20120130-NEWS--0001-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 1/27/2012 6:57 PM Page 1 ® www.crainsdetroit.com Vol. 28, No. 5 JANUARY 30 – FEBRUARY 5, 2012 $2 a copy; $59 a year ©Entire contents copyright 2012 by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved Page 3 Roncelli rift: Ex-VP fired In signing Fielder, Ilitch Tax credit by brother seeks $36M Developers isn’t stretching dough find a way to make Pizza empire can swallow Tigers’ payroll added to Pontiac BY BILL SHEA prises Inc. co-founder and Tigers owner loft project CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS Mike Ilitch, instead can rely on a variety of revenue sources to meet his upcoming happen No, the iconic Little Caesars $5 Hot-N- payroll, which is likely to surpass $110 Ready pizza isn’t increasing in price to million to $120 million in salaries and autism bills pay for superstar slugger Prince Fielder’s bonuses — a figure that inflates further Business leaders new nine-year, $214 million contract with when benefits are added. updates its New the Detroit Tigers. The payroll includes a combined Ticket prices, set for the 2012 season in $63 million alone this season to Fielder Move intended to offset Michigan plan December, won’t suddenly go up, either. ($23 million), Miguel Cabrera ($21 million) That was the message from Chris Ilitch, and Justin Verlander ($20 million). president of the Ilitch Holdings Inc. family of That spending is typical of markets insurance mandate companies, after the larger than Detroit, but it isn’t thought to Finance Extra Fielder signing BY JAY GREENE be financially stressful for the wealthy Il- CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS was made offi- itches, baseball insiders say. The big Big deals: cial Thursday. salaries are high-stakes bets on winning a Critics of an autism bill stalled in the Michigan Legis- His father, Lit- World Series, which would provide the lature for more than three years never have disputed International M&A tle Caesars Enter- team millions in new revenue. data that show early intervention to treat autistic chil- trend continues, And the Ilitch- dren could save taxpayers millions of dollars in future es can afford it. health care and educational costs. Page 11 Mike and Mari- What opponents of the bill — including the Michigan an Ilitch personally are Chamber of Commerce, Michigan Manufacturers Associa- worth an estimated $2 billion, tion and Small Business Association of Lists: Biggest deals, office good for No. 212 on Forbes’ list of the Michigan — object to are the man- and industrial leases, local 400 richest Americas. dates that would require health in- The Ilitch-owned companies generate surers to cover treatment costs. sales, Pages 14, 16-18, 20-21 Prince more than $4 billion in annual revenue, A compromise in the works finds Fielder is the company has said. About $2 billion of common ground by offering a tax expected that comes from the pizza business, but credit — or expense offset — to in- to bring sports insiders don’t think Ilitch has to surers. Inside some dip much into nonbaseball business to The compromise planned by Gov. heavy subsidize player payroll spending. Rick Snyder, who supports the hitting to Major League Baseball’s financial struc- autism legislation; Senate Majority SBA program uses purchase the Detroit Meador Tigers. ture shields them somewhat from having Leader Randy Richardville, R-Mon- orders as collateral, Page 5 to use pizza money to pay for baseball roe; and Republican leaders in the Senate and House players. may give supporters of the bills the best chance of pas- The Tigers will get nearly $90 million sage in years, said Dave Meador, a leading business This Just In See Fielder, Page 29 See Autism, Page 26 KPMG Detroit office has JEFFREY PHELPS/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS new managing partner Heather Paquette will be- Music Hall hits big time with ‘Fela!’ come managing partner of the Detroit office of the ac- counting and consulting firm Broadway musical resonates with backers of KPMG LLP. Paquette, 40, will oversee a BY SHERRI WELCH dent and Artistic Director Vincent staff of 327 and replaces Rick CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS Paul. Siebert, who will be the firm’s The musical “discusses very topi- regional audit leader until The upcoming three-week run of cal issues that are happening in our his retirement this year. the Tony Award-winning Broadway community such as government cor- Paquette most recently musical “Fela!” could put Music Hall ruption, education analysis … social was KPMG’s national infor- Center for the Performing Arts on the injustices … issues that resonate mation-technology leader for map for people who’ve never been to here in Detroit,” he said. assessing the impact of ac- a production at the historic Detroit With philanthropic support from counting changes. Paquette, venue. the African-American business com- a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, But