County rejects offer to buy Palace of Auburn Hills for $384M
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - Suburban Detroit officials say they rejected a $384-million offer in June to buy the Palace of Auburn Hills.
Oakland County said in a statement Monday to The Detroit News it was ''acting in a fiscally responsible manner on behalf of taxpayers'' when it rejected the proposal that would have allowed the home of the Detroit Pistons to be leased back to the team.
County Executive L. Brooks Patterson tells WWJ-AM he was ''not real happy'' with the risk of owning a stadium ''and not owning the team.''
The Palace and Pistons are both owned by Tom Gores' Platinum Equity group. Word of the rejected offer earlier was reported by Crain's Detroit Business.
There has been talk about the possibility of the Pistons moving from Auburn Hills to downtown Detroit.