Dominick Kizy

November 20, 2015

Section 12
Out With the Old and In With the New
Detroit is planning to spend $1.5 billion on capital improvements to escape its
$18 billion debt.1 Part of this improvement was tearing down the old Tiger Stadium to
create the new Comerica Park. Many people had been against this teardown as the
Tiger Stadium, which had been standing for 80+ years, had a lot of memories that the
fans were not ready to let go of. This creates the question of whether or not the Tigers
Stadium should have been demolished in the first place. Although there was much
history that the Tigers stadium held, there were just too many problems that came
along with it, and its physical structure was a huge cause of this. Tearing down the
Tigers Stadium and building Comerica Park not only creates a new way of viewing
baseball, but is also a symbol of how Detroit is rising from its past.
The physical structure of the Tigers Stadium is the main reason why it had gotten torn
down. Travis Fryman, the Indians All-Star third basemen who spent eight seasons in a
Tigers uniform, had stated that the Tigers stadium is old, the facilities aren't good
enough, it doesn't have any of the amenities that allow the Tigers to compete with the
bigger teams and it's not really a pleasant place to play or to watch a game. The fans
here deserve better and they'll be getting that in the new stadium." 2 Although Comerica
Park is more luxurious in its physical features, the Tigers Stadium did have features
that had the working families (specifically the factory workers) in mind. For example, it
1 McCampbell, Candy. "Detroit Makeover Gearing Up to Tear Down Old Structures." ENR 272.8 (2014):
10. ProQuest. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.

2 Tunstall, Brooke. "Last Roar for Tiger Stadium." Insight on the News Oct 1999: 33. ProQuest. Web. 22
Nov. 2015

has the greatest number of feature and outfield seats as well as the closest seats to the
pitch. In addition, people in these seats can see the sweat pouring off the players, hear
what theyre saying, and listen to the fans all cheering. 3 But unfortunately, the times are
changing and so are the economics.
Before Comerica Park was built, the Tigers havent been to the playoffs since
1987 and their home was seen as a major reason for this. The stadium has no luxury
boxes or corporate suites and sells very little in corporate signs. It's also not a
comfortable place to watch a game; seats are too small for the average adult male and
the sight lines are often terrible. 2 This said, these physical flaws result in the Tigers not
making enough money to pay for high-salary agents as well as better players, therefore
resulting in the Tigers playing poorly. With the new Comerica Park, the new
management will start bringing in better players and the team will perform much better. 2
Them playing better will attract more customers that will sell out the newer and better
seats, which will further increase the amount of money the Tigers make while offering
an improved viewing experience for these fans.
Not only did the actual stadium change, but so did its location. The Tigers
Stadium had its main doors on the corner of Michigan and Trumbull in a city called
Corktown, while Comerica Park is in downtown Detroit next to Ford Field. The stadium
had been relocated for many reasons. One of these is that Detroit had lost more than
900,000 people since 1950.4 This great loss of people meant that it was time for the
3 TIGER STADIUM IN DETROIT IN BAD SHAPE. Washington, D.C.: National Public Radio, 1992.
ProQuest. Web. 23 Nov. 2015.

4 Hyman, Peter. "Why Detroit Needs to Tear down Tiger Stadium." Slate. The Slate Group, 31 Aug. 2007.
Web. 23 Nov. 2015.

Tigers stadium to move downtown, where it could get the biggest audience possible. In
addition, Detroit is undergoing its own revitalization project in which millions of dollars
are being funded in order to tear down and rebuild many buildings to make Detroit
better than it has ever has been. The process of destroying the Tigers Stadium and
building Comerica Park is Detroits way of sending a message that it is striving to create
a new and finer path rather than sitting back idly and waiting for the good old days to
return.4
The pictures above display the entrance of Comerica Park as well as the inside
of it. These big tigers and beautiful seats have meaning to the people of Detroit. It gives
them pride of their park, their team, and their city. This stadium is in the heart of Detroit
and is a place where everybody can come, regardless of race or socioeconomic status,
and to
view a
sport
that
they
all
love
as

equals. It brings people together with its cheap tickets and fun entertainment that leaves

them loving the place they live in. The Tigers Stadium had to be torn down in order to
build a new park that symbolizes the growing fire within the center of Detroit that is only
burning stronger everyday.

Works Cited
Hyman, Peter. "Why Detroit Needs to Tear down Tiger Stadium." Slate. The Slate
Group, 31 Aug. 2007. Web. 23 Nov. 2015.
McCampbell, Candy. "Detroit Makeover Gearing Up to Tear Down Old Structures." ENR
272.8 (2014): 10. ProQuest. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.

TIGER STADIUM IN DETROIT IN BAD SHAPE. Washington, D.C.: National

Public Radio, 1992. ProQuest. Web. 23 Nov. 2015.
Tunstall, Brooke. "Last Roar for Tiger Stadium." Insight on the News Oct 1999: 33.
ProQuest. Web. 22 Nov. 2015