Racing legend drives Super Bowl Committee

Excerpts from the article:

As chairman of the host committee, he is ultimately responsible for the public festivities and logistics surrounding the game — all part of the weighty task of polishing Detroit’s long-tarnished image.

But when he talks about the road from the city’s 2000 Super Bowl bid to the Feb. 5 game, Penske — who at 68 is estimated by Forbes to be worth $1.7 billion — portrays himself as part of a crew that includes host committee staff, city government, business and civic leaders and thousands of volunteers.

The Super Bowl has been a catalyst for a flurry of development in downtown Detroit in recent years. New buildings have gone up, old ones have been renovated and converted into lofts, and many of the biggest eyesores have come down. The city has provided matching grants for facade improvement, and a new park with an eye-catching fountain and an ice-skating rink anchors the central business district.

Penske is famous for his attention to detail, and the Super Bowl has been no exception. At one point, he had committee staff count the number of bar stools around Ford Field, where the game will be played, so that organizers would know exactly what kind of entertainment facilities were available.

On Wednesday, Penske spent a chunk of his day driving and walking around the central business district to see what areas the committee should focus on during the remaining weeks. Host committee executive director Susan Sherer said Penske “was very specific” about what he wanted done — what kind of fences should go up, what areas should be painted, where trash needs to be removed.

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