April 20, 2012
Fenway Park and Tiger Stadium celebrate birthdays, one from beyond the grave
One hundred years ago today, two ballparks opened that would survive to be among the longest-lived in baseball history. One of them today gets wall-to-wall coverage, though the Boston Globe will only let you read it if you pay them. (Here's a sampling of another paper's commemoration of the anniversary, with a nice nod to the "stadium diehards" who helped convince the Red Sox to retain Fenway Park instead of demolishing it.)
The other stadium is remembered today by a photo gallery of what you'll never see again. No mention of Detroit's own stadium diehards who kept Tiger Stadium alive for a decade past when ownership wanted it gone, but then, history belongs to the victors.
As a personal note: The two are among my absolutely favorite ballparks that I've visited, for very different reasons: Fenway has its bizarre dimensions, the fascination of the Green Monster, and its unique (even for when I was growing up in the 1970s) single-decked structure, though its roof deck has slowly grown to make it more of a 1.5-decked building in recent years. Tiger, meanwhile, had a history even longer than Fenway's (the site known simply as The Corner had been home to pro baseball since the 19th century), the famous overhang in right field that allowed fans to catch home run balls that otherwise would have landed in outfielders' gloves, and most of all, an upper deck that was so close to the action that spending one inning there put the lie to claims that "intimacy" is solely the province of new stadiums with high-priced seats right next to the batter's box.
Here's what I wrote in 2009 as a judge considered a last-ditch effort to save part of Tiger Stadium from the wrecking ball. The effort failed, and the city of Detroit went ahead and completed demolition (though a band of baseball diehards still cuts the grass and plays pickup games on the old field, against city orders to leave it overgrown and unused). But I'd say the same today: Though Fenway Park (and Wrigley Field) remain historic baseball treasures, something of the baseball experience was lost with Tiger Stadium that will never be regained.
September 15, 2011
Detroit rejects Chevy offer to maintain Tiger Stadium ballfield for free
The Detroit residents who have been maintaining the baseball diamond at the empty former site of Tiger Stadium — and playing occasional pickup baseball games there — got a big boost last month when Chevrolet offered to underwrite their cleanup efforts ... and a big blow yesterday when it was revealed that the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation was rejecting Chevy's offer because it wants to keep the site vacant for development.
"We're starting to get major retailers" interested in building downtown, said DEGC president George Jackson, not noting that the Tiger Stadium is the only large vacant downtown parcel available because, well, see for yourself.
In any case, turning down an offer of a free community baseball field — even if temporary — is likely to be yet another huge community relations faux pas for the agency, which has previously refused to meet with U.S. senators to discuss plans for the ballpark site.
"This is a fastball right down the plate, and Detroit looks like it's swinging at it with a blindfold," University of Detroit Mercy marketing professor Michael Bernacchi told the Detroit News. "There is no way the city of Detroit wins this battle — in terms of public perception. Their long-term vision of the site has always sounded very reasonable and solid — that they need to find a feasible development. But this sounds like such a reasonable short-term solution by a venerable brand, and they missed it. It's going to dig, gnaw at that perception out there that the city didn't do all it could."
July 26, 2010
Tiger Stadium gone, but ballplayers are back
The attempt to save Tiger Stadium as an amateur baseball field may have failed, but the site of the historic ballpark is currently in use ... as an amateur baseball field:
Every Sunday, people from the city and suburbs come to chop weeds, mow the outfield lawn and pick up trash.
And play a little baseball.
This group has no formal name. They are folks from everyday walks of life who love baseball -- and Tiger Stadium.
They've made the field playable, and if the city stays out of their way, they've got goals of doing more. They want to get rid of the high weeds where the grand stands used to stand guard, and they want to bring in seating and permanent bases.
"I just think it would be nice if there were a little ballpark until a larger project comes along," said David Merser of St. Clair Shores.
Which, the way things are going, could be forever.
June 18, 2010
Raze first, ask questions later
The city of Detroit, having torn down Tiger Stadium last year, is now soliciting bids for what to do with the resulting vacant lot.
If this seems backwards to you, you clearly don't understand how Detroit works.
December 30, 2009
Tiger Stadium scoreboard a fake relic?
