Lions Eye Downtown Stadium

More than two decades after fleeing to the suburbs, the Detroit Lions said Tuesday they will return downtown, to a new $245-million, domed stadium.

The 70,000-seat football facility, which would be funded with public and private money, is slated for construction adjacent to a previously announced $240-million baseball stadium for the Detroit Tigers.

The two-stadium complex, located next to the fledgling downtown theater district, is being promoted by city, county and team officials as an economic catalyst that will spark redevelopment of downtown Detroit.

The football stadium is contingent on voter approval of a 1% levy on hotel rooms and a 2% tax on rental cars. The 42,000-seat baseball stadium will go forward even if the Lions’ facility is not built.

The Lions left Detroit in 1975 for the Silverdome in Pontiac. The departure became an emotional symbol of the white flight afflicting the racially polarized city in the wake of the 1967 riots. The potential return provides renewed hope of a economic rebound.