FLINT, MICHIGAN - Guests begin arriving for a town hall-style campaign event hosted by Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump at the Dort Financial Center arena on September 17, 2024 in Flint, Michigan. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
The wealthy owner of the Dort Financial Center made a large political contribution to a Michigan Republican lawmaker a month after that official requested a $2.5 million earmark to renovate areas of the facility located in Flint.
And while the earmark ultimately was not included in the GOP-led Michigan House budget proposal delivered on Tuesday, the request appeared to skirt newly instituted House ethics rules that ban legislatively appropriated grants to for-profit entities.
Public records reviewed by Michigan Advance show that state Rep. David Martin (R-Davison) in April requested millions of taxpayer dollars for the non-profit Flint Firebirds Foundation to pay for various upgrades at the arena and events center. The request sent to the Michigan House clerk specifically addresses parking upgrades, new accessible ramps and curbs at the sports and concert venue.
The request is available on the Michigan House of Representatives website per new House ethics rules aimed at increasing transparency for the earmark process. A project pitch and a letter of support attached to the request touts that the project would add to the curb appeal of the complex.
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New House ethics rules passed in January make it so all requests are now public and open to scrutiny before they make the final budget in a given fiscal year. The rules also prohibit legislators funneling taxpayer dollars to for-profit companies.
Although the Flint Firebirds Foundation is listed as a non-profit organization within the Ontario Hockey League, the Dort facility and the Flint Firebirds hockey team that plays there are both owned by a for-profit manufacturing company based in Florida. The foundation exists to raise and distribute charitable funds and to operate non-profit youth programming, but the money requested by Martin would see a for-profit entity benefit from taxpayer resources if the grant is approved.
Martin was a champion of the new reforms and voted for House Resolution 14 when the chamber approved them earlier this year. The vote came right as Republicans took over the chamber and espoused a new focus on transparency and accountability.
The earmark request raises questions about loopholes in those new rules because the money would have ultimately flowed from state coffers to a non-profit organization making upgrades that would support two for-profit subsidiaries of a larger corporation.
Multiple attempts to seek comment from or interview Martin for this story were not successful. Messages left with Martin via telephone, though his campaign committee and his office via email were not returned.
Messages seeking comment and clarification of the new rules from the House communications office were not returned, either.
Deepening the controversy are campaign finance reports that show Martin received a hefty political contribution to his House reelection campaign by the center and team’s owner, Rolf Nilsen.
In all, the Dort Financial Center and the Firebirds are all owned and controlled by Nilsen through a web of subsidiary for-profit corporations owned by Nilsen’s IMS Group, according to business and tax records reviewed by the Advance.
Genesee County tax assessment records indicate that the arena is owned by IMS Ice Arena Corp., based in Cape Coral, Florida.
Records from the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs also indicate that the Flint Firebirds hockey team is registered under the IMS Hockey Corp. trade name – another for-profit corporation.
IMS Hockey Corp. and IMS Ice Arena Corp. are subsidiaries of IMS USA, a registered Florida corporation. IMS USA is a subsidiary of IMS Group, owned by Nilsen.
In May, a month after Martin made the request, Nilsen gave $1,000 to the active Committee to Elect David Martin for State Representative.
In his application for the earmark sent to the House clerk, Martin was asked if he had a direct or indirect pecuniary interest – or involving money or the opportunity to gain or lose money – in the earmark.
Martin wrote in his April application that he did not have a direct or indirect interest in the project.
Rep. David Martin-2025-04-23T19_39_39.0395300Z
The request and the donation also raise eyebrows because the Dort Financial Center isn’t even in Martin’s district, which he noted in his application.
Martin represents the 68th House District. The arena is situated in the 70th House District, represented by Democratic state Rep. Cynthia Neeley.
Neeley’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
A letter of support for the project was attached to Martin’s request from the tourism arm of the Flint & Genesee Group. The letter, signed by Explore Flint & Genesee Executive Director Amari Steward, touted Dort hockey stadium and events center as a cornerstone of the community.
Steward also wrote that fans of the Firebirds hockey team flock to the stadium from around the state, filling hotels and restaurants, all while enhancing Flint’s reputation as a sports destination.
The Advance asked Steward if he was aware of the new House ethics rules against taxpayer dollars going to for-profit entities, and pork projects without a clear public benefit, before he drafted the letter in support of the project.
Steward was also asked if he knew that Nilsen donated to Martin a month after he requested the earmark.
The executive director, in a statement provided to the Advance, answered neither question.
“Explore Flint & Genesee supported Dort Financial Center’s request on behalf of the Firebirds Foundation, as it aligned with our primary objectives to increase leisure travel to Flint & Genesee, boost meeting and group travel, and work towards becoming a more inclusive and accessible community,” Steward said. “With this appropriations request, the Flint Firebirds Foundation, in conjunction with Dort Financial Center, seeks to continue providing a welcoming, accessible, and functional space for children and families.”
Steward went on to say that the improvements to the Dort Financial Center help his team better promote the region and attract visitors, which he believed ultimately benefits the public through increased economic impact and better accessibility, because the project was aimed at broadening the center’s accessibility.
However noble, those upgrades would have ultimately served to upgrade a for-profit facility.
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