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Donald Trump laughs as his casino venture partner Mel Farr, right, drapes a cape over his shoulders at a press conference in the lobby of the Fisher Theater in 1997. Farr often wore the signature cape in the TV commercials he did for his auto dealerships.(Photo: Craig Porter, Detroit Free Press)Buy Photo

Detroit almost became an outpost in Donald Trump's casino and hotel empire two decades ago when he proposed building a half-billion-dollar facility with a Motown theme and promises of millions for blight removal.

His $542-million plan -- the Trump Motor City Hotel Casino -- was among 11 proposals in competition in 1997 for one of three licenses up for grabs.

Trump's bid lost in the next-to-last round. But the failed campaign showed all the same earmarks -- showmanship, theatrics, grandiose statements -- on national display today in his quest for the White House. Despite losing the bid, Trump did make good on a pledge to help pay for a group of talented Detroit high school students to play at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

For the casino bid, Trump teamed up with Mel Farr, the former Detroit Lions running back and flamboyant car dealer. Trump also forged an exclusive partnership with the Motown Museum for the casino's theme. At a news conference in the Fisher Theatre, Trump said his casino would be the biggest in the world and "very expensive."

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The casino complex was to have a "Motor City Walk" and include retail, convention and sports facilities. The 800-room hotel would be topped with a giant rotating sphere symbolizing a hood ornament. Possible locations were Grand Circus Park or the riverfront.

"Knowing how to build and knowing what to build -- that's something I do very well," Trump said in the summary document of his proposal.

He vowed to bring his Miss Universe pageant to Detroit every three years if his proposal won and pledged a community benefits package with $14 million for demolishing blighted houses and structures across the city -- an effort years ahead of its time.

Farr, who died last year at 70, was a 5% equity partner. Farr was hesitant at first to team up, suspecting his involvement was merely one of convenience so Trump might have a local edge. Three times he turned down Trump's appeals, "but Trump kept calling back," according to the book "Titans of the B.E. 100s: Black CEOs Who Redefined and Conquered American Business."

Farr eventually was persuaded by Trump's insistence that the proposal was not just a casino but also the redevelopment of Detroit.

Detroit real estate investor Herb Strather, who was involved in a competing casino proposal, recalled last week how Farr told him he had never actually met Trump in person before he arrived in Detroit for the official unveiling of their joint plan.

"It was the first time Mel Farr had ever seen Donald Trump, and Donald Trump got up at the mic and was talking about his longtime friend for 25 years," Strather said. "Mel was shocked -- he didn't know whether to say yes or no or what. He was totally unprepared for it, but that's Donald Trump."

A Farr relative did not respond to a message seeking comment. A Michigan representative for the Trump presidential campaign also did not return messages for this article.

'Bad impression'

Today Trump's casino push is long-ago history, another "what could have been" for the city's landscape, along with a second and third Fisher Building and police headquarters in Michigan Central Station.

For some Detroit officials, the city's decision to reject Trump's casino bid for financial shortcomings was the right one considering the debt troubles that later plagued his entertainment corporation, then called Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts, which filed for bankruptcy in 2004, 2009 and again in 2014.

"Detroit did dodge a bullet," said C. Beth DunCombe, a former CEO of the Detroit Economic Growth Corp. who was involved in vetting the different casino proposals.

DunCombe also was the sister-in-law of Detroit's mayor at the time, Dennis Archer, who ultimately picked the winning three finalists. "What happened to Trump tells you why we did not do junk bond deals," she said.

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A rendering of what the Trump Casino proposed for Detroit in 1997 would look like on the exterior.  (Photo: HANDOUT)

Three casino licenses were up for grabs, but two groups were given a preference because they financed support for Proposal E, the 1996 ballot initiative that authorized the casinos. Those groups represented what is now Greektown Casino-Hotel and MotorCity Casino Hotel.

Trump was essentially competing for the license that went to MGM Grand Detroit -- today the highest revenue-generating casino of the three.

Trump also had to live down some negative impressions in Detroit of his casino and hotel operations that predated the formal selection process.

Shortly after the ballot initiative passed in November 1996, the city formed an advisory committee and sent a delegation to scout several casinos around the country to see how they work. Their first stop was Atlantic City, N.J., where the group stayed at the nearly $1-billion Trump Taj Mahal Casino and Resort.

In an interview last week, DunCombe recalled how members of the Detroit delegation saw frayed carpeting, dingy hotel rooms and cigarette burns in furniture during their visit to Trump's property in late 1996.

