Wayne State University Wayne State University Dissertations 1-1-2015 Detroit's Sport Spaces And The Rhetoric Of Consumption Anthony C. Cavaiani Wayne State University, Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_dissertations Part of the Communication Commons, and the Rhetoric Commons Recommended Citation Cavaiani, Anthony C., "Detroit's Sport Spaces And The Rhetoric Of Consumption" (2015). Wayne State University Dissertations. Paper 1307. This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@WayneState. It has been accepted for inclusion in Wayne State University Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@WayneState. DETROIT’S SPORT SPACES AND THE RHETORIC OF CONSUMPTION by ANTHONY CAVAIANI DISSERTATION Submitted to the Graduate School of Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 2015 MAJOR: COMMUNICATION Approved by: __________________________________ Advisor Date __________________________________ Date __________________________________ Date __________________________________ Date DEDICATION For Detroit, stay strong ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I have to begin by thanking my parents, Fred and Alice Cavaiani. Their unwavering support throughout this process has been unshakable. I would not have reached completion of this dissertation without them. Their persistent encouragement and love has helped me grow as a person, teacher, and scholar. I thank them from the bottom of my heart. They are the bedrock upon which I stand. Thank you to Dr. Kelly Young, my dissertation advisor. Kelly has helped me transition from a graduate student who was curious about everything, to a student with a clear focus, and to a scholar that thoroughly enjoys what I do. His guidance and suggestions have helped me become a better writer and to take pride in the profession of being an academic. He endured my hundreds (maybe thousands) of emails throughout the years and has been my adviser since I began at Wayne State as a Masters student in 2005. I also would like to thank my dissertation committee—Dr. James Cherney, Dr. Donyale Padgett, and Dr. Richard Marback. Your instruction on my project and the assistance you have provided has helped me research and study what I truly enjoy. I would also like to thank Dr. Sandy Pensoneau-Conway, Dr. Bill Trapani, and Dr. Thomas Abowd, whose graduate classes helped change my life and how I view the world. I am grateful for the ways these graduate faculty challenged me to develop my skills, abilities, and ideas. My family and friends have played a significant role in this process. I do not think a person can go through graduate school and earn a Ph.D without a few life changes happening along the way. Thank you to my two older sisters, Christy and Michelle, for your care and ii positive outlook on my future. I am blessed to have you both as sisters and your kids are wonderful. Thanks also to Fito and Chris, who have been like brothers to me. Thanks to my extended family in Wisconsin and Chicago, I love you all. Also, thank you to my “second” mother, Ann Celine Wydeven and Valerian Wydevan, and to my Uncle Barry Parmeter, your love and support throughout my life has been amazing. I also need to thank my close friends Cliff Wilkins, Paul Barrett, and Curt Powers. Your friendship and support over the years have helped me grow as a person, and for that I am truly grateful. Also, thank you to all of my Rochester friends. Thank you to my friend and fellow library partner Mary Lou Naumoff, whom spent countless hours with me at libraries around the metro Detroit area as we worked on our dissertations together. Thank you to my close friend Echo Delta (a.k.a Kyle Kellam), who encouraged me to keep pushing through when I needed to hear it. Much thanks to my friend and colleague Dr. Matt Dube, who provided extremely valuable insight on this project. To my close friend Dave Nadolski, who was the first person to urge me to go for it and get a Ph.D, thank you. I would also like to thank my friends Brandon Bumstead and Kevin Murphy, whom I have known for many years and with many memories we share. I would also like to thank my close friends Anna Shires, Eric Jacques, and Liz Reis, you three have been a support system for much of my life. Also, thank you to my girlfriend Megan Klukowski, who has helped push me in the right direction when I needed it most. Thanks also to all of my people in Pueblo Nation—John, Steve, Shawn, Scott, Perry and everyone else. Thank you to my friend Jamie Ferrguia in Columbia, MO, who offered helpful advice throughout the end of this process. Also, thank you to Colleen McDaniel, who was also extremely supportive throughout my days as a graduate student. And of course, thank you to Linus, the best pet Corgi in the world. iii Finally, I would like to thank the Farmington Hills, MI public library and Purdy Kresge Library at WSU. There was a warm, humid day back in the summer of 2009 when I was sitting in a very cool air conditioned building and this project was born. Your hospitality and the smell of knowledge in the air of your confines does not go unnoticed. