Ilitch Holdings President and CEO Christopher Ilitch spoke at the Detroit Regional Chamber's Detroit Policy Conference on Thursday.
This is the first time we have heard from Chris since his father, Mike, died nearly three weeks ago.
During the address, Ilitch touched on a variety of subjects, but spoke about his father and the team-oriented business of Ilitch Holdings.
One of the first things he brought up was his father's renovations of The Fox Theatre, and how it couldn't haven been done without the help of the city.
"It took 300 craftsmen and 200,000 hours of work to restore one of the most heavily-ornamented buildings in the world," Ilitch said. "Kind of amazing in just one year and only possible with intense and focused collaboration.
"By bringing together the right partners and collaborating on this effort, the Fox Theatre and a key stretch of Woodward Ave. came back to life," he added.
According to Ilitch, Little Caesar's moved into the city when other businesses were moving out.
Next, Ilitch discussed how Mike brought his team-oriented approach to building Comerica Park, the new home of the Detroit Tigers.
"He envisioned Comerica Park as a place to bring baseball and entertainment together," he added.
Chris said that when it came to the ballpark and it took a team effort to make all of his ideas come to life.
"From the Fox Theatre to Comerica Park and many other investments my parents have made in Detroit over the past three decades, so much good has happened," Ilitch added. "And so many others have made and continue to make contributions, big and small, all amounting to the incredible progress we're seeing in our city and region today."