There were lots of headlines earlier this week when it was announced that the left-field scoreboard from now-demolished Tiger Stadium had been installed at Wayne State University's home field. According to Wayne State's press release:
The scoreboard, installed in 1961, was originally placed at the 440 mark directly at center field, according to the Detroit Historical Society. It was later moved to far left field after many players complained that it was in the batter's line of sight towards the pitcher.
The City of Detroit and the Detroit Historical Society salvaged over 200 pieces of Tiger Stadium for preservation purposes in October 2007.
Sharp-eyed FoS readers, however, noted that this scoreboard — featuring a complete line score of the game — didn't appear to be the 1961 original. In this 1986 photo, for example, you can clearly see a different board, featuring the inning, player at-bat, ball, strikes, outs, and runs, but no line score.
There was some speculation that the new board might have been installed for the filming of the movie 61* after the Tigers had moved out, but that doesn't look to be the case, either. I've dug through my own photos and come up with this one, from August 14, 1986, showing the old board:
And this one from April 18, 1997 showing the new one, now at Wayne State:
(Click on the photos to enlarge.)
Clearly, the board the Detroit Historical Society preserved and relocated to Wayne State was installed sometime between 1987 and 1997. So while it's still a "Tiger Stadium scoreboard," it's somewhat less of a historic remembrance of the ballpark built in 1912. One hopes at least they got the right flagpole.
UPDATE: Reader Paul Wiederecht dug up this photo on a Japanese language site dated 1996 that shows the old board. So it looks as if Wayne State's "historic" scoreboard is only 12 years old, and only served as the Tigers' scoreboard for three years before the team moved out.
September 25, 2009
Stadium death watch: One leaves, one enters
From the Shoot First, Ask Questions Later Dept.:
With Tiger Stadium now history, the Detroit Economic Growth Corp. may soon solicit ideas to redevelop the site.
Meanwhile, the Irving, Texas city council has authorized the demolition of Texas Stadium, the former home of the Dallas Cowboys. According to the Associated Press, the council is hoping to set up an "implosion auction," with tickets marketed "possibly [to fans] from cities with ardent rivals of the Cowboys." Bring your own dust masks!
September 24, 2009
Tiger Stadium is finally completely gone.
Detroit Economic Growth Corp. spokesman Bob Rossbach remarked earlier this week on the resulting vacant lot: "With this done, the site should look pretty good." If you're an opossum, anyway.
September 01, 2009
Ugliest part of Tiger Stadium still standing
Believe it or not, the demolition of Tiger Stadium still isn't finished yet, more than two months after it was ostensibly complete. Still standing: a pile of rubble that was once the home-plate grandstand, and an elevator tower precariously balanced above it. Apparently the tower is too close to Michigan Avenue for it to be demolished without closing the street, though it's hard to avoid the obvious symbolism that the demolition crews are simply leaving the least-lovable part of the stadium for last.
Meanwhile, the Tiger Stadium flagpole is still standing as well, though no one's saying why. As a memorial to the old ballpark, it'd be better than nothing, but just barely.
June 23, 2009
If you'd like to revisit why this came to pass despite widespread support for preserving Tiger Stadium (and not spending public money on its replacement), Joanna and I wrote a whole chapter about it.
June 08, 2009
Judge okays Tiger Stadium demolition
Friday's Tiger Stadium drama, it turns out, was just a temporary stay of execution: Wayne County Judge Prentis Edwards ruled today that the destruction of Tiger Stadium can proceed, effective immediately. While there's still a faint possibility of a court appeal or intervention by the mayor, it seems likely that the backhoes will resume tearing down the Navin Field portion of Tiger Stadium as soon as this afternoon.
Readers of this site are probably already aware of what's being lost here, but in case you're not, I posted a reminder this morning on Baseball Prospectus Unfiltered.
June 06, 2009
Tiger Stadium demo halted by man busting through fence with restraining order
Demolition of the remaining portion of Tiger Stadium was halted today a couple of hours after it began after a judge issued a restraining order and called for a hearing on the matter on Monday — but not immediately after. The Associated Press has the story of how it went down:
But when attorney Michael Myckowiak and others arrived at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull to serve the order on the demolition contractor, they found they couldn't get inside the covered fence surrounding the site.
That's when stadium supporter Chip Owen took the order, got inside the fence and "ran toward the mound with the papers," said Rick Ruffner, a conservancy board member. "He gave the papers to the construction company and demolition stopped immediately."
