While a lot of news has been made recently about the internal battles with Detroit’s City Council, just down the street the Wayne County Commission was voting about one of this city’s most iconic symbols. The unanimous ruling urges the removal of the $25,000 fee that had previously been associated with placing uniforms on the Spirit of Detroit statue. Now it is up to the Detroit-Wayne Building Authority.
The famous Spirit of Detroit statue which has set outside the City-County Building on Woodward Avenue since 1958.
Driving around during Final Four weekend, I commented to an out of town visitor that the statue usually has some sort of uniform on during major sporting events.
Originally wearing the classic Red Wings jersey, the statue has frequently been a congregating place during championship parades.
In fact, this ruling follows a Final Four request where Spartan fans wanted to see a State jersey adorning the statue. The $25k may have been enough to keep the statue warm during the event, while drawing some ire due to the cost.
The fee does one thing that is completely necessary: it keeps the average Joe sports team from placing whatever they want on the statue. The price is also designed to cover any potential damage, a very real possibility when putting a 53XL uniform on a recently renovated statue.
As a sports fan, it is always a special event when a jersey is presented. Hopefully this unique trademark to our town still remains something special in the future.
TigerFaninDC
Just wanted to say thanks for keeping this transplanted Detroit sports fan up to date and bringing back all those great memories!