Arena where Aerosmith, KISS, Bob Seger, other rock acts played is prepared for an encore

DELTA TWP. — A former concert and sports venue that lasted less than a decade in the 1970s is slowly coming back to life. 

The Lansing City Futsal indoor professional soccer franchise and a team of investors have begun work to revitalize the former Metro Arena, a venue that once hosted rock acts like KISS, Aerosmith and Rush. 

It was also used for hockey, and even motorcycle racing — on ice. 

If you're not familiar with "The Metro," you're not alone. It was built for about $1 million east of the Lansing Mall in 1973 and closed by 1980, according to the State Journal's archives. 

Jeremy Klepal, 26, grew up in Delta Township and is part of the investment team that has a vision to create a new sports and entertainment destination with thriving retail. 

"Our model has to be different, because we’re trying to curate tenants," Klepal said. "We don’t want just anybody.”

Klepal declined to name the people who have partnered with him to pursue the project or the purchase price for the former arena and a strip mall surrounding it. 

Eaton County Treasurer Bob Robinson said his records indicate the 7.55-acre property, between Elmwood Road and East Mall Drive, was sold Oct. 9, 2018 by MHR Lansing LLC to The Oasis at Delta LLC on a land contract. 

The sale price is unclear, Robinson said, but the property at 852 Elmwood Road — including the strip mall and retail spaces surrounding it — has an assessed value of $946,000.

Klepal, also a Lansing City Futsal soccer player, and his investment team have welcomed at least five new tenants to the property since they purchased it last fall.

There are plans to welcome several more by the end of this year. 

“We’ve already had groups beating down our door." Klepal said. 

New tenants that have opened this year include charity poker room The Event Spot II, cycling exercise gym Spartan Spin, TRI Fitness, retailer Evolution Games and eatery Pancho's Taqueria. 

The Smoke 'N Pig, a BBQ restaurant, is expected to open in an existing retail space with seating for up to 50 by Aug. 1, said Bryan Torok, its director of sales and marketing. 

Torok, 62, and his son, Gabe Jones, have ran a successful BBQ food truck business in the Lansing area for three years.

They signed a 5-year lease with Klepal and his team. 

Torok recalls seeing an Aerosmith concert at Metro Arena in 1975.

It may be difficult to reignite a relatively dormant area near the West Saginaw Highway corridor, but it will be worth it, Torok said.

"I keep telling Jeremy all the time that we’re all in this together and we’re going to make it work," he said. 

The area that once held the arena is 34,000 square feet. 

Klepal and his team would like to have Lansing City Futsal's professional and youth soccer teams begin practicing inside the arena on a new plastic composite playing surface by mid-summer.

Plans also call for the installation of 1,000 seats along three sides of the playing surface, new lighting, sound and video systems and room within the arena for vendors, meeting spaces and offices.

A second playing surface is also expected to be installed this year and could be used for basketball, Klepal said. 

Concerts are an option

Special events like concerts that attract crowds of at least 1,500 are also a possibility. 

"That’s a big component," Klepal said. "But the questions are going to be 'Where does it fit in the timeline?' and 'How are we going to pull it off?'"

The Lansing region has struggled for decades to compete with other markets like Detroit and Grand Rapids for entertainment dollars. 

However, industry experts have said in recent years there's demand for venues in the region that can accommodate at least a few thousand people. 

Mark King, a veteran event promoter, said the Lansing market could easily support at least 12 concerts annually in a venue that accommodates at least 1,500 people. 

In Lansing, it's better to have a small venue that closes at midnight instead of a night club because there's less potential for problems, King said. 

An advantage a "new" Metro Arena has is accessibility to hundreds of parking spaces, King said. 

"There's a good appetite for it," King said of concert venue demand. "I think the market will support (Metro Arena), especially if it's consistent." 

A recent concert King promoted that was held at the Causeway Bay Hotel in south Lansing drew about 500 people. 

He's found that about 60 percent of people who attend events in Lansing come from outside the city, especially concertgoers. 

Delta Township Supervisor Ken Fletcher welcomes visitors. He supports the overall business plan for Metro Arena and its adjacent retail spaces, especially the soccer component. 

Fletcher said he doesn't anticipate much push-back if the investment group decides to pursue concerts.

Fletcher describes the former arena and surrounding retail spaces as "an area that has been forgotten." 

"We’re very pleased to see some movement after such a long period of time," Fletcher said. 

'A smart idea'

Dave DiMartino covered a 1975 KISS concert at Metro Arena as a reporter for The State News, Michigan State University's campus newspaper. 

DiMartino, now 65, is a freelance music writer in Los Angeles who still values his early beginnings immersed in the Lansing area music scene. 

DiMartino welcomes any effort to resurrect Metro Arena and is encouraged by a business plan aimed to build a community around the venue. 

Classic rock acts always have a loyal following, DiMartino said, and could help recreate the buzz he grew fond of nearly 40 years ago. 

"I think it's a smart idea," DiMartino said of a Metro Arena comeback, "and I think it's doable." 

The website setlist.fm lists Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band, Foreigner, Foghat, Styx, Blue Oyster Cult and Ted Nugent and The Amboy Dukes as other acts that performed at the arena. 

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Eric Lacy is a reporter for the Lansing State Journal. Contact him at 517-377-1206 or elacy@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @EricLacy.

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More about futsal

• Futsal is a former of indoor soccer that isn't played on grass or turf. 
• It's typically played on basketball court, a similar hardwood surface or a synthetic rubber or vinyl surface. 
• Lansing City Futsal is a team of professional players who compete in games against other teams across the country. The franchise also has a youth program. 
• Lansing plays games on courts that are usually 124 feet long and 83 feet wide. 
• An NBA-sized basketball court, and most college and high school courts are up to 94 feet long and 50 feet wide. 
• The franchise follows rules created by FIFA, the governing body of traditional professional soccer. For more information visit lansingfutsal.com.