On the day after the final act in the Tiger Stadium drama came to pass, it's helpful to remember that it didn't have to be this way:
It's the smallest ballpark in the majors, many seats are obstructed behind poles, it's crammed into a small city block, and there is no room around the concession stands. And yet, the stadium that is home to the Boston Red Sox, has become a landmark beloved by fans and is thriving in the struggling economy . . .
. . . Built in 1912, Fenway is three years shy of its 100th birthday. Lacking the amenities featured in many new stadiums, the park relies on old-fashioned nostalgia to help sell tickets and incite excitement among fans. "They have managed to tell people that while all the rest of the modern world is basking in this comfort and luxury, you don't come to a ballgame to be comfortable. You come to a ballgame to see the ballgame," said Ryan.
One of the things I'll always wonder is what would have happened if Tigers' owner Mike Ilitch had sunk some money into a thoughtful renovation of Tiger Stadium instead of trying to keep up with the Joneses and build a shiny new park.
I'll grant that the Detroit economy was and will remain terrible, and I'll also grant that it's probably harder to sell nostalgia to someone who visits Detroit to gamble than to someone who comes back to Boston to see the old college campus, but they could have at least tried.
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As a lifelong Tiger fan I wept when they moved to the new digs. But you have to remember that they have built the Lions as many new stadiums as they have played in playoff games (2). I was all ready to hate the new Co-park. But it is pretty nice.
I will forever miss Tiger Stadium. As far as I'm concerned, Tiger Stadium was the best ballpark in the Major Leagues. Comerica Park does not even compare. But, it was becoming just another eye sore out of a thousand eye sores in downtown Detroit. I hope that someday, the Tigers will return to Michigan and Trumbull.
Briggs Stadium and then Tiger Stadium was a very convenient ball park for everyone. It got old and needs to come down. Detroit has a new beautiful stadium, Comerica Park, that is also very convenient for the paying public in Greektown in downtown Detroit that is home to the Detroit Tigers. The Lions play virtually across the street from Comerica Park at Ford Field in their new domed football stadium. Tiger Stadium has been abandoned by both professional sports teams in Detroit and as memories fade so should the ball park. Grand River will never be the same in Detroit so I say to the people that want to keep the old Tiger Stadiud that it is time to let go and demolish the structure, as hard a thought as that is in Detroit. GO WINGS!
I wonder what would have happened if in the 1970's, they had done a true renovation of the old Yankee Stadium rather than a total overhaul *and* 30 years later, another thoughtful renovation....
We're losing the classic "cathederals of baseball", and have little left to show for it. What will happen when the Cubs eventually move out of Wrigley field? It's going to happen someday. Shouldn't we preserve the remaining two classic stadiums as active "Museums" for future fans - even if the major league teams have moved to more modern digs? Certainly, something can be done to keep the old ball parks in use and able to cover their maintenance expenses....
Just a thought....
No! No need to "preserve" old run down ballparks as "museums". What's the point? Are you one of those people with boxes of junk in the attic you're saving for "some day" for "some reason" that will never come?
I was always a proponent to "Save Tiger Stadium" (even had the bumper sticker on my car) until one Tuesday afternoon game in right field I started to look around at the I-beams that were deteriorating in rust. That was really the first time I accepted the fact that we needed a new stadium.
While it's a shame that Tiger Stadium is no more, there are a few bright sides;
1) It didn't meet an uncomfortable demise via a godawful renovation (see: old Yankee Stadium),
2) Comerica is pretty nice and anything new and shiny in Detroit is probably a good thing, and
3) The Tigers are still in Detroit. They're not in Auburn Hills or some other suburb. I imagine it makes things easier to muster up civic pride when the Detroit Tigers actually play in Detroit.
They DID try to save Tiger stadium. And they failed. And that's good. The city doesn't need some run down eye sore taking up space. The stadium doesn't need to stand for the memories to remain. Go find another fluff article to write.
BJW: you miss my point. I was all for tearing down Tiger Stadium after Comerica was built. I wish they would have done it in 2000, because the stadium lost its purpose the moment they stopped playing baseball there.
I merely wish that in the mid 90s someone would have realized how great a gradual and historically faithful renovation of Tiger Stadium -- a la what they've done to Fenway -- could have been and proceeded to do it.
What was your point exactly? I'm not sure. Illitch wasn't "keeping up with the Joneses" .... Illitch IS the Joneses. So you're saying since Boston has kept Fenway, that's why Detroit should've sank millions of dollars into old Tiger stadium? That's not sound business logic. Uh ... lets see, something about a pig and lipstick.
The Joneses were all of the other owners who were getting new stadiums since Camden Yards came online. Illitch wanted in on that gravy train too and got it, complete with public financing and all that it entails. That was his perogative, but I happen to think it was the wrong decision, both because I think a rehabed Tiger Stadium would have been a better place to see a game and because I'm opposed to using taxpayer money to build baseball stadiums for rich guys like Illitch. And none of this would have had anything to do with Fenway. Detroit's moment of truth came well before it was clear that Boston was going to keep and renovate Fenway.
As for business logic. The Red Sox reap a lot of money out of their old park. Tiger Stadium could have been a similar cash cow if given the chance.
As for your last comment, if you think that Tiger Stadium was a pig and renovating it would have been mere lipstick that's great, but it also means that you and I just aren't going to agree on much of anything.
Tough to comment on this one being a Phillies fan, nobody cared when they demolished the Vet (at least not on the side of saving it), except for the cats and rats.
Fenway is a DUMP, the Owner just want to pocket as much MONEY as possible.
Citi field- Mets New Home, is FAN-TASTIC I was AMAZED AT THE VIEWING of the
GAME from everyplace possible, PRICES ARE CRAzY BUT IT IS 2009.
I'm not a baseball fan, but I've been to Fenway for concerts and I love it better than some of the newer venues. We have what was once called "Great Woods," which I believe is now "The Tweeter Center." It's only for shows, not sports and it blows chunks in so many ways - specifically the lawn, where people once brought chairs and blankets to relax. It had actual grass. People were allowed to bring food and beverages.
Now the "lawn" is made of wood chips and people stood shoulder to shoulder the last time I had the displeasure of having a ticket there. The sound is better there than in the covered seats - so you have a choice of a real seat with horrid sound, or an uncomfortable "lawn" with better sound. And if you want a beer and a hot dog, well, they should have a booth where people can take out second mortgages on their homes, because you can't bring anything in.
Likewise, I saw shows at the old "Boston Garden." They replaced that landmark arena with a new facility. I saw a concert there, too, and while the views were decent, the seating was SCARY. I'm only 5' 5" and the bar protecting people sitting up in the higher levels only came up to my thigh. I was afraid to stand, petrified to dance; it felt like, with just one accidental shove, I could end up splattered all over the people below me.
Fenway has been expanded over the years to accomodate the demand for more seats and I hope they keep improving it rather than replacing it. It's not just the place, itself, but the neighborhood, Kenmore Square, Landsdowne Street, with the pubs and bars which are the center of Boston nightlife and a place where some now-famous artists once played (like U2.)