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Dedication………………………………………………………………………………………... ii Acknowledgments………………………………………………………………………………..iii Chapter 1 Understanding Detroit’s Identity: Introduction and Literature Review………………..1 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………..1 Literature Review………………………………………………………………………...12 Public and Private Spheres……………………………………………………… 12 The construction of urban space…………………………………………………16 Identity and memory in urban spaces: The problem of spaces of consumption…25 The understudied side of sport communication research……………………….. 27 Rhetorical notions of space/place………………………………………………..30 Questions………………………………………………………………………................32 Method……………………………………………………………………………….......33 Cultural Studies and the Importance of Context…………………………………………33 Foucault and power/resistance...........................................................................................38 Texts for the study……………….....................................................................................42 Chapter Previews………………………………………………………………………...44 Chapter 2 Discourses of Consumptive Spaces: The Case of Comerica Park and Ford Field……46 Location and Attention of Stadiums……………………………………………………..46 Stadiums………………………………………………………………………………….50 Tiger Stadium…………………………………………………………………….50 The Olympia……………………………………………………………………..51 Joe Louis Arena………………………………………………………………….52 v The Pontiac Silverdome………………………………………………………….53 Ford Field………………………………………………………………………..55 Comerica Park……………………………………………………………………55 The Palace of Auburn Hills………………………………………………………57 Mapping Out Sports Consumptive Rhetoric……………………………………………..59 Neoliberalism and City Revitalization…………………………………………………...70 Detroit’s Discourses of Emphasis and De-emphasis…………………………………….81 Discourses of Access: Detroit’s Sports and the Production of Spaces…………………..92 Chapter 3 Regulatory Practices of Sports Stadiums……………………………………………103 Sports Spaces and Biopower……………………………………………………………107 Places Regulate Surrounding Spaces…………………………………………………...120 Regulation of Sports Spaces Effect on Detroit’s Identity………………………………125 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………...135 Chapter 4 Chronicling Public Memory: Old Tiger Stadium and The Search for Productive Places and Spaces………………………………………………………………………………148 Detroit, Sports, and Use of Space………………………………………………………148 Studies of Public Memory……………………………………………………………...150 The Struggle to Re-member Detroit’s Sport Memory………………………………….157 Recollecting Detroit…………………………………………………………….158 Misremembering Detroit………………………………………………………..165 Detroit’s Inability to Forget…………………………………………………….171 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………...174 Chapter 5 Conclusions: The Progressive Potential……………………………………………..181 Understanding Identity………………………………………………………………….181 vi Addressing the Questions………………………………………………………………186 The Heterotopic Nature of Sports Stadiums……………………………………………196 Implications……………………………………………………………………………..206 Works Cited…………………………………………………………………………………….214 Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………234 Autobiographical Statement…………………………………………………………………….235 vii 1 CHAPTER 1: UNDERSTANDING DETROIT’S IDENTITY: INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW Introduction Today, the city of Detroit, Michigan is caught in an identity struggle: On one hand, it is fighting to sustain an authentic and historic identity in a rapidly-paced, advanced, technological and global climate. On the other hand, the success of the city hinges on adopting a new identity that successfully appeals to hip, modern, and young professionals who city planners, governments, and businesses feel will help carry them through the 21 st century. Functioning as a manufacturing hub, Detroit was the automobile capital of the world from the early 1920s to the early 1960s. Arguably the start of the first World War transformed industry in Detroit for the next 40-50 years as Detroit built tanks, trucks and other military equipment that was shipped overseas to American allied forces. Reynolds Farley, Sheldon Danzinger and Harry Holzer argue in their book, Detroit Divided, that because train transportation was not reliable to transport goods from Detroit to shipping docks in the New England area, car manufacturers began to build trucks to carry these heavy loads, which further enhanced their industry. The authors contend that Detroit became the epicenter of the automotive