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Detroiters renting their homes to Super visitors

Kim Lyons
| Wednesday, January 25, 2006 5:00 a.m.
Nancy Andrews will rent her Detroit home to Super Bowl visitors, but will scrutinize any inquiries closely. "I have friends in Pittsburgh to check out your black-and-gold credentials," reads her ad on Craigslist.com , a free online bulletin board. And she means it. With tongue planted firmly in cheek, Andrews said she may quiz potential renters about such Steelers facts as Jerome Bettis' number. "I don't think I'll ask them to spell 'Roethlisberger,' but a real fan would know, right?" she said. With hotel rooms scarce in the Motor City next week, Andrews and other enterprising Detroiters will rent their homes to out-of-town guests. But watch the gouging. There's an ad on Craigslist for a three-bedroom ranch 20 minutes from Ford Field, which includes a chauffeured Hummer. Price: $20,000. A four-bedroom rental in tony Grosse Pointe -- about 13 miles away -- is offered for $7,500. And even neighbors to the north are getting in on the act: a "huge football fan" who will "make every attempt to make your visit fantastic" will play host in Windsor, Ontario. It may be another country, but it's only a 10-minute drive across the Detroit River. Hotel space presents a problem whenever Detroit hosts a large event, said Kirsten Borgstrom at Travel Michigan. Of the city's 29,000 hotel rooms, most were booked before the Super Bowl XL teams had even been determined. "Rooms go fast," Borgstrom said. "Luckily, there are numerous areas within an hour's drive of the city. But hotel rooms in Detroit have been gone for a while." Andrews' six-bedroom house is in Indian Village, on Detroit's east side, about three miles from downtown. She's asking $5,000 for the week. She offered her rental on the Pittsburgh section of Craigslist for a reason. "I couldn't bear the thought of Steelers fans coming to town and sleeping in their cars," Andrews said. She admits she's only jumped on the Steelers' bandwagon recently, but considers herself a fan. "You have to root for the local guy," she said, referring to native Detroiter Jerome Bettis. And she thinks Detroiters have more in common with Pittsburghers than with those from the West Coast. "I think there's an affinity between Pittsburgh and Detroit," Andrews said. "They're both industrial towns that have seen some hard times. It's not Microsoft, it's working class." Not all Detroiters are seeking Steelers fans. Terry Phillips, a native of Youngstown, Ohio, offers a one bedroom downtown for $800 a day, with a five-day minimum required. An admitted Browns fan, Phillips plans to stock the refrigerator with "libations" -- but don't expect to find any Iron City on the premises. "We'll have some real beer, not that stuff made from the Monongahela," Phillips said. The difference between Seahawks fans and Steelers fans, Phillips said, is pretty obvious. "Seahawks fans are Starbucks drinkers. With Steelers fans, I might end up with holes in the floor, maybe find some vomit after they drink all that Iron City," he said. Phillips is unlikely to get any Browns fans to rent his Super Bowl pad -- lest he forgets, Cleveland finished the season with 6 wins and 10 losses. Dennis Stanford will be in Florida the first week in February, so he's looking to rent his three-bedroom in Dearborn, about 20 minutes outside Detroit. He doesn't favor one city's fans over another's, Stanford said, but doesn't want to rent to any party animals. Stanford will be watching the Super Bowl, just from sunnier climes. "I try to stick with the Lions," he said. "But whoever's playing, I just like to see a good game." Additional Information:

Super Bowl home rentals

Check out the 'apts/housing' link at detroit.craigslist.com


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