Comerica Park Renovations

[buckster1986]

It looks like the scoreboard is getting an overhaul at the expense of Tigerfest but I'll take it.

TigerFest put on hiatus for one year

Renovations to Comerica Park necessitate cancellation

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 12/14/11 10:30 AM EST

DETROIT -- Progress usually takes time. Sometimes, it takes more than that. This is one of those times for the Tigers at Comerica Park, which is about to get some improvements for 2012.
While Tigers fans can look forward to an improved ballpark atmosphere next season, including upgrades to the enormous left-field scoreboard, the work required to get it done is going to take some patience through the long Michigan winter. Much as the Tigers hoped they could go ahead with TigerFest through it all, it has now become clear they can't hold it at their home. As a result, the club is putting its annual winter warmup event on a one-year hiatus, though their Winter Caravan will still go on as planned.

Read more here:

http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/news/a...s_det&c_id=det

[buckster1986]

TigerFest canceled due to Comerica Park renovations; scoreboard to be updated
BY LYNN HENNING THE DETROIT NEWS

Detroit— Although they are keeping specific details quiet until just before Opening Day, the Tigers are upgrading 11-year-old Comerica Park, with emphasis on dramatic changes to the scoreboard, ahead of their 2012 season.

Those renovations have forced the club to cancel its annual January celebration, TigerFest, because of safety concerns and space problems associated with the remodeling.
Read more here:

http://www.detnews.com/article/20111214/SPORTS0104/112140385/TigerFest-canceled-due-Comerica-Park-renovations-scoreboard-updated?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

[CLAUDE G]

If they would have not let Tiger Stadium go to crap and eventually tear it down, we could have had Tiger Fest there.

Its still a good location, if they want to setup temporary tents.

[Gistok]

Couldn't it be held at Ford Field this one time?

Never mind... it seems that the Lion's winning streak is ruining it all for TigerFest fans.


[[I'm kiddin'!).

[wolverine]

It was starting to show a little wear and tear so it's good to hear its getting renovations

[sirrealone]

Compared to those in other parks, the Comerica Park scoreboard was way out of date. That they're updating this is great news!

[buckster1986]

I came up with a short list of things I felt needed to be addressed....

http://woodwardspine.com/2011/08/29/...-still-shines/

[Occurrence]

Forget the scoreboard, if they are going to do some renovations they should put some seats in that aren't so far away from the field. Maybe find a way to put some shade in the place so you don't have to bake in the sun.

Comerica Park is bland and lacks character. I have a hard time believing people actually like that place. I think people have just accepted the fact that they are stuck with this mediocre corporate piece of crap and trick themselves into thinking they enjoy it.

[1953]

Maybe they can paint it blue and orange and put in awnings and center-field bleachers and move it to Michigan and Trumbull?

[ThisIsForTheHeart]

Hopefully they put in two big scoreboards on each side of the field. I couldn't see the scoreboard during playoff time as i was sitting underneath it.

[DetroitPlanner]

They need more rides. Comerica Park is a pretty pathetic amusement park with only two. They have a bunch of green space in the center. I hope Ilitch puts in some roller coasters!

[sycloneman]

They need more rides. Comerica Park is a pretty pathetic amusement park with only two. They have a bunch of green space in the center. I hope Ilitch puts in some roller coasters!

Kid Rock could throw a concert for the opening of the rides and call it "Bad Ass Bonanza" or something similar.

[corktownyuppie]

Maybe Illitch can install a time machine so that patrons can return back to the era of their choosing and enjoy baseball from the comfort of their own fantasies.

[ghettopalmetto]

I came up with a short list of things I felt needed to be addressed....

http://woodwardspine.com/2011/08/29/...-still-shines/

Comerica Park is showing it's age? Well, it is ELEVEN years old, which makes it downright crusty by Detroit standards. And all those obsolete dinosaur buildings in right-center field are just--distracting. Someone get George Jackson on the case....

IMHO, Fenway Park and Wrigley Field--both almost 90 years older than Commercialism Park, offer a far better fan experience. That is, for fans who show up for the baseball and not-so-much the rides.

One of the worst mistakes Detroit made in the past 100 years.

[buckster1986]

It's unfair to compare Comerica to Fenway and Wrigley. In todays ballpark standards it is a little behind in its use of technology. I'm not arguing that those parks offer a better experience. Anyone who knows me will tell you how much I loved Tiger Stadium.

[ghettopalmetto]

It's unfair to compare Comerica to Fenway and Wrigley. In todays ballpark standards it is a little behind in its use of technology.

Are you arguing with yourself?

How is it unfair to compare Commercialism Park to Wrigley or Fenway? I mean, Detroit had a contemporary "dinosaur" of a ballpark, and spent millions of public dollars to demolish it and erect the beloved edifice that you now say is "behind", some 11 years later. The only technology you need for baseball is a damned bat and a damned ball. How difficult is that?

Go back to your video games.

[bartock]

Are you arguing with yourself?

