ahh the memories ...



Tiger Stadium to be torn down, but part of field will remain



DETROIT (AP) -- Tiger Stadium will be demolished to make way for homes and stores under a plan that will save parts of the historic baseball venue.

A portion of the field will be kept as a Little League diamond along with part of the stadium.




"I think it's something everybody will enjoy and love," Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick said Friday.

The decision to demolish the stadium follows years of intense efforts to find a developer who would refurbish it or convert it to other uses. It has been largely vacant since the Detroit Tigers moved out in 1999 in favor of the new downtown Comerica Park.

"Nobody was interested in the site with a stadium on it," Kilpatrick said following a dedication ceremony for church-sponsored housing development project.

The project will include 150 to 300 homes and retail space.

The cost of demolition will be anywhere from $2 million to $6 million, said Peter Zeiler, an aide to Jackson. It will be offset by the value of the stadium as scrap and as a treasure chest of sports memorabilia, which could include seats and signs.

He said the city hopes to find a salvage contractor familiar with marketing sports memorabilia that can begin offering pieces of the stadium to the public by October.

"The possibility of something happening at that site is very exciting," said City Councilman Ken Cockrel Jr., who said he would reserve judgment on the plan until the council receives financial details.

The Tigers began playing at the site near downtown late in the 19th century and moved into Tiger Stadium in 1912.

FINALLY!

2the9s said:

I heard about this this morning. Tiger Stadium has been apart of Detroit's fabric for generations and it will be sad to not have it there any longer. On the bright side, the Tigers play in an incredible new stadium downtown (Ive already been to 5 games) and they are having an amazing season. It'll be great for the people of Corktown to have more retail and residential options. Im sure the result of the razing of Tiger Stadium with this new development will serve the neighborhood well.

Until then, GO TIGERS!!!

historic Tiger Stadium


Comerica Park. New home of the Detroit Tigers.

I'm happy to say that I had been to a game there while the Tigers were still playing at that location. At least I got to before they left and now before it's torn down.

R.I.P., Tiger Stadium.

The cover of today's Detoit News.

I remember when Comerica Park first opened, because the outfield was so huge, its nickname was Comerica STATE Park.

That's all I can say about that right now.

How about the rest of Detroit?

applekisses said:

Hopefully most of Detroit will be torn down by OCP to make way for Delta City. According to OCP officials it will create 2 million new jobs. However, OCP are well aware of the current level of crime within Detroit and so they are rolling out phase one of their new crime initiative:











































ED-209

GaryTheNoTrashCougar said:

U're so original.

dreamfactory313 said:

Thanks groucho

sextonseven said:

They've since moved the outfield fence in closer. Its still huge though. In most other major league parks, that area would be a homerun territory. Its terribly difficult to hit a homer there at the Copa(Comerica Park).

Jason Giambi tattooed Comerica a couple weeks ago in the 11th inning. Word.

jerseykrs said:

What the hell does that mean?

applekisses said:

he hit a home run.

Ahhhh...the memories of watching Mark "The Bird" Fydrich, Al Kaline, Alan Tramell and SWEET LOU WHITAKER!!! And Sparky Anderson....all class acts. I will hold my days at Tiger Stadium dear to my heart....and Belle Isle and Bob-Lo Island!

Whap

lilgish said:

Thank you, I forget I have to talk slow for apples.

2the9s said:

DexMSR said:

Ahhh... Bob-Lo Island!

Aww! I'm saddened to see the old Tiger Stadium demolished, but I'm happy for any progress for the city of Detroit. Bye Bye Tiger Stadium .

DexMSR said:

Dex is an old Detroiter? WOW! Who the hell knew?

Boblo is gone but the boat ride memories will live forever. As far as Tiger Stadium, it wasn't lookin too good and needed something. I'd rather they bring something positive to Cork Town rather than a vacant building, but that's just me.

Tiger Stadium Trivia

Had a 125 ft (38 m) tall flagpole in fair play, to the left of dead center field near the 440 ft (134 m) mark.

When it closed, it was tied with Fenway Park as the oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball the way the dates are normally reckoned. They opened on the exact same date in 1912. Taking predecessor Bennett Field into account, this was the oldest site in use in 1999.

The right-field upper deck overhung the field by 10 feet (3 m), prompting the installation of lights above the warning track.