Owen, 48, of Grosse Pointe Park, was given a warning by police.
You can see video of this scene (and of demolition machines taking some bites out of the Tiger Stadium upper deck) here.
UPDATE: Photo, courtesy of buildingsofdetroit.com, showing the damage done to the upper deck before Owen arrived with the court order:
June 05, 2009
Tiger Stadium demolition is underway
Rod Nelson of the Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy reports that Peter Comstock Riley, who's been pushing for reuse of Tiger Stadium for a decade, is on-site at the stadium and says that demolition began shortly after 3 pm, with the wrecking machines "nibbling on 3b side, lower corner." The Conservancy is seeking an emergency injunction.
I called Mayor Dave Bing's office right at 3, and was told by a spokeswoman that "the decision on Tiger Stadium was made two administrations ago, and we've only been here three weeks." When I noted that Bing was in office now, and asked if he was planning to take any action on the demolition — only the mayor can overrule the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation — she said, "Not to my knowledge," and gave the general impression of really, really wanting to duck the issue. You can ask Bing's office yourself at 313-224-3400.
UPDATE: Nelson reported around 6 pm that the Conservancy had obtained a court order to stop the demolition, but the DEGC was refusing to accept it and was directing the demolition crews to start in on the upper deck.
Just turned on Olbermann to see if he's downgraded George Jackson to "World's Worst" again... [FURTHER UPDATE: Keith's off tonight.]
FINAL UPDATE: Demolition has finally stopped, with a court hearing set for Monday.
Detroit development chief: We'll raze Tiger Stadium tonight, if possible
Detroit Economic Growth Corporation VP Waymon Guillebeaux told Crain's Detroit Business today that demolition of Tiger Stadium could begin tonight if all the paperwork has been completed.
In the meantime, proponents of preserving the home-plate section of the ballpark continue to appeal to Mayor Dave Bing (yes, that Dave Bing) to step in and stop the wrecking crews. (Mayor Bing is apparently the only person who can overrule the EGC; to register your opinion on this, call his office at 313-224-3400.) U.S. Sen. Carl Levin says he appealed to EGC president George Jackson, who's been agitating for demolition for years, but couldn't get him to meet with him; a spokesperson for Jackson says he went to D.C. to meet with Levin, but the senator was unavailable. For lots more accusations and counter-accusations, see the Crain's article.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation, meanwhile, has a nice report on Wednesday's protest, and itself notes:
[T]he DEGC and the city have no alternative plan for the site with any real viability, and certainly no developer or use that is at all shovel-ready. So why the sudden rush to spend significant money to tear it all down? Complete demolition at this time will result only in another empty parcel in a city filled with vacant land awaiting new construction.
We believe the city should extend deadlines for the Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy and encourage continued progress toward a significant redevelopment of an iconic historic resource that will cost the taxpayers of Detroit little and provide a much needed shot in the arm the cash-strapped city desperately needs in these trying times.
June 04, 2009
Vigil, film shoot at Tiger Stadium
With demolition machinery on the scene, about 100 people gathered at Tiger Stadium late last night to protest the ballpark's imminent destruction. Crews are reportedly in the stadium prepping it for demolition.
They apparently won't start today, though: A film crew is on the scene for a one-day shoot, using what remains of the stadium as the backdrop for a Val Kilmer movie. Tiger Stadium, some of you may recall, also stood in for old Yankee Stadium during filming of the HBO movie 61*; somehow I doubt that the site will prove as alluring to filmmakers once it's a vacant lot.
June 03, 2009
Wrecking ball arrives for Tiger Stadium
Okay, not exactly a wrecking ball, but close enough. Apparently the Detroit Economic Development Growth Corporation didn't waste much time finding a demolition contractor, as two large wrecking machines showed up at what's left of Tiger Stadium this afternoon. More information as it becomes available.
Last-ditch effort to save Tiger Stadium
Following yesterday's surprise decision by Detroit's Economic Development Growth Corporation to demolish the remaining section of Tiger Stadium, the Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy sent out this email:
The Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy is shocked and dismayed that a decision was made by the Economic Development Corporation to demolish the Navin Field portion of Tiger Stadium without consulting the Conservancy. The Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy has made considerable progress to move the redevelopment of this property forward by securing millions of dollars in earmarks, grants and tax credits, as well as state approval of historic designation.
