Orr entertaining plans for old Tiger Stadium - public park?

[TexasT]

Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr, who coaches Little League baseball, is entertaining a proposal that would transform the old Tiger Stadium site into a public park with the original field, batting cages, soccer fields and concessions, his office told us Tuesday.
Preservationists and fans have been trying to save the 101-year-old stadium site since the Tigers abandoned it in 1999, but money shortfalls and politics have derailed those efforts. Now Orr, who has authority to sell city assets, is raising hopes that the site at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull in Corktown may be saved for public use.

Past preservation attempts have been thwarted by city officials, who have insisted – wrongly, so far – that the site can garner tens of millions of dollars from a major developer. Plenty of ideas, from a bull-fighting ring to an upscale hotel, have been pitched, but none has been backed by serious money.
Trouble is, the funding is now at stake. Just last week, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., requested that the Office of Management and Budget cancel the grant because the project has been a failure.
“It is clear that the nearly $4 million provided generously by taxpayers has not been used for its primary purpose to rehabilitate the stadium,” Coburn wrote in a June 20 letter to the Office of Management and Budget. “During a time of sequestration and budgetary shortfalls, it is appropriate at this time to fully rescind any unspent funds.”
Coburn cited the city’s failure to take advantage of previous offers to preserve the site. Much of that blame falls on George Jackson, president and CEO of the Detroit Economic Growth Corp., the city agency that controls the site. Jackson has insisted on landing a major development, which has proved to be a pipe dream in a city with an enormous inventory of vacant property.

http://motorcitymuckraker.com/2013/0...letic-complex/

Disappointing to read that $4M has just been sitting there for four years, untouched. Thanks Jackson. Glad to see Orr is on the case.

Wonder if he's looking at the MLB proposal...

[Novine]

Another example of how "Demolition Jackson" was more interested in a "BIG" project for his portfolio and less about putting the property back into productive use.

[MidTownMs]

Did I miss something? What happened to plans for the African themed entertainment complex?

[Honky Tonk]

Another example of how "Demolition Jackson" was more interested in a "BIG" project for his portfolio and less about putting the property back into productive use.

Well, there certainly are some "BIG weeds" in that lot. Tiger Stadium, another Detroit travesty. Go Orr.......

[corktownyuppie]

Did I miss something? What happened to plans for the African themed entertainment complex?

There was never any money behind the plan. The developer who proposed that project estimated its cost at between $75MM to $100MM. But he didn't even have a fraction of the funding necessary to make that happen.

[TexasT]

There was never any money behind the plan. The developer who proposed that project estimated its cost at between $75MM to $100MM. But he didn't even have a fraction of the funding necessary to make that happen.

I'm sure Jackson came out publicly and called it a scam, like he did with the MLB proposal, right?

[HarperNottingham]

Hey, Honky Tonk, the weeds are long gone, my man.

Stop on by and play some catch, run the bases, or just have your picture taken on the mound. You can even enjoy your lunch on a picnic table or take a little batting practice. There's chalk lines, there's batter's boxes, and home plate is in the exact same location as it was in 1912.

Plus the historic flagpole is still there out in center field. Come on back and relive the history of Navin Field, Briggs Stadium, and Tiger Stadium just by examining the flagpole's various layers of paint.

You can find the volunteers of the Navin Field Grounds Crew hard at work every Sunday morning, keeping the field in playing shape and eager to welcome you back.

For four summers now, the field has benefited from the grass-roots cleanup efforts of the NFGC. It's no longer the field of weeds the Tigers and the City left behind in 2010. No matter what you call it [[Navin Field/Harwell Park/Tiger Stadium) the corner of Michigan and Trumbull is a veritable Detroit tourist attraction.

And we'd love to see you there.

[[Just don't forget your glove!)

http://tinyurl.com/NavinFieldIsBack