A few people have expressed interest in buying the Pistons over the last couple of weeks, but one person who has no interest is Compuware CEO Peter Karmanos. The Detroiter owns the OHL's Plymouth Whalers and the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes, but he does not have any interest in adding a basketball team to the list.
"No," Karmanos said, laughing. "I don't like basketball. And I especially don't like their Collective Bargaining Agreement. They're going to have to do some hard work around that sport to get it back in line where it's reasonable to own a team. ... Even with some decent TV contracts, they're just bleeding red ink as a league."
Karmanos did talk a bit about the "conundrum," as he called it, with the arena situation for the Red Wings and Pistons.
Said Karmanos: "I've looked at this whole Pistons and Red Wings and Joe Louis Arena and The Palace situation, and it's a real conundrum, because a lot of the Pistons' value is tied up in The Palace. But The Palace could end up being a white elephant like the Silverdome is, except that the team owns the building."
Karmanos is correct in saying that this is a conundrum, because there doesn't appear to be a solution that will please everybody right now. If the Pistons are moved to Detroit, then you have an empty arena that is still more than functional sitting in Auburn Hills, but at the same time, a new arena isn't going to be cheap and the Joe is only going to last so long. Making things even more problematic, as Karmanos went on to say, is that the Red Wings can't be moved out of Detroit, as that could alienate its downriver and Canadian fan base.
His dislike for basketball aside, I'm sure Karmanos is glad to not be in Mike Ilitch's shoes, as purchasing the Pistons will definitely force some tough decisions to be made.