Mike Ilitch Public Visitation Events This Week In Detroit

DETROIT, MI — The public will have an opportunity to pay respect to sports and business scion Mike Ilitch at a public visitation this week at Comerica Park and Fox Theatre Grand Lobby. Ilitch, the founder of the Little Caesars pizza company and owner of the Detroit Tigers and Detroit Red Wings, died Friday at age 87.

Memories and tributes can be shared beginning at 1 p.m. Monday on a temporary public memorial outside Comerica Park on Woodward Avenue on the “Big Tiger,” according to a news release from the family.

From noon-8 p.m. Wednesday, Ilitch’s body will lie in repose during public visitation at the Fox Theatre Grand Lobby, 2211 Woodward Ave. Mike Ilitch and his wife, Marian, bought and fully restored the theater as the world headquarters for Little Caesars in 1989.

• See Also: Mike Ilitch Dies at 87

In a statement, the family said:

“To everyone who has so graciously remembered Mike Ilitch, we extend a heartfelt thank you. The volume of condolences and kind wishes overwhelms us, and we appreciate it more than words can express. We know that he would've been touched by the outpouring of support, especially from this community that he so loved. We will miss him tremendously, and we are grateful, humbled and comforted to know that his lifetime was filled with well-lived moments.”

• Ilitch Charities
• The Detroit Red Wings Foundation
• The Detroit Tigers Foundation

Free parking will be available in the Fox Garage and the surface lots in front of Comerica Park.

Photo by Dave Hogg via Flickr Commons