Published: November 17, 2009 07:20 am      

High bid of $583,000 for Silverdome

PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) -- A city official says a Canadian company has submitted a high bid of $583,000 for the Pontiac Silverdome and plans to bring a soccer franchise to the largely unused stadium.

Fred Leeb, the city's emergency financial manager, says Monday the unnamed company will take ownership of the 80,300-seat stadium and 127 surrounding acres within 45 days. He says details of the transaction will be released before then.

Pontiac has been spending $1.5 million a year to maintain the Silverdome, which was built in 1975 for $55.7 million. The city has been trying to sell the stadium since the Detroit Lions moved to Ford Field in downtown Detroit in 2002.

Leeb says the sale means not only that Pontiac will eliminate maintenance costs but also anticipates getting tax revenue from the property.