January 30, 2006

Detroit hopes Super Bowl glitter will stick

Most of this city\'s movers and shakers are involved in the blocking and tackling of hosting the Super Bowl on Feb. 5, but a group of top community leaders is focused on a more critical element of the overall game plan: What happens to a tarted-up downtown Detroit when the football players, the Playboy bunnies, the porn stars, the gospel singers, the gangsta rappers, the Hollywood celebrities and the media throng all leave town the next morning? Detroit has long been regarded as having one of the most unattractive downtowns among major U.S. cities, with dozens of boarded-up storefronts and abandoned high-rises. But hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent to build stadiums, improve roads and sewers, and start new businesses over the past few years -- 64 businesses, including 23 restaurants, have opened in the downtown area since 2002. \"The bigger issue is whether or not businesses will be willing to invest in Detroit after the Super Bowl is over,\" said Neveen Awad, an assistant business professor at Wayne State University . \"I think this could be make-or-break for Detroit .\" Experts say it is hard to gauge the long-term impact of Super Bowls on host communities, with little research on the topic.

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