Was the second-to-last stadium to install lights for night play, before Wrigley Field.

Had upper-deck bleacher seating in the outfield.

Was host to 11,111 home runs, the last a mammoth, right field, roof top grand slam by Detroit's Robert Fick as the last hit in the last game played there.

The depth in straightaway center field was actually 425 ft (130 m), not the 440 ft (134 m) as shown on the centerfield wall.

Tiger Stadium was home to the Detroit Lions from 1938 to 1974 when they dropped their final Tiger Stadium game to the Denver Broncos on Thanksgiving Day. The football field ran mostly in the outfield from the right field line to left center field parallel with the third base line. The benches for both the Lions and their opponents were on the outfield side of the field.

On July 13, 1934, Babe Ruth hit his 700th career home run at The Corner.

May 2, 1939, will be forever remembered in the annals of baseball as the day New York Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig voluntarily benched himself at Briggs Stadium, ending a streak of 2,130 consecutive games.

The stadium was depicted in Tiger Town, a 1983 made-for-television baseball movie starring Roy Scheider, and (as Briggs Stadium) in the 1980 feature film Raging Bull where the stadium was the site of two of Jake LaMotta's championship boxing matches. Tiger Stadium was also seen in the film Hardball starring Keanu Reeves.

In the summer of 2000, the HBO movie 61* was filmed in Tiger Stadium. To make the field appear to be Yankee Stadium, the seats were painted green and a third deck and skyline of the Bronx were added through the use of CG. In the credit roll at the end of the film, Yankee Stadium is listed as a character played by Tiger Stadium. Coincidently, it was at Tiger Stadium that Roger Maris hit his first home run of his record-breaking 1961 season.

The stadium hosted the 1941, 1951, and 1971 MLB All-Star games.

From the departure of the Detroit Tigers in 1999 through early 2006, the city of Detroit spent nearly $4 million maintaining Tiger Stadium.

Major League Baseball expressed interest in making use of Tiger Stadium during the 2005 MLB All-Star Game, which was held at nearby Comerica Park. No events were held at Tiger Stadium that weekend.

In February 2006, Tiger Stadium's field was used for the 2006 Anheuser-Busch Bud Bowl advertising event, part of the unofficial Super Bowl XL festivities.

http://en.wikipedia.org/w...er_Stadium

DexMSR said:

yeah

Has anyone ever seen this Disney movie, Tiger Town? I remember seeing it on the Disney channel about 15 years ago when I was a kid. Anyone who is a lover of Tiger Stadium would adore this film. Its a must have, especially since it is soon to be no more.



From Amazon.com: "Tiger Town" is 75 minutes of unpretentious, lovingly rendered magic. Written and directed by 25-year-old Alan Shapiro, "Tiger Town" tells the story of a 12-year-old Detroit Tigers fan, and a veteran ballplayer -- patterned after Al Kaline -- who leads his team to a pennant after a midseason slump.
The boy, played by Justin Henry, believes that he can will his idol into performing well through fierce concentration in the stands. He and the seasoned slugger, played by Roy Scheider, meet in only one brief scene. They have a connection, but it would ruin it to label it. You could call it a film about baseball and faith, but that sounds corny and this film isn't.

Much of the production focues on baseball action, and it's elegantly and excitingly executed with a fervent fan's eye for intriguing detail. Crisp photography, adroit sound modulation, deft editing and a bright, economical score all add to the impact of this charismatic mood piece. The film was shot at Tiger Stadium, and at other Detroit locations, which are evocatively conveyed.

Henry's low-key performance in this film is winsome without being protypically Disneyesque. As the ballplayer with the blazing bat, Scheider doesn't have many lines, but the range of emotions registered on his face during his triumphs and slumps are priceless. Former Tigers manager and baseball legend Sparky Anderson, Hall of Fame broadcaster Ernie Harwell, and ex-Supreme Mary Wilson make cameo appearances and enhance the authentic flavor of the film.

But it's Shapiro's success, right down to the tension he builds as Henry almost misses the final game. Packed with inventiveness, vitality and economy, "Tiger Town" strikes home. Shapiro's brought of a gem of a film. - Armin Miewes

by the way, the TIGERS just won their 51st game, sweeping the Cardinals.

dreamfactory313 said: