Does anyone in here consider Comerica Park home?

[Detroitnerd]

Bear in mind, baseball games at "the Corner" are much older than Tiger Stadium [[1961-1999). Or Briggs Stadium [[1938-1960). Or Navin Field [[1912-1938). Or Bennett Park [[1896-1911). They date back to and before it was named Boulevard Park [[1890s).

If parking was the complaint, it probably wasn't such a hot idea to rip out the Trumbull and Michigan cars in the mid-20th century. That's when they must have really started knocking down houses for parking ...

Still, it's a clever tactic to suggest that Tiger Stadium and its previous incarnations somehow threatened a historic neighborhood. Nice try.

[drjeff]

I'm a huge Tigers fan and have been to nearly 300 games at Comerica Park in addition to the 50 or so I saw at Tiger Stadium. I've seen games in 10 other big league stadiums as well. As a baseball fan, of course Tiger Stadium was the better place to watch a game- the upper deck there was like no other place in baseball, right on top of the field. However, the price to pay for that was a very large number of seats with obstructed view, which nobody likes.

As newer parks go, Comerica is one of the better ones. The reason for the low sloping of the lower deck is so that the upper deck is not so far away from the field as it is in most other parks. Compared to Tiger Stadium it's much father up, but compared to just about anywhere else, it is actually quite close. Try sitting in the upper deck in Baltimore, Atlanta, etc. and you may as well stay at home and watch on TV.

I was at the last game at Tiger Stadium in 1999 and shed a tear or two. I was at the first game at Comerica Park in 2000 and didn't like the "carnival" aspects of it as a baseball fan. I missed the history and intimacy of Tiger Stadium. But the fact is that the CoPa a pretty good place to see a game and is very family friendly. You can still get a $5 ticket in the upper deck and roam around the park. You can see the field from anywhere on the concourse and you can see the entire field from any seat.

[softailrider]

Bear in mind, baseball games at "the Corner" are much older than Tiger Stadium [[1961-1999). Or Briggs Stadium [[1938-1960). Or Navin Field [[1912-1938). Or Bennett Park [[1896-1911). They date back to and before it was named Boulevard Park [[1890s).

If parking was the complaint, it probably wasn't such a hot idea to rip out the Trumbull and Michigan cars in the mid-20th century. That's when they must have really started knocking down houses for parking ...

Still, it's a clever tactic to suggest that Tiger Stadium and its previous incarnations somehow threatened a historic neighborhood. Nice try.

I never had a complaint about the parking. I had a certain house that I went to and I parked on their lawn or, somewhere in their yard. They were always happy to see me, they watched the cars. Never had even a hint of a problem.

[johnsmith]

...although old-time male Detroiters like myself still get all nostalgic over the ol' horse troughs

Those horse troughs were disgusting. Nothing like everyone taking a communal whiz and watching all the hues of yellow blend into one. And the sword-fights were always way out of control. Ahh, the good ol' days!

[rb336]

Yes. don't you all see me yelling at everyone to get the #@!! of my lawn at every game?

[Vic_doucette]

you can see the entire field from any seat.

Not true.

I was at the last game of the 2006 ALCS, the game that Maggs won with his home run that sent the Tigers to the World Series.

My friend and I were up so high in the upper deck on the left field foul line that we couldn't see where the ball landed -- or even if it left the field. The scoreboard was blocking our view.

The only way we could tell what was happening on that play was to watch the reactions of the players on the field. When they started jumping up and down and celebrating, we knew it was our turn to do the same thing.

[Blarf]

However, the price to pay for that was a very large number of seats with obstructed view, which nobody likes.

Bahh, I think that statement is way over-emphasized.

Tiger Stadium may of had a lot of obstructed views, but the amazing views that far out-do anything Comerica has to offer, more than made up for it. So it kind of evened out.

Unless you sat in a small pocket of seats directly behind a poll, or the last few rows in some parts of the lower deck, most obstructed views weren't that bad.

I'd rather be behind a poll, in the shade, and really close to the action than in a hot, shadeless, unobstructed view that's really far from the field.

[JMarx]

Does anyone have any architectural insight as to why they built Comerica the way they did? I would've thought that Tiger Stadium would be, if nothing else, a very good example of what makes a great and beloved ballpark. I think a lot of us would have been a lot happier with something more like a post-less Tiger Stadium with modern amenities, more like what the Yankees did with the new Yankee Stadium, than what we got, whatever its virtues [[like I said above, the place really isn't THAT bad.).

So, while I know it has to be somewhat different from the old stadium, every time I've gone to Comerica I've wondered why it had to be SO different.

I guess the things that strike me most are these. Why was the upper deck built so far back from the field, with so much exposed lower deck stands beyond it? Why no real roof for the upper deck, so almost all fans are left fully exposed to the elements? Why is the slope in a lot of the lower deck so slight that you often can't see clearly over the head of the person sitting in front of you? Why in the world were the walls built so deep up the alleys? [[A situation they eventually had to "fix" with that awful cyclone fence that puts left field spectators even further from the action and leaves the old flagpole out of play.)

I suppose I understand why they built the park south-facing, with that enormous gap in center and right fields. It gives the fans that skyline view, which is one of the place's best features. But it can seem to 'deaden' the crowd response, especially for those of us used to the more hothouse atmosphere of the fully enclosed old ballpark. Worse than that though, for most of the summer it makes seats along the third baseline unbearable during day games, and even for the first several innings of night games, with thousands of fans baking and staring directly into the sun, as well as messing up some hitters and fielders. This is the main reason why most baseball fields are built facing northeast.

Oh, and just something that nags the hell out of me, who decided on that silly left field corner of the upper deck that blocks out part of the scoreboard for most of the stadium?

I'm with you, EastsideAl... While I don't hate Comerica, I think it was a big miss architecturally. [[while I don't buy conspiracy theories, it does seem like Ilitch built the anti-Tiger Stadium) Seems to me that most of the signature design elements [[pushed back upper deck, sunken field, etc) are probably economic. A sunken field means less structure to build...opposite of towering Tiger Stadium. Pushed back upper deck [[and suites) makes easier structural construction as the support beams are in the concourses...etc...

Man...what I wouldn't give for a Tiger Stadium version of new Yankee Stadium...sigh...

[Gistok]

Bear in mind, baseball games at "the Corner" are much older than Tiger Stadium [[1961-1999). Or Briggs Stadium [[1938-1960). Or Navin Field [[1912-1938). Or Bennett Park [[1896-1911). They date back to and before it was named Boulevard Park [[1890s).

If parking was the complaint, it probably wasn't such a hot idea to rip out the Trumbull and Michigan cars in the mid-20th century. That's when they must have really started knocking down houses for parking ...

Still, it's a clever tactic to suggest that Tiger Stadium and its previous incarnations somehow threatened a historic neighborhood. Nice try.

Detroitnerd.

Streetcars were retired in 1955.... and Detroit was at its' peak population at that time. I own the Arcadia book on downtown Movie Palaces, and there is a very interesting photo of West GCP being nothing more than a 50 foot deep massive hole getting ready for the GCP underground parking structure in 1955.

One reason why Detroit's streetcars were retired is likely because more and more cars were on the roads in the years after WWII, and thus fewer riders to keep the streetcar system running.

In the GCP example... many streetcar lines converged around GCP, and there was a strong demand for vehicular parking in that area for the businesses in the day time, and for the theatre district at night.

That demand for more parking may have exacerbated the Corktown situation. Although neither of us knows exactly what Corktown looked like at that time, it would be safe to assume that the less well maintained houses in that area were likely purchased as demo's. 81 games for parking of... I donno 10-15 cars on one empty lot... that could have genereated quite some income over several years.

So although it may be somewhat of a stretch to say that Tiger Stadium ruined Corktown... just the business potential of the neighborhood made buying a rundown house or empty lot quite lucrative. Nowhere else in Detroit's neighborhoods was an empty lot as desireable as a cash cow as in Corktown [[and possibly to a lesser degree near Olympia).

[Campfire Girl]

It's ok to visit - I've gone a few times in the past 5 years, but often went to 30+ games per year at TS. Feels like I'm in a visitor's stadium. not a bad venue, just not home.

[jackie5275]

Bahh, I think that statement is way over-emphasized.

Tiger Stadium may of had a lot of obstructed views, but the amazing views that far out-do anything Comerica has to offer, more than made up for it. So it kind of evened out.

