NEED I SAY MOORE: Making Over the Motor City

This Sunday, millions from America and all over the world will turn their attention to Super Bowl XL. With any luck, they’ll also turn their attention to this year’s host city, Detroit, Mich.—or at least that’s what the Detroit Super Bowl XL Planning Committee is betting on.

Detroit hosted Super Bowl XVI, a memorable game that saw Montana’s 49ers edge out the Bengals, but XL is entirely different—and not just because of the teams. This time, it means a lot more for a city that’s been preparing for the fifth of February for over five years. This time, the Super Bowl is at the heart of the city’s revitalization plan.

Hosting a major sporting event is big business, and the Super Bowl is no exception. From a purely financial standpoint, the influx of fans, teams, and support staff brings in considerable revenue for the catering, hotel, transportation, restaurant, and other tourism-related industries.

The short-term economic benefit for Detroit is estimated to be around $300 million—ironically, the approximate value of the city’s current budget deficit.

But Detroit is looking for more than just a one-time monetary boost. The city has a big image problem even in Michigan, and it’s not entirely undeserved.

Earlier this year, when the Pistons visited the Sacramento Kings, negative, stereotypical images of Detroit were displayed on the JumboTron during player introductions—burned out buildings, cars on fire, and many a homeless person.

The city is hoping for the Super Bowl not only to slingshot a rejuvenation effort but also to help change Detroit’s perception across the country.

Ushering in the new millennium, Detroit approved a new approach to improving the city, as well as its reputation, that was centered on hosting major sports events.

It began with Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game this summer, leading to Super Sunday, which will be followed by one of the 2008 NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament’s regionals Final Four matchups.

In addition, Detroit is home to the annual North American International Auto Show, which, according to the Auto Dealers Association, brings in anywhere from $580 to $600 million.

The Chamber of Commerce of Detroit touts that since 2000, some $3 billion has been invested in major downtown projects to fund new stadiums, new businesses, and even a central park—the Campus Martius, complete with an Au Bon Pain, which is reminiscent of our very own in Harvard Square.

It doesn’t take a Super Bowl, however, to reap the benefits of hosting national and international events.

Events like the U.S. Open Squash Tournament this past fall, the Harvard-Yale game, the annual Head of the Charles Regatta and the women’s 2006 Final Four at the TD Banknorth Garden bring money, action, pride, and enthusiasm to this community.

One of the greatest benefits often goes unnoticed amongst all the others and the obvious advantage of home field—the excitement that hosting an event brings for the future of an individual sport. Hosting an event like the Head of the Charles gives Harvard’s crew program a boost each year in recruiting and support, simply from the excitement generated by hosting one of the sport’s premiere events.

It’s easy to see how this benefit goes beyond the sports world, especially at a place like Harvard. Hosting events like debate tournaments, model UN conferences, or world-class physics conventions appreciably adds to the community’s involvement in these programs and is a great way to bring recognition to the university and its offerings.

Hosting an event is not just good business; it’s much, much more. It can mean everything to a winter haven in northern Italy or a struggling Midwestern city trying to reinvent itself.

Even at a place like Harvard, hosting big events—athletic or otherwise—can bring great excitement and pride, and raise support for individual programs in hopes of future successes.

So as the Super Bowl comes and goes this year, I do hope people stop and reevaluate their opinion of Detroit. I hope Detroiters can grasp the sense of pride that they so desperately need, and I hope hosting such events will bring continued support to the city and its sports teams. So much hangs in the balance.

—Crimson staff writer Andrew R. Moore can be reached at amoore@fas.harvard.edu.