Wayne State University made it official late last week—Detroit Red Wings and Little Caesars owner Mike Ilitch will give the school $40 million to build the Mike Ilitch School of business. Plans for the new building, to be constructed near the new entertainment district and the Red Wings' new arena, include classrooms, lab space and faculty offices. The gift from Ilitch and wife Marian Ilitch will be located at the corner of Woodward and Temple, moving the school's campus solidly into District Detroit territory.
The Ilitches' gift, the largest in Wayne State's history, includes $35 million in cash, land for the new building and $5 million to endow the school after construction wraps in 2018. While the Ilitch family has donated over $75 million to local nonprofits in the last decade (according to Wayne State), the arena district will cost an estimated $450 million, $250 million of which will come from Michigan taxpayers, according to Crain's Detroit Business. In 2013 alone, the Ilitches' various enterprises, the Red Wings and Little Caesar's Pizza included, took in more than $3.1 billion.
·Red Wings Arena Financing Answers [Crain's Detroit Business]
·Mike and Marian Ilitch gift $40 million plus use of land to Wayne State University [Wayne State University]
·All Arenawatch Coverage [Curbed Detroit]
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