Unless you sat in a small pocket of seats directly behind a poll, or the last few rows in some parts of the lower deck, most obstructed views weren't that bad.

I'd rather be behind a poll, in the shade, and really close to the action than in a hot, shadeless, unobstructed view that's really far from the field.

I agree the obstructed view seats weren't that bad unless you were directly behind a pole. I think you're right in saying this was over emphasized. I remember that was one of the huge selling points of Comerica-no more pole seats. I'm with you & Al. I'll take an obstructed view seat in the shade over baking in Comerica, especially after getting sunburned out there twice this season.

[Detroitnerd]

Detroitnerd.

Streetcars were retired in 1955.... and Detroit was at its' peak population at that time. I own the Arcadia book on downtown Movie Palaces, and there is a very interesting photo of West GCP being nothing more than a 50 foot deep massive hole getting ready for the GCP underground parking structure in 1955.

One reason why Detroit's streetcars were retired is likely because more and more cars were on the roads in the years after WWII, and thus fewer riders to keep the streetcar system running.

Gistok: I respect you and often love reading your posts, but here I am afraid you don't grasp the real history of the end of the streetcar.

First of all, the last streetcar ended service in 1956, not 1955.

Second of all, what we're talking about here is the transformation of the all-streetcar system Detroit bought in the early 1920s -- the DSR, or Department of Street Railways -- into the all-bus system we know today -- DDOT, or the Detroit Department of Transportation.

Due to a number of managers who saw buses as the mode of the future -- as well as wave after wave of propaganda that streetcars were outdated [[see Futurama) and private motorcars and motor coaches were the wave of the future -- the DSR gradually became more and more a bus-oriented system. This is not to say that Detroiters didn't love the streetcars -- in informal polls, they thought discontinuing them was a terrible idea. And streetcar ridership spiked during the Second World War. So getting rid of streetcar service was a top-down, management-driven decision: to discontinue rail service and use buses instead. This was not due to ridership or any other consideration, unless you consider the pressure from the top, and expressway-happy politicians like Albert Cobo. [[His early freeway-building efforts were derided as "Cobo Canals.")

Furthermore, Detroit had just bought a whole new fleet of PCC streamliners. By 1956, Detroit sold them at fire-sale prices to Mexico City, where they were still in use until a few years ago -- too many had been destroyed by earthquakes to make maintaining the fleet sensible.

Only today are Detroiters beginning to understand that you can move hundreds of people without the demand for parking via streetcar -- or today's updated light rail vehicle, another "mode of choice" -- where you can move perhaps dozens using personal vehicles. Ripping out the Trumbull car and the Michigan car meant that you could take a slow, small, bumpy bus or -- with greater comfort -- ride in your personal vehicle.

Make no mistake, though: Streetcars were taken away from the people, not crowded off the roads by all them cars.

[Gistok]

1955 or 1956.... whatever.... I'm not going to split hairs with you... but the increase in auto ownership/ridership put further strains on "where to park" for both the downtown and Corktown areas.... to the detriment of both....

[Detroitnerd]

1955 or 1956.... whatever.... I'm not going to split hairs with you... but the increase in auto ownership/ridership put further strains on "where to park" for both the downtown and Corktown areas.... to the detriment of both....

We agree on the strains of parking, but without fast-moving rail transit to whisk people around, they had to drive, and that's what ultimately poured on the pressure.

[EastSider]

I'd rather be behind a poll, in the shade, and really close to the action than in a hot, shadeless, unobstructed view that's really far from the field.

You've been to Wrigley, too!

[1KielsonDrive]

You've been to Wrigley, too!

I go to Wrigley more often than COPA. The Cubbies will never be my team, but baseball is much more fun to watch there.

[iheartthed]

I go to Wrigley more often than COPA. The Cubbies will never be my team, but baseball is much more fun to watch there.

I agree with this comment. I don't have anything against CoPa, but going to Tiger Stadium seemed like more fun. Maybe it's just nostalgia. I like Wrigley because it reminds me of Tiger Stadium, and Wrigleyville in a small way reminds me of what Corktown used to feel like on game days. I also preferred the old Yankee Stadium over the new Yankee Stadium, but even there it seems like some of the flavor was preserved by constructing the new stadium in the general vicinity of the old site.