Detroit City FC Ready To Show Off Renovations To Stadium

HAMTRAMCK (WWJ/AP) - A semi-professional soccer team is ready to show off its efforts to restore an old stadium in the Detroit enclave of Hamtramck.

Alex Wright, one of Detroit City Football Club's co-owners, told The Detroit News that work to the 80-year-old stadium includes electrical updates, structural improvements and upgraded stands. Wright says the decades created "a lot of wear and tear."

"It's extremely ambitious trying to make this happen, but it sort of speaks to how we want to run this organization that we're constantly pushing the envelope," Wright said. "As a result, the stadium is not going to be 100 percent ready to go on opening night. Like everything else, it's going to be a process. But we have a vision for where it needs to be and we're going to keep working toward that until we get to that point."

Detroit City FC's home opener is Friday. Work began ramping up in February after the team raised more than $740,000. Other improvements are planned.

Detroit City FC was started in 2012 and it plays in a league sanctioned by the U.S. Soccer Federation. It outgrew its original rented home at Cass Technical High School, averaging more than 3,500 fans a game in a venue with an official capacity of 2,500.

TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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