DETROIT -- This Michigan city's skyline has changed a bit since the last time a Pittsburgh team was here seeking a championship.

In 2006, Detroit turned into Steeler Nation, as thousands of Pittsburghers made the five-hour drive to see Big Ben and the boys win Super Bowl XL.

Today, Penguins fans are making the same trek to watch the Pens take on the Detroit Red Wings.

But this time around, there's a lot more elegance, luxury, nightlife and plain old-fashioned family fun to be had in the Motor City. Elegance and luxury might not be the first adjectives used to describe the city that cars built and that, for two generations, has struggled with decline, crime and population loss. The Detroit metropolitan area last year had the highest home foreclosure rate in the nation, and consistently has had among the highest jobless and poverty rates.

But Detroit, like Pittsburgh, has been working hard to revamp its reputation as a rusted shell of its former industrial self, with much of the attention turned to its downtown riverfront.

"Detroit really has the potential to be a great urban destination," said Jim Townsend, executive director of the Tourism Economic Development Council for metro Detroit.

The city's combination of cars, culture, gaming, music and sports can't be matched in the Midwest, he said. And a rash of new developments -- revitalization of the waterfront, development of new lofts, gleaming new casino hotels with marble lobbies, rooms with all the latest amenities, upscale eateries and pulsating nightclubs, as well as new pro baseball and football stadiums -- have helped put a sheen on a city still struggling mightily with its economy and reputation.

Much of the makeover can be traced to gambling, which was ushered in with the new millennium in Detroit after Michigan voters in 1996 gave the go-ahead for three casinos in the city.

Like Pittsburgh's future casino, Majestic Star, Detroit's Greektown and MotorCity started as casinos only. But both have since added hotels and are extensively renovating their casinos.

Auto designer Chip Foose took the lead in designing the MotorCity Casino Hotel, on Grand River Avenue, which opened last November. It boasts the city's first Radio Bar, equipped to allow radio broadcasts to be done on the spot; a sports bar with 11 plasma TVs; and Detroit's only AAA four-diamond restaurant, Iridescence, that offers a spectacular view from its 16th floor locale.

Early next year, the Greektown Casino on East Lafayette Boulevard is expected to finish its expansion, which includes a 1,100-seat theater. And the Westin Book Cadillac Detroit hotel, originally built in 1924, is scheduled to reopen in November after renovation, adding another 455 rooms in downtown Detroit.

Last October, the MGM Grand Detroit unveiled its Third Street hotel and casino, aimed at bringing its Vegas glamour to Detroit with signature restaurants by Wolfgang Puck (Wolfgang Puck Grille) and Michael Mina (Saltwater and Bourbon Steak).

"Our goal is to bring people to Detroit to get them downtown to see something new and exciting," said John Hutar, vice president of hotel operations at the MGM Grand.

The sleek ultra-modern hotel has 400 guest rooms, including nine penthouse suites loaded with plasma TVs, lounge areas and bathrooms with sunken whirlpool tubs, walk-in showers and water closets.

Outside along the Detroit River, the first 2.5 miles of a planned 5.5-mile riverfront renovation opened last fall. Called "Bridge to Bridge and Beyond," it will go as far west as the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Detroit to Windsor, Ontario, and as far east as just beyond the Belle Isle Bridge and Gabriel Richard (pronounced ree-shard) Park.

The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, which was formed in 2003, is in the midst of a $140 million capital campaign for the project, with $80 million allotted for the renovations and $60 million toward an endowment to maintain them.

So far, it has focused on the east riverfront from Richard Park to Joe Louis Arena, where the Red Wings play. The riverfront development includes water fountains, a carousel, pavilions and cafes, as well as completion of the first phase of Tricentennial Park and Stroh's River Place, an office complex transformed from the old Stroh's Brewery.

"It's amazing to see how much has been done in five years and the public response has been absolutely amazing," said Caroline Marks, director of communications for the conservancy.

Former Steeler Jerome Bettis is even getting in on the riverfront action with a plan for a residential development that will include some retail on the site of the old UniRoyal building.

Mr. Townsend said Detroit and Pittsburgh are kind of kindred spirits.

"The two cities get mislabeled sometime as places that have some rust on them," he said. "It's nice to have both cities have this platform to show more than what people have come to know."