Spirit of Detroit statue dons Lions jersey

Between the lines: The Detroit-Wayne Joint Building Authority, which owns the iconic statue outside of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, tells Axios it reviews and approves select requests from organizations willing to spend $25,000 to dress the Spirit.

• The building authority has, however, been forced to add more stringent requirements due to concerns over the statue's well-being.

What they're saying: "Every request is not honored — and we get lots of them," Sharon Banks, a spokesperson for the building authority, tells Axios.

• "There was a time when we attempted to honor as many as possible but we do have to protect the integrity of the statue."
• "When the teams win, people want to climb it, so we've got to maintain additional security as well."

Flashback: The Spirit of Detroit first donned a jersey to celebrate the Red Wings' 1997 Stanley Cup title. It's been dressed over the years to celebrate the Tigers, Michigan State football and the Detroit Shock, and has also worn multiple T-shirts, a tuxedo and a COVID-19 mask.

• Maintenance concerns prompted officials to recommend it only wear jerseys when teams win a national championship, Banks said.

Yes, but: Officials have let it slide for the Lions' first conference championship since 1993.

• "This one — after 30 plus years, any sense of a championship or being close to it was enough for the good of the community near and far," Banks says.

Of note: The building authority tells Axios that the Lions have paid for the jersey to stay up throughout their playoff run.

Editor's note: This story was updated to note the Lions have paid for the jersey to stay up throughout their playoff run.