After spending over 20 years in Allen Park, Rod Wood talked about relocating the Detroit Lions headquarters in the future.
Things are changing as the Detroit Lions organization looks to rid itself of the “same old Lions” moniker. During his Tuesday press conference at the NFL league meetings, team president Rod Wood told the media that part of that change might include relocation of the Lions headquarters from Allen Park.
When the Lions opened their Allen Park headquarters in 2002, their facility was state-of-the-art. Now? It’s cramped, does not provide a unique fan experience, has limited seating for fans, and is, overall, just challenging to get to. Allen Park is just 11.7 miles from Ford Field. However, for those who live in the area, those 12 miles can be daunting. The roadways through Metro Detroit are cumbersome, at best, and make it difficult to get around.
We’re considering whether we’re going to continue to stay there and put more money into the facility, or be better off looking at locations elsewhere in Metro Detroit, where we’d have more space for the team and training camp for the fans. Right now, in the short run, we’re going to stay where we are, do the best we can to get as many fans in there and have the experience as good as it can be.
While Wood clarified there was no immediate timetable on the decision to stay in Allen Park or relocate, the team’s president said it was his goal to at least decide by the end of the year.
Via Justin Rogers of the Detroit News:
I kind of had it as one of my goals this year, was to kind of decide are we staying or are we going to relocate. I’m not going to hit that goal because I’ve not made that decision yet or recommendation. But it’s a near-term thing we need to decide.
Where could the Detroit Lions headquarters and training camp relocate to?
Many fans are not thinking outside the box regarding the conversation of a potential new location, as the general responses have been there is no room in the city. While that is correct, there is plenty of space outside of the downtown Detroit area. We can delve into more specific locations later. Still, the possibility of seeing the Lions relocate closer to downtown Detroit to one of the many vacant neighborhoods is highly enticing. A potential relocation could help the outward revitalization of the Metro Detroit neighborhoods, which have been neglected for some time.
Breaking ground on a new facility to accommodate more fans throughout summer practices and training camps seems like a “strike while the iron is hot” situation for the Lions.