A Visit to Keyworth Stadium & The Detroit City Football Club

[Lowell]

In the midst of the Detroit sports desert ,where its major league teams are so bad that none can make the playoffs, there is the bright star of the Detroit City Football Club who have. “Le Rouge” play their games before energized and youthful supporters who trek to and often pack ancient Keyworth Stadium which is embedded in a living neighborhood in the heart of old, and new, industrial Detroit. There is no nearby parking in the already always densely-parked streets of Hamtramck. Everybody gets to walk.


My friend and guide had me park at Joseph Campau and Holbrook, in a large strip mall lot that was filling with arriving fans. I suggested we take the quarter mile walk along Roosevelt Street.

After it all was President Franklin Roosevelt who inaugurated the stadium on October 15, 1936, during his second campaign for president. Keyworth was the first Depression-era Works Progress Administration [WPA] project in the state of Michigan. The street was named after FDR following the event. At the end of the street the light towers of Keyworth appear.

Hamtramck has long been the landing strip of Detroit immigrants. The current generation is largely from the Muslim Middle East and South Asian Bengalis, also Muslim. Consequently Hamtramck is governed by a Muslim Mayor and City Council. It is a repeated history as previous immigrant waves of Poles, Ukrainians, Bosnians, and others settled in Hamtramck’s inexpensive starter housing and turned their immigrant energies into prosperity from whence they could move away to more luxuriant settings, leaving behind space for the next wave.


The arriving crowd thickens at the Roosevelt Street entrance, so my friend directed us to the. Quieter Goodson Street entrance where one sees how tightly the stadium sits cheek-to-jowl with the neighborhood.


So tight that one can barely photograph the stadium name.


Once inside we walk toward the concourse at the north end of the field.


It opens to an expansive one acre space of kiosks and eateries.








We head for the east side stands where my friend says the die-hard fans hang. The teams are warming up as we arrive.


We climb to the top. All seating is bleachers but, as my friend correctly predicts, it is irrelevant as everybody in this fanatic fan section will be standing for the entire game.


The horizon to the south reveals some familiar places. Let’s zoom in for a look.


The game begins. Capo’s with bullhorns lead the crowd in chants, soccer songs and cheers, some with not-for-TV words.


Late in the first period “Le Rouge” score first and the stands celebrate with team colors smoke and banners.




Le Rouge had hoped for a win to get homefield advantage in the upcoming playoffs, but had to settle for a 2-2 tie. And so we leave this fun and insightful evening and walk out into the Hamtramck night passing by the classic Painted Lady bar en route to our car.



[Honky Tonk]

Nice write up and photos. Thanks, I enjoyed that.

[Dan Wesson]

^^^
Like Mr Tonk said, I concur.
My old stomping grounds Hamtramck, I do miss it.
A good time was had by all back then.

[Henry Whalley]

My dad and I went to Keyworth Stadium for many high school football games circa 1962-63. We'd take the Mt. Elliott/Holbrook bus to Gallagher and walk five blocks to the stadium. There was a creamery near the bus stop that sold the very best ice cream cones. My dad was present when Roosevelt inaugurated the stadium.

[EastsideAl]

My father and uncle played at Keyworth when it was the home field for Wayne U. [[before it was Wayne State U.) football. Good to see the place still in use and full of engaged fans. And certainly nice to see a Detroit team doing well. Will drop by and check it out.

[Kathleen]

Thanks, Lowell. Nice writeup of the DCFC experience!! Love the photos!!

Dave and I have been fans of "Le Rouge" since our son introduced us to the team about 10 years ago when they played at the Cass Tech field in their early seasons. We followed them to Keyworth Stadium and have been attending games since, watching them increase in stature among the various soccer league levels.

We have our favorite parking spots out near Gallagher and Holbrook. We enjoy watching the Fan March from the Fowling Warehouse through the neighborhood into the Stadium entrance on Roosevelt. We've stood on the Supporters side, singing the songs with the "Capo"s who lead the crowd cheers and movements.

At each game, fans have the choice of some half dozen food trucks plus additional local food and beer vendors. It's nice to know that when attending a DCFC match, we can also support local businesses and brands.

DCFC supporters also buy a wide variety of team merchandise at the stadium. They recently opened a new store in Capitol Park to buy merch all year round.

Being a Detroit City FC supporter and attending matches is an experience different from any other Detroit sports game that I've known since my first Tigers and Lions games in the late 1960s. We highly recommend attending a match!

[EGrant]

Very cool post, thanks for sharing! There's something that almost feels nostalgic about going to a sporting event that feels more "local" instead of sterile and corporate like the big four pro teams.

[Lowell]

Great notes Kathleen. I’m not surprised you are all over this very Detroit phenomenon. My son was also the impetus for this story being a long time season ticket holder. The core audience is clearly millennials.

The stadium being embedded in a neighborhood makes me think this is what Tiger Stadium must have been like before the expressways.

Thanks, Lowell. Nice writeup of the DCFC experience!! Love the photos!!

Dave and I have been fans of "Le Rouge" since our son introduced us to the team about 10 years ago when they played at the Cass Tech field in their early seasons. We followed them to Keyworth Stadium and have been attending games since, watching them increase in stature among the various soccer league levels.

We have our favorite parking spots out near Gallagher and Holbrook. We enjoy watching the Fan March from the Fowling Warehouse through the neighborhood into the Stadium entrance on Roosevelt. We