Plans are well underway to redevelop this property into a viable and self-sustaining commercial property, a much-needed venue for supporting local youth and amateur sports, and a usable and attractive community green space as exemplified by similar preservation efforts by the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy. The Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy project will be a major contributor to the economic development of the City of Detroit, connecting southeast Michigan to the state and the entire region.
With a new administration in place, we demand that the City not be shortsighted in its vision for the future. We ask that development officials stop demolishing our heritage and instead, develop mixed-use opportunities that promote economic vitality, cultural tourism and healthy green spaces that interlink and sustain neighborhoods. By demolishing, the City loses $22 million in credits and earmarks and adds another vacant lot in the City of Detroit. Apparently, the policy is to save the City by demolishing it.
We encourage citizens to contact the Mayor's office as well as Detroit City Council to voice their concerns.
The Honorable Dave Bing, Mayor, City of Detroit, Executive Office, Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, 2 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, Michigan 48226, 313-224-3400
Thomas W. Linn, President, Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy, http://www.savetigerstadium.org
According to local news reports, demolition is set to begin as soon as a contractor can be found. Though the EDGC may consent to marking the site with a small plaque.
June 02, 2009
Tiger Stadium could be torn down in next two weeks
The long fight to save Tiger Stadium, or at least the sliver that remains, appears to be over, as Detroit's Economic Development Growth Corporation voted yesterday to demolish the last piece of the 1912 ballpark, effective as soon as possible, likely in the next two weeks. Said Detroit EDGC VP Waymon Guillebeaux of the preservationists' efforts, which were still in the works as of three months ago: "We simply can't afford to keep waiting when it is clear that the Conservancy's concept is not financially viable, nor will it be in the immediate future."
There's still presumably a chance that the Detroit city council could step in with a last-second reprieve, as it did last summer after the last time the EDGC called for complete demolition; Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy board member Gary Gillette said the group would "do everything we can -- including calling on all of our friends and supporters -- to try to get this decision reversed." But it sure sounds like this is the end.
I'll have more to write about Tiger Stadium, which to my mind was the finest of the 26 major-league ballparks I've been to, when I have more time to digest this. In the meantime, I'll let former Tigers employee David Gratt's reminiscence stand for itself.
April 28, 2009
Miami Marine Stadium gets "endangered" tag
The National Trust for Historic Preservation has included the Miami Marine Stadium on its list of endangered historic places for 2009. If you've never heard of Miami Marine Stadium, it's probably because you're not a fan of the now pretty much extinct spectator sport of powerboat racing, which the stadium was built for in 1963 before being condemned in 1992 following Hurricane Andrew. Since then it's sat there, rusting, though it does sport some pretty excellent graffiti.
Past sports facilities to make the endangered list include Detroit's Tiger Stadium (1991 and 1992) and Santa Anita Racetrack (2000), and one is now three-quarters demolished and the other is caught up in the same bankruptcy as Pimlico and set to get a giant development project as a neighbor. On the bright side, Cape Cod is still standing.
March 04, 2009
Tiger Stadium rehab now at $27m
The Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy officially delivered its financial plan for preserving what's left of Tiger Stadium on Monday. Preservation magazine has the first detailed description that I've seen: The plan will "return Tiger's historic dugouts and locker rooms to their 1923 appearance [and add] a banquet hall, sports bar, and sports memorabilia store," at a total cost of $27 million; $3.8 million would come from one of those controversial earmarks in the Congressional budget bill, with tax credits covering much of the rest.
That would leave $5 million to be raised, but as Kathy Wendler, president of the Southwest Detroit Business Association, told Preservation: "Considering that the total cost for construction is $27 million, being $5 million short is not bad."
January 22, 2009
Tiger Stadium preservation clears another hurdle
The plan to save what's left of Tiger Stadium and use it as a baseball museum and youth baseball field took another step forward this week, as the Detroit Economic Development Corp. certified the Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy's financial plan for the project. The projected budget is now $27 million, which could include a $4 million federal earmark from Sen. Carl Levin, as well as up to $11 million in state and federal historic preservation tax credits; as for the rest, according to AP:
Additional funding for the project and predevelopment costs such as architects' fees could come from individual donations, foundation support, loans, other state and federal tax credits and possibly a slice of President Barack Obama's proposed stimulus package, according to [Conservancy secretary Gary] Gillette.
I guess there's worse ways of spending stimulus money.