"The hotel room that I was in was like a cheap motel room. I was just shocked," she said. "And of course, (later) he's applying for Detroit, and that certainly left somewhat of a bad impression on us. Like, 'ugh, remember those rooms?'"

Tough competition

The competition for a Detroit license got under way the following year and attracted well-known casino developers and local investor partners.

The field featured casino mogul Steve Wynn and his Mirage Resorts; an investment group  with former Detroit Mayor Coleman Young; a coalition of 139 investors including Strather, Marian Ilitch and Circus Circus Enterprises; and a proposal from businessman Don Barden that was backed by pop star Michael Jackson and involved a $1-billion theme park to be called the Majestic Kingdom.

The Barden-Jackson proposal included a plan complete with roller coasters, a monorail and "800-room mansion in the sky."

"Everybody and their brother was making proposals," joked Tom Shields, president of the MRG public relations firm in Lansing, who handled publicity for the proposal  that evolved into today's MotorCity Casino Hotel. "You have to remember that back at that time, commercial gaming was very limited" across the country.

Trump's casino empire was mostly an Atlantic City phenomenon, although the year before he had opened a riverboat casino in Gary, Ind.  And in 1986, Trump famously joined Detroit's Young for a helicopter tour across Detroit, giving particular attention to the former Uniroyal site on Jefferson near Belle Isle. "Because of Mayor Young, I think Detroit is ready for a fantastic renaissance," the real estate mogul told reporters after landing.

Although no development deals ever came from Trump's tour, it did fuel years of rumors and speculation in Detroit.

When Trump turned his attention back to the city for his 1997 casino bid, he hired Young's former press secretary, Bob Berg, for his plan's publicity team.

Berg recalled how he first checked with his old boss before joining up with Trump. Young, by then out of office, was part of a competing casino group dubbed Paradise Valley.

"He basically said 'I can't afford to pay you what Donald Trump can, so go ahead,' " Berg said.

Shortly before Archer chose the three winners of the licenses, a public opinion poll by the Free Press found Trump's proposal as the top choice of all the entries. Berg was quoted attributing that victory to several factors, foremost "the Trump name."

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Mayor Dennis Archer talks to Beth DunCombe after announcing her election as president and CEO of the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation in February 1996. (Photo: WILLIAM ARCHIE, DETROIT FREE PRESS)

But winning the popular vote didn't help in the actual selection. In November, Archer narrowed the field from seven to four, eliminating the Barden plan, Young's Paradise Valley, and dreams for the Trump Motor City Hotel Casino. He later tossed out Wynn's Mirage Resorts proposal.

Trump's bid was passed over because of the precarious finances of his overall casino business.

A city-commissioned consultant's report called its financial condition "very weak" with $1.7 billion in long-term debt and interest payments eating up half of the corporation's annual revenue. Trump also failed to show a source of funds for the required equity contribution, which Archer had insisted be a minimum 20% of the overall cost.

"We wanted up front a showing of money," DunCombe recalled. "Even some of the big names wouldn't show us up-front money. But (said) if they were awarded (the license), they could get the money."

A New York Times article this month detailed how Trump regularly relied on junk-bond financing to build his Atlantic City casinos and keep his various businesses afloat. Junk bonds are riskier than conventional loans and carry higher interest rates to compensate. These mountains of high-interest debt eventually led to bankruptcies at the Trump Taj Mahal and his Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts.

Win some, lose some

Trump didn't seem to dwell on his Detroit loss. He soon told Free Press columnist Mitch Albom that "You win some, you lose some. I got so many other casino deals I can't even keep track."

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Donald Trump took out an ad in the August 21, 1997 edition of the Detroit Free Press touting the Detroit Casino he would build. (Photo: Detroit Free Press)

After the selections, Berg received a phone call from a nervous principal at what is now the Detroit School of Arts. The principal was curious whether Trump still intended to pay for half of the school's $61,000 student trip to Carnegie Hall in New York, where their symphonic band was to perform. Trump's team had made the pledge when their casino bid was still alive.

The answer was affirmative.

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"They knew they weren't going to get the casino, but they went ahead and followed through on their commitment," Berg said.

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One of the hats that were handed out at Donald Trump's 1997 press conference to announce his proposal for Trump Motor City Hotel Casino.  (Photo: JC Reindl, Detroit Free Press)

Contact JC Reindl: 313-222-6631 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Follow him on Twitter @JCReindl.

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