{"id":32301,"date":"2024-02-27T15:53:27","date_gmt":"2024-02-27T19:53:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=32301"},"modified":"2024-02-27T15:53:27","modified_gmt":"2024-02-27T19:53:27","slug":"qa-roger-penske-on-detroits-renaissance-nfl-draft-ev-adoption-and-le-mans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/qa-roger-penske-on-detroits-renaissance-nfl-draft-ev-adoption-and-le-mans","title":{"rendered":"Q&A: Roger Penske on Detroit’s renaissance, NFL Draft, EV adoption and Le Mans"},"content":{"rendered":"

Detroit<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 Roger Penske came to Detroit in the early 1970s when he opened a Chevrolet dealership. He stayed, building the Penske Corp., which today employs 17,000 people at 3,200 locations worldwide, including car dealerships, truck rental outlets and a formidable racing team that has won 19 Indy 500s and other titles.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was bitten by the bug,\u201d Penske said, explaining his fondness for the Motor City to NBC Sports broadcaster Mike Tirico on Thursday at the Downtown Detroit Partnership’s annual meeting at the MGM Grand Casino. \u201cI was a car guy, it was in my DNA.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Businessman<\/figure>\n
Businessman and racing legend Roger Penske helped land Super Bowl XL for Detroit in 2006. Now he’s working to help the city get ready to host the NFL Draft in late April.Clarence Tabb Jr., Detroit News<\/em><\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Fifty years later, the Bloomfield Hills-based business legend is a community fixture. Penske, who turned 87 this past Tuesday, has helped broker the 2006 Super Bowl at Ford Field, the M1 downtown transportation corridor, the imminent 2024 NFL Draft at Campus Martius \u2014 and, of course, the Penske Entertainment-run Detroit Grand Prix, which returned to downtown Detroit\u2019s streets in 2023 after years on Belle Isle.<\/p>\n

Detroit News auto critic Henry Payne sat down with \u201cThe Captain\u201d \u2014 as his troops fondly refer to him \u2014 for a wide-ranging discussion covering everything from Detroit to IndyCar to electric vehicle mandates to his bid to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans, one of the few trophies that has eluded his trophy case.<\/p>\n

\"From<\/figure>\n
From left, Penske Corporation Chair Roger Penske speaks about \u201cLegacy and Leadership in Detroit\u201d with Mike Tirico of NBC Sports. Clarence Tabb Jr., Detroit News<\/em><\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Editor\u2019s note: This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.<\/em><\/p>\n

Question:<\/strong>\u00a0Roger, you\u2019ve been at the center of Detroit\u2019s downtown renaissance, including Super Bowl XL, the Detroit Grand Prix, and now the NFL Draft in April. What do these events do for downtown Detroit?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Answer:<\/strong>\u00a0Go back to the 2006 Super Bowl \u2014 it was two years before that when Bill Ford picked up the phone and called me. He said would I like to be the Super Bowl chairman? I had two options:\u00a0I could have said no and hung up \u2014 but I said yes.<\/p>\n

\"It's<\/figure>\n
<\/div>\n
\n

It’s game day at last. Super Bowl XL fans enter Ford Field on Feb. 5, 2006. Ankur Dholakia , The Detroit News<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Along with Susan Scherer (executive director of the Super Bowl XL Host Committee) we were able to put a team together and really build an offense. We had to go to the NFL owners to find out would they approve Detroit with a new stadium. To me that was the linchpin, because we were able to showcase our city for what it was \u2014 and the ability to get the business community and people within Detroit and the surrounding region to come together and pull that off. It was amazing.<\/p>\n

This past year the (Detroit Grand Prix) downtown with 150,000 people \u2014 half of them able to come for free. We had 80 companies around Detroit that supported the race, and $100 million worth of economic benefit for the city, which is just amazing.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/figure>\n
\n

A race volunteer watches as Alex Palou, driver of Chip Ganassi Car #10, goes around Turn One with Franklin and Rivard street signs visible during the 2023 Detroit Grand Prix. Robin Buckson, The Detroit News<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Many other things have taken place. Dave Bing (asked): \u2018What are we going to do with parks for kids when the summer comes? I need 100 police cars. I need EMS units.\u2019 The Downtown Detroit Partnership was able to pull that together. We built the M1 Corridor, which has created about $10 billion in benefit there. I could state so many different things.<\/p>\n