Ah, how to save Detroit? It’s a question everyone from Chris Hansen to Johnny Knoxville has taken a stab at answering. Downsize. Make movies. Add a public transit system. All are suggestions to restore the luster to what was at one time the fourth-largest city in the country.

Another suggestion is to put more money and time into showcasing one of the few areas Detroit does better than most — sports. Detroit is without question a top-five sports town in the nation. Therefore, the proposal of a new sports and entertainment arena in downtown Detroit is drawing much consideration.

Enter Mike Ilitch.

Ilitch, who currently owns the Detroit Tigers and Detroit Red Wings, recently entered into exclusive negations to purchase the Detroit Pistons. Those negations took another step toward conclusion last week when members of Ilitch Holdings Inc., including Mike Ilitch himself and former Pistons CEO and team president Tom Wilson, met with current team owner Karen Davidson and her advisory team at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Ilitch is hoping the team will officially change hands by Oct. 27, before the Pistons first regular season game.

What this means for the City of Detroit is yet another question. Is Ilitch, a Detroit native and prominent hometown businessman, purchasing the Pistons a victory for the city or will it turn into yet another kick to the gut?

Ilitch has said he would like to build a new arena in downtown Detroit, where he already owns property near the Fox Theater, one of the other businesses he owns.

But Ilitch wants the city to finance the majority of the new arena.

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, former Detroit Piston, said he’d love to “bring the Pistons home to Detroit.” He concluded that statement by cautioning the city has no money to give.

Plan B is to move the Red Wings out of Joe Louis Arena and into the Palace, which Ilitch will also likely own after the sale goes final. The Palace is regarded as one of the best well-kept arenas in sports. And it’s privately paid for, free and clear. No debt or renovation fees to pay off.

One way or another, Ilitch’s acquisition of the Pistons is going to shake up the entertainment scene in southeast Michigan.

Getting people to spend money downtown Detroit is a chore. Adding a new state-of-the-art arena and a relocated sports team downtown would do wonders for Detroit, as Ford Field and Comerica Park did. Conversely, moving the Pistons out of Auburn Hills in the same manner the Detroit Lions did when the team abandoned the Pontiac Silverdome in 2001 would turn Opdyke and Lapeer Road into Oakland County’s 8 Mile.

A lot of businesses depend on events at the Palace for foot traffic and consistent customers, in the same way Big Buck Brewery used to serve as a hot spot for Lions’ tailgaters before the tap ran dry.

Either way, once the sale of the Pistons goes final, Ilitch’s status as the most powerful man in Detroit will be taken to an entirely new level.