The Silverdome and Where the Property Is

If you want more room around the dining table at Christmas, you missed your chance. The Silverdome in Pontiac, former home of the Lions,  just sold for $580K, which is on average less than most condos in my zip code. More than most studio apartments here, in fairness, though not in Manhattan, as David King points out.

It even has a dome!

What lessons are to be learned here? I’m actually somewhat flummoxed. I think the selling price here could be any number of things, depending on the outfit who bought it. I don’t know what they do, but here are a few guesses:

a) This is the cost of the land, less the cost of dismantling and the disposing of the Silverdome. Keep in mind the city was stuck with a million dollar maintenance bill for it, so anything they could do to sell it was fine by them.

b) This the worth of the asset in terms of tax losses to a company.

c) some combo thereof.

As Los Angeles gears up to build another Stadium to attract another football team, you have to wonder. I love The Forum down in Inglewood and it makes me kind of mad that the Sparks and the Kings both left it to sit there. The Sparks? Honestly. Have we just gotten so used to throwing money at footloose sports teams that we don’t even think any more?