Obstructed views in Comerica Park?

**EL Jimbo** · September-14-11, 09:01 AM

I think some people are looking back on Tiger Stadium's design with some slightly rose-colored glasses. People are absolutely correct that the majority of the upper deck seats at TS were the BEST seats in baseball bar none. However, in order to get those seats, there were thousands of the WORST seats in baseball in the lower deck.

I sat in the upper deck for every game except one at Tiger Stadium. My last game was in Sept of 99 when seats were very hard to come by as everyone wanted one last trip to the ballpark before it closed. Our seats were in the lower deck WAY back. It was great to have one last trip there, but from a fan viewing perspective, it was very disappointing.

If the ball got more than ten feet in the air, I couldn't see it and I had to follow the movement of the players to track the play. It was dark, it was dank. I had a brand new ball cap ruined by a greasy liquid of some sort dripping down from the upper deck. Not exactly a positive fan experience.

The difference between CP and TS are this. TS was designed so either you had the best seats or the worst seats with little in between. CP, with its open design and sight lines offers very few of the best seats, very few worst seats, and a lot of good to OK seats.

I like both parks. I think there were many great things about Tiger Stadium and I think there are many great things about Comerica Park. And for the people saying you need binoculars at Comerica Park, I suggest you schedule a visit to your optometrist rather than the ball park. I've sat in the very last row of CP and, while not the best seats, I saw everything just fine.

**rjk** · September-14-11, 09:30 AM

Originally Posted by EL Jimbo

I think some people are looking back on Tiger Stadium's design with some slightly rose-colored glasses. People are absolutely correct that the majority of the upper deck seats at TS were the BEST seats in baseball bar none. However, in order to get those seats, there were thousands of the WORST seats in baseball in the lower deck.

I think you're right, that's the way it is with most things when you're looking back at them.

I recall going to a game in the mid 70's and my dad complaing to the ticket agent for selling us some seats directly behind a pole. I don't think there were 15,000 there that day. They were terrible seats.

Just give me a hot dog and a beer and a team on a 11 game winning streak and Comerica is the best stadium in the world. Just win baby.

**Downriviera** · September-14-11, 09:54 AM

There were some obstructed view seats at Tiger Stadium and Olympia, but not thousands. I can't speak for Tiger Stadium, but for the Olympia no one ever sat in those seats. They were basically a standing room ticket and you just went and found a good standing spot, which there was plenty of. The corporate fans of today need more than just the true spirit of the game. They need the blaring music and all the amenities [[sushi, croissants, etc.) to be entertained properly. Most real fans just love the game and want to be as close to it as possible. Most of these people can be found watching the game in sports bars and at home. I still go, just not as much and I don't enjoy it like I used to. As for these young fans who never saw a game at Tiger Stadium and love Comerica Park. Take them to a game at Wrigley Field and then see what they say.

**EL Jimbo** · September-14-11, 10:17 AM

Originally Posted by Downriviera

There were some obstructed view seats at Tiger Stadium and Olympia, but not thousands. I can't speak for Tiger Stadium, but for the Olympia no one ever sat in those seats. They were basically a standing room ticket and you just went and found a good standing spot, which there was plenty of. The corporate fans of today need more than just the true spirit of the game. They need the blaring music and all the amenities [[sushi, croissants, etc.) to be entertained properly. Most real fans just love the game and want to be as close to it as possible. Most of these people can be found watching the game in sports bars and at home. I still go, just not as much and I don't enjoy it like I used to. As for these young fans who never saw a game at Tiger Stadium and love Comerica Park. Take them to a game at Wrigley Field and then see what they say.

I didn't say there were thousands of "obstructed view" seats, but there were certainly thousands of seats in the lower deck that certainly had a limited view vertically due to how far the upper deck overhang stuck out. It was definitely a less than pleasurable experience to sit in seats where I couldn't see the path of any ball hit higher than a sharp line drive to determine whether it was fair or foul or how far it is traveling.

In the game in 99 I mentioned we sat down the 3rd base line between 3rd and home. I specifically remember a home run hit into the upper deck in left field. We never saw the ball. I watched the left fielder turn and run back a few steps before stopping and looking up. Then the crowd started roaring. I turned to my dad and said, "well I guess that was a home run".

That ticket might not have been listed as an obstructed view seat, but my view was definitely obstructed. And there were thousands of other seats just like mine all around the lower deck of Tiger Stadium.

**downtownguy** · September-14-11, 12:35 PM

Originally Posted by Downriviera

There were some obstructed view seats at Tiger Stadium and Olympia, but not thousands.

Tiger Stadium did have thousands of obstructed view seats; about 10,000 in fact. However, when you subtract that from it's capacity of nearly 53,000, it still had more "non-obstructed" seats than the CoPa. And much, much better seats at that.

**jackie5275** · September-14-11, 10:00 AM

Originally Posted by rjk

I recall going to a game in the mid 70's and my dad complaing to the ticket agent for selling us some seats directly behind a pole. I don't think there were 15,000 there that day. They were terrible seats.

I think in the 70s & 80s before Illitch bought the team & computerized the ticket sales, the guys at the ticket booths were told to sell the crummy seats first. I also think they had alot of individual discretion with the seats they sold. During the 80s, I wasn't a season ticket holder, but went individually to about 40-45 games a year. Over a few years, I got friendly with a guy in one of the booths who would always give me a good seat, like a single box or 1st row reserved, always somewhere between 1B & 3B. Just like saying goes, it's who you know.