for a week to pass. The plastic comes down, and the sterofoam crumbles - falls to the streets. The tarps unveil a truer story to tell.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
RustTown City

RustTown

Posted
Posted

Theres the problem, Detroiters annoyed by the suburbanites, more separatism less unity.

Press was good, visitors were good... vendors hyped Detroit. Lets just wait for a week to pass. The plastic comes down, and the sterofoam crumbles - falls to the streets. The tarps unveil a truer story to tell.

Does someone have a tummy arch, today? :) What an incredibly grim picture you paint, but it really doesn't surprise me in the least bit. I hope you're just in a funk today, and that the grey skies clear up for you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
NorthCoast Hamlet

NorthCoast

Posted
Posted

Annoyed? While I can see some possible resentment on the part of the city of GR towards those of us living in suburbia due to the fact that we have chosen to live outside the limits and therefore pay no taxes yet use the city often. The flip side to that coin is that these surbanites are the same people who come into the city and keep it going by working in it and spending there hard earned dollars there. These same communities also make up the strong metropolitan area that Grand Rapids enjoys today and has been able to grow upon. Many of these suburbs, despite having benefited from city flight, are older communities...many founded around the same time as GR's humble beginnings. They are not prototypical highway exit communities. They have their own history. Although, sadly much of it goes overlooked.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Mark Miller Whistle-Stop

Mark Miller

Posted
Posted

What was refreshing about this Super Bowl was that the aerial shots portrayed a stadium that is within the urban fabric.

I am so used to seeing a superbowl site that is basically a dome surrounded by a HUGE parking lot and highway off ramps. No context. No walkability. No humanity.

At least the Super Bowl in Detroit exhibited something different and that is refreshing.

Other things that gave me some optimism:

1. the number of people walking around on the streets

2. the overall dynamic appearance of the city

3. and a very nice skyline, full of great building forms.

Detroit has not been painted in this positive way in a very long time and it is about time that it gets a little love.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.