How is it unfair to compare Commercialism Park to Wrigley or Fenway? I mean, Detroit had a contemporary "dinosaur" of a ballpark, and spent millions of public dollars to demolish it and erect the beloved edifice that you now say is "behind", some 11 years later. The only technology you need for baseball is a damned bat and a damned ball. How difficult is that?

Go back to your video games.

Jesus Christ the pony has one trick.

I agree with Corktown...everybody has their own fantasy about what was the best place, where and why.

I happen to like Comerica Park, even having gone to Tiger Stadium many, many times in my youth and in college.

"One of the biggest mistakes of the last 100 years". Please, it's a fucking ballpark, and I like the current location. My kids only know Comerica Park and will have those wonderful and fond memories of "going to the ballpark" when they get older. Instead of the dark/light/green experience of Tiger Stadium, they will remember the openness of Comerica and how the skyline sits around half of the stadium. They will remember seeing the buildings and will remember riding the rides, all with the same innocent feeling that you or I might have of a place that no longer exists.

I love it how people can recall so fondly what it was like for them as children going to the park as a kid, which is a big reason why they go now, yet slam the "now" despite the fact that kids are enjoying the same experience. Oh, and what do tickets at Fenway cost? I know three years ago the lots around Fenway were $60 to park. How's that for commercialism? Things aren't so different just because the stadium is older...and even assuming that building a new ballpark was "a mistake" [[I disagree, but whatever), but, much like chain stores, busses, popularity, people, suburbanites visiting, economic prosperity, and actual growth, only in the uber-urban-snob-elitist-hypocrit group is something like this considered such a travesty.

[Hypestyles]

I wonder, what will the ticket prices be, after the renovations are done.. will they go up?

..side note-- anyone know what company provides the popcorn? I find it very salty..

[ghettopalmetto]

Things aren't so different just because the stadium is older...and even assuming that building a new ballpark was "a mistake" [[I disagree, but whatever), but, much like chain stores, busses, popularity, people, suburbanites visiting, economic prosperity, and actual growth, only in the uber-urban-snob-elitist-hypocrit group is something like this considered such a travesty.

Resort to name-calling much? I apologize in advance for not subscribing to lowest-common-denominator desires. If that makes me a snob, so be it.

Yes, Comerica Park is completely different. The old parks--called "parks" because they actually WERE parks!--were built in neighborhoods, at a human scale. Fenway, Wrigley, Old Comiskey, League Park, Shibe Park, Ebbetts Field, Navin Field...you get the idea. They had a certain charm and subdued dignity to them. It was magical when you walked through those tunnels and saw the light opening onto the wide expanse of open grass--Frank Lloyd Wright would have approved of this architectural technique. Grab a dog and a soda, kick back with Dad, and enjoy a few hours of quality time together while you figure out how to score the previous play in your scorecard.

Comerica Park is a monstrous, taxpayer-funded joke of a carnival attraction--it's designed for bright-color, eye-popping, money-parting fun. Nothing more. There's nothing about spending an afternoon relaxing and taking in a Businessman's Special--the goal of Comerica Park is to get you to drop all your cash on the ground and leave. The fact that they put a sea of parking spots quite literally right at the front door speaks to the level of respect and dignity this edifice presents to its city. Hell, you could spend three hours there, drop $200, and not realize there was a baseball game going on. Nothing like drive-in, drive-out consumerist crap culture! How *are* the fountains doing, anyway?

There was a time when our grandfathers were our age, and not every damned thing was commercialized or made out of plastic or designed specifically to suck every last measly penny out of our bank accounts. It was a simpler time, and frankly, I'd be okay with that. Even more recent, when you had Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker turning double-plays, you didn't need stupid-ass carnival rides to hold your Ritalin-deprived attention span--the game *was* the attraction.

If you want a different hip-hop song blaring at you every four minutes, maybe you could go to a nightclub instead of the ballpark.

[401don]

While we all miss Tiger Stadium but let's face it attendance was a joke the last 10 years of the park and nobody came from the suburbs much less visiting cities to stay downtown for the weekend and enjoy themselves.
As for Comerica, in many ways it resembles a neighborhood park far more than Tiger Stadium, which was a monstrosity from the outside. Even Trammell said he couldn't believe that big white warehouse was a ballpark the first time he saw it. As for the carnival rides, if it gets a few more little kids away from their video games and into a ballpark, maybe they'll grow up to become baseball fans. You certainly don't have to go anywhere near the rides if you don't want to. As for gouging the fans, you can still go to a ballgame for far less than other major sports and the Tigers offer some great week day prices.
I enjoy getting out of my seat and walking all the way around the park chatting with fans during a game instead of being shoehorned into my Tiger Stadium seat. Just be glad you're not in Rogers Centre in Toronto. Big, ugly concrete dome that's closed most of the year. Built with 400 million taxpayer dollars and turned over to the current team owners for 25 million! Okay, the Labatt's Blue is better, but it is 10 bucks a cup. Mike Ilitch may not be the perfect team owner, but you sure as hell could do a lot worse.

[softailrider]

Forget the scoreboard, if they are going to do some renovations they should put some seats in that aren't so far away from the field. Maybe find a way to put some shade in the place so you don't have to bake in the sun.

Comerica Park is bland and lacks character. I have a hard time believing people actually like that place. I think people have just accepted the fact that they are stuck with this mediocre corporate piece of crap and trick themselves into thinking they enjoy it.

Totally agree. Anybody who thinks Comerica Park is a better place to watch a baseball game then Tiger Stadium was, needs to get their head examined.

[ismoakrack]

Regardless of your feelings about TS, Comerica Park is in fact total disaster. Look at the end of the thread Comerica Park/Ford Field to see everything that was demolished to make way for the tacky monstrosity. It is sickening.

[bartock]

Resort to name-calling much? I apologize in advance for not subscribing to lowest-common-denominator desires. If that makes me a snob, so be it.

Yes, Comerica Park is completely different. The old parks--called "parks" because they actually WERE parks!--were built in neighborhoods, at a human scale. Fenway, Wrigley, Old Comiskey, League Park, Shibe Park, Ebbetts Field, Navin Field...you get the idea. They had a certain charm and subdued dignity to them. It was magical when you walked through those tunnels and saw the light opening onto the wide expanse of open grass--Frank Lloyd Wright would have approved of this architectural technique. Grab a dog and a soda, kick back with Dad, and enjoy a few hours of quality time together while you figure out how to score the previous play in your scorecard.

Comerica Park is a monstrous, taxpayer-funded joke of a carnival attraction--it's designed for bright-color, eye-popping, money-parting fun. Nothing more. There's nothing about spending an afternoon relaxing and taking in a Businessman's Special--the goal of Comerica Park is to get you to drop all your cash on the ground and leave. The fact that they put a sea of parking spots quite literally right at the front door speaks to the level of respect and dignity this edifice presents to its city. Hell, you could spend three hours there, drop $200, and not realize there was a baseball game going on. Nothing like drive-in, drive-out consumerist crap culture! How *are* the fountains doing, anyway?

There was a time when our grandfathers were our age, and not every damned thing was commercialized or made out of plastic or designed specifically to suck every last measly penny out of our bank accounts. It was a simpler time, and frankly, I'd be okay with that. Even more recent, when you had Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker turning double-plays, you didn't need stupid-ass carnival rides to hold your Ritalin-deprived attention span--the game *was* the attraction.

If you want a different hip-hop song blaring at you every four minutes, maybe you could go to a nightclub instead of the ballpark.

GP - I think it is hilarious that you can maneuver around the "name calling" label by being completely patronizing in your insults. But I digress, because I enjoy the debate, frankly. It is entertaining. I consider myself a member of the emerging aging and angry old man club at 35 years old, and you have said that you are 34 years old. A hearty "welcome".

Anyway, I wonder if you have kids, because when I was a kid, or I would guess that when my grandfather was a kid, I didn't know that I was being smacked in the senses by some "carnival attraction" or as you describe as being within the neighborhood. Because there WERE carnival attractions...it is all advertising dollars and I guess I feel better seeing my kid assaulted by Pepsi and pizza product than Paul Mall's and liquor. Whatever. My kids like going to what they see as the ballpark [[better views than the Polo Grounds) and don't see Comerica Park as a "monstrous, taxpayer-funded joke" because they don't know any different, and will be reminiscing about this time when they have children.

I would love to hear you say the same thing about Ford Field, but that would mean you are pine-ing for the Silverdome, which of course you couldn't be. But, unless you feel the Lions and Tigers should still be sharing Tiger Stadium, or perhaps we still have professional football at McNichols and Fairfield/Livernois, your suggestiosn are much like suggesting that Wrigley or Fenway are still "pure," which is absolute gob-shit. And, as for your statement about "hip hop music" - or any other style of music - being played, I haven't the words for how ridiculous your statement about that is, or how you could possibly think it would be any different in any other ballpark or baseball situs in Detroit or anywhere else today.

I do respect your opinions, but be level about them.

[CLAUDE G]

Are you arguing with yourself?

How is it unfair to compare Commercialism Park to Wrigley or Fenway? I mean, Detroit had a contemporary "dinosaur" of a ballpark, and spent millions of public dollars to demolish it and erect the beloved edifice that you now say is "behind", some 11 years later. The only technology you need for baseball is a damned bat and a damned ball. How difficult is that?

Go back to your video games.

Unless there is something that I don't know about, wasn't the Tiger Stadium demolotion done for Free, because some asshole demolition company wanted to cash in on all the scrap metal?

If the city had to pay to tear it down, it would still be standing.

[mikefmich]

Totally agree. Anybody who thinks Comerica Park is a better place to watch a baseball game then Tiger Stadium was, needs to get their head examined.

Aye...I've been to exactly one game at Comerica, and it took me 10 yrs to do that. I was about 10 rows up from first base, felt I needed binoculars.