the hall, which typically fea- munity and an assist from a number joined KPMG in 1995 and tures artistic performances that nev- of cultural and media outlets, inter- made partner in 2004. er cross over to Broadway, would est and financial support for the mu- KENNY CORBIN — Tom Henderson have brought it to Detroit even if it Vincent Paul, president and artistic director of Music Hall Center for the weren’t a Broadway hit, said Presi- See ‘Fela,’ Page 28 Performing Arts, says the center’s largest-ever show fits its mission. Work with a legal team that’s built to do what’s right. See our VS ad on Page 2 ‰ ATTORNEYS AT LAW A BETTER PARTNERSHIP WNJ.com NEWSPAPER 20120130-NEWS--0002-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 1/27/2012 5:17 PM Page 1 Page 2 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS January 30, 2012 MICHIGAN BRIEFS N. Michigan village, township support local businesses. The new items will be offered in addition to with same name consider merger Lansing casino announced – but that was easy part locally made and grown products Thanks to encouragement from already available in Meijer the state in the form of a $355,000 A week ago, Crain’s Sherri Welch reported on ates the Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort about 60 miles stores.” grant, the northern Michigan vil- crainsdetroit.com that the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of north of Lansing in Mt. Pleasant, said it would try to — Michelle Muñoz lage of Onekama may merge its Chippewa Indians planned to build a $245 million casi- block the Lansing project, which also would com- services into those of surrounding no in downtown Lansing. Then came the numbers: pete with FireKeepers Casino near Battle Creek, Dow Chemical wins appeal backing Onekama Township, about 40 A 125,000-square-foot Kewadin Lansing Casino, an esti- about 45 miles southwest of Lansing. That casino is miles southwest of Traverse City. mated 1,500 permanent jobs, more than 700 con- owned by the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi $6.7 million verdict in patent case Village and township officials struction jobs, up to 3,000 slot machines and 48 table Indians. Midland-based Dow Chemical Co. have been working on the consoli- games, assorted bars and restaurants, two parking Terms of state compacts with the Nottawaseppi last week won a ruling upholding dation since October. decks with about 2,900 total spaces — and about $250 and the Gun Lake Tribe, which operates a casino near a $61.7 million patent-infringe- Officials are working through million a year in gross revenue, the tribe estimates. Grand Rapids, would allow both to stop sharing rev- ment verdict against Nova Chemi- how to distribute village assets Plus this: An estimated $6 million or more a year enue with the state if a casino opens within their cals Corp. from 2010 related to plas- ranging from office equipment, would fund the Lansing Promise, a new program to designated market areas, both of which include tic used in grocery bags. streets, parks and a sewer system provide college scholarships for every graduate of Lansing. Ⅲ Bloomberg News reported that the to the village’s long-term debt. the Lansing School District, Lansing Mayor Virg Matthew Fletcher, a Michigan State University U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Tim Ervin of the Alliance for Eco- Bernero said in the release announcing the casino. professor of law and director of the MSU Indigenous Circuit in Washington, D.C., reject- nomic Success, Manistee County’s The Sault Tribe said it planned to open a tempo- Law and Policy Center, told the Lansing paper City ed Nova’s arguments that its Sur- economic development group, told rary casino as it waited for approval of transfers for Pulse that it’s unlikely all of the legal issues sur- pass plastic didn’t infringe two the Traverse City Record-Eagle the sale of the land to the tribe and for a develop- rounding the casino will be settled within the next Dow patents and that the patents that officials with other communi- ment agreement. The tribe owns five other Kewadin 10 years. Fletcher also told MLive that the project were invalid. ties in Michigan are watching Casino properties in the eastern Upper Peninsula. had a “decent chance” of happening, eventually. Ⅲ Nova, owned by Abu Dhabi- Onekama’s process to determine Michigan has more than two dozen casinos. In contrast to the legalistic tones, in an inter- based International Petroleum Invest- whether they might pursue simi- The Lansing casino would mark a return to off- view on WXYT 1270 AM, Bernero offered this feed- ment Co., was accused of using Dow lar ideas. reservation gambling for the tribe, which formerly back to casino opponents: “Screw off.” He also called inventions for polymers that are Combined, the township and vil- was the majority owner of Detroit’s Greektown Casi- the contention that a Lansing casino would cost the thinner and stronger than conven- lage have just over 1,300 people, no.