Detroit open for business during games

DETROIT, June 26 (UPI) -- Detroit's City Council has approved a measure allowing downtown businesses to operate during the upcoming All-Star Game and Super Bowl XL.

The ordinance, approved by a 6-2 vote, also allows businesses to put limited advertising signs on their buildings, the Detroit Free Press reported Sunday.

The dissenting council members, JoAnn Watson and Sharon McPhail, said the measure did not create enough opportunities for Detroit businesses to profit from the sports events. Watson said she would prefer rickshaws and bicycle-powered vendor carts, banned by the measure, be allowed to operate.

"We should help people do business, not penalize them," Watson said.

Downtown businesses successfully lobbied to get language inserted into the draft ordinance that explicitly allows them to operate during the games, resolving complaints from the Detroit Athletic Club and other businesses that the first draft would restrict their ability to operate near the stadiums.