Kristopher Powell, CEO of HRPro, is hoping to get Campbell Road officially changed to “Dan Campbell Road” in honor of the Lions’ resurgence under head coach Dan Campbell.
By: Taylor Christensen | Royal Oak Review | Published January 18, 2025
ROYAL OAK — The Detroit Lions excitement is real leading up to the Super Bowl, and one Royal Oak business owner is hoping to leave the Lions’ mark on a street sign.
Kristopher Powell, CEO of HRPro, is hoping to get Campbell Road officially changed to “Dan Campbell Road” in honor of the Lions’ resurgence under head coach Dan Campbell.
The Lions clinched the No. 1 seed in the NFC on Jan. 5 after a 31-9 historic victory over the Minnesota Vikings, marking back-to-back NFC North Division titles for the first time in franchise history.
“He's (Dan Campbell) done such a great job, putting the Lions into what’s finally, for the first time in my lifetime, a really good franchise that looks like they're a title contender,” Powell said.
Powell said he came up with the idea from seeing the Campbell Road sign every day going to his business, HRPro, located at 1025 N. Campbell Road.
Trying to officially change a road's name is not an easy task. Powell said that he sent in an email to mayor Michael Fournier requesting the change, but has not sent in an official request.
Judy Davids, communications director for the city of Royal Oak, said that even if Powell sends in a formal request, the road has a significant history to it that could result in denial for the name change.
“The ordinance prioritizes names of individuals who have made significant contributions to the city, county, state or nation,” Davids said.
Royal Oak’s public property naming ordinance allows residents of Royal Oak to suggest name changes to signs, parks or public property, which are reviewed by the naming committee.
Only Royal Oak residents are allowed to request such a change; Powell does not live in Royal Oak.
The road is named after Welcome Campbell, according to the Ferndale Historical Society. In 1859, Campbell moved to Royal Oak Township with his wife and eight children.
The Campbells lived on section 26 and 27 of Royal Oak Township on 750 acres of land between Nine Mile and 10 Mile roads, which had a road running north through it.
“It’s a challenge, because there is history with everything,” said Joe Gacioch, city manager of Royal Oak. “This community was incorporated over 100 years ago. There is a lot of history and a lot of bases in the name of our streets. We need to be careful when we change those things.”
Gacioch said that it is imperative that, when considering a change like this, to understand the situation from a historical perspective, and that the city must be mindful of its decisions.
“Secondarily, there’s the functional part, there are a lot of addresses along that street, and that’s a lot of owners, residents and business owners who may or may not have an opinion on that,” he said.
After receiving a good amount of publicity on this request and learning about the difficulties of changing the road name, Powell said he would be willing to work with the city to find a way to honor the Lions and Dan Campbell's efforts in pushing the Lions to (hopefully) victory.
“I don’t know about getting the name formally changed, but we are looking at the potential of maybe doing some kind of honorarium,” Powell said. “Something that would honor the guy without us having to go through something that sounds like a root canal to a kid.”
Gacioch said that something will definitely be in the works if the Lions move forward.
“This business owner probably reflects the greater region in our excitement about culture change that Dan Campbell has brought to the Lions. ... We want to celebrate Dan Campbell’s building the Lions around grittiness and toughness,” Gacioch said. “I think they (the city) are interested in the idea and would be willing to think of something, you know, should they win, how can we celebrate that.”