PENSKE’S BIG PLANS
Many share his vision
When auto racing legend Roger Penske planted his flag on Belle Isle for the Detroit Grand Prix in 2007, he hoped the event could be part of a Motor City rebirth.
He stood virtually alone on an island, with few fellow believers in a city facing bankruptcy and an auto-industry meltdown.
“I like things that are underperforming and undervalued and I guess I jumped right on one with the race,” said Penske, whose Penske Corp. and auto-racing empire are worth more than $2 billion.
“It was a real challenge to get things turned around.”
There’s still much work to do, but the 80-year-old Penske feels the momentum he had hoped to build in Detroit when he agreed to chair the 2006 Super Bowl committee has helped reverse decades of decline.
“After the Super Bowl, we were thinking what do we do next?” said Penske, who has won a record 16 Indy 500 titles as a team owner.
“We got the corporate community committed. We’re showcasing the city at a time when people want to live in Detroit and want to work in Detroit.”
It’s estimated this weekend’s racing event will generate up to US$50 million in the Detroit area, with some of that spilling across the border to Windsor.
Since Penske brought it back, the grand prix organization has pumped $13 million into infrastructure improvements on Belle Isle and has raised $2.5 million for the Belle Isle Conservatory.
“(The Super Bowl) got us involved in Detroit,” said Bud Denker, Detroit Grand Prix chairman.
“Our focus was on Belle Isle and bringing economic benefit each year to our city, not just once every 30 years with a Super Bowl.
“We’re investing everyday. The Q -Line is on the rails because of Roger being chair of that. Clean Detroit is now keeping our city clean, Roger was chairman of that. It goes on and on and the grand prix is a byproduct of that.”
Now when Denker and Penske make phones calls seeking support, they aren’t greeted with silence on the other end. This year’s race has a record number of sponsors (77) and total sponsorship value has increased by 10 per cent.
“People want to help,” Denker said. “They want to be part of it and Roger has been a great example of giving back.”
While drivers tend to be focused on what happens at the racetrack, three-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves said there’s an unmistakable vibrancy around the event.
“There’s a buzz about Detroit,” said Castroneves, who has three wins on Belle Isle.
“The other business people started following Roger. People buying real estate in downtown Detroit and investing in the city.
“You can see the change. Coming to the island, it’s a jewel.”
With the accolades Detroit’s revival is earning, Penske is quick to spread the credit to others in the private sector and government who share his vision.
“There’s so much buzz, it just helps the city,” Penske said. “When you see Dan Gilbert’s projects and Mike Ilitch’s project, all the things going on downtown, this is just the glue we’ve been able to have around our city. It’s not one person or one event that makes the difference. It’s a combination of things by a lot of people.”