ROYAL OAK -- A federally funded program has offered to take over operations of the Woodward Dream Cruise and foot a hefty part of the tab.

The MotorCities National Heritage Area, based in the Renaissance Center, has offered to run the annual summer car cruise and cover as much as $400,000 to Woodward Dream Cruise Inc. to pay for costs such as marketing, advertising and insurance.

The organization operates under the auspices of the National Park Service.

If the offer is accepted, it could free up money to reimburse the communities that host the event, who incur out-of-pocket costs of up to $100,000 for cleanup and extra policing.

The event, held on a Saturday every August, draws more than 1 million spectators to watch some 40,000 muscle cars and classics roll or park along Woodward from Ferndale to Pontiac.

The offer comes at a time when organizers of the event have been facing rising costs and a leveling off of sponsorship dollars. Several organizers, however, were hesitant about the proposal and wondered if there was a catch.

"We think it's a great organization and great proposal," said Greg Rassel, chairman of Woodward Dream Cruise Inc. But "someone's playing Santa Claus and we're all old enough to know he doesn't exist."

MotorCities was established by Congress in 1998 to promote the state's automotive and labor heritage in southeastern Michigan. For example, in the past, it has helped promote museums like the Walter P. Chrysler Museum in Auburn Hills and assisted fundraising to restore the former Ford Model T plant in Highland Park.

It is funded through congressional appropriations and by the Big Three -- Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC -- and the United Auto Workers.

Cruise representatives initially contacted MotorCities to seek funding or some other possible partnerships.

After weeks of discussions, MotorCities made the proposal to the Dream Cruise's executive committee at a meeting Sept. 19.

The proposal was mailed Thursday to the mayors of the nine communities along Woodward that participate in the event.

It offers to manage the Cruise -- which includes everything from sale and distribution of merchandise to renting porta-potties -- and pay for its operations with between $250,000 and $400,000, the amount to be determined following a three-year review of its budget.

The 12-member Cruise board would retain decision-making authority over the event.

"It's a perfect match for MotorCities," Bud Liebler, spokesman for the organization, explained.

"I don't know any other event with the express intention of looking at old Detroit iron going up and down the street.

"It's a perfect marriage."

He said details of the partnership and funding options still need to be hashed out. Marx Layne, a public relations firm in Farmington Hills, now manages the event.

The members of the Dream Cruise board will discuss the proposal Monday.

Gary Familian, executive director of MotorCities, will attend to answer questions posed by board members, Rassel said.

For cities like Bloomfield Hills, which has been in the red by about $15,000 annually to help maintain the event, the offer sounds tempting.

"That's pretty intriguing," said Dale Dawkins, commissioner of Bloomfield Hills, who sits on the Woodward Dream Cruise board.

"We'd like to have funding at a point where all the municipalities break even," he added.

Jean Chamberlain, who chaired the cruise for seven of its 14 years, said organizers have received many offers to manage the cruise in the past -- for instance, The Parade Company -- believing they could better promote the event or tap other financial sources.

But this is the first time anyone has offered money.

For Chamberlain, who is now Oakland County's representative on the board, that didn't necessarily sweeten the deal.

"We don't know enough about it at this time," Chamberlain said.

She said she was hesitant to give up too much control of the event and especially wanted to ensure that it remained within Oakland County, where cruising has historically taken place.

She added that most people she talks to haven't even heard of MotorCities.

"I'm surprised they would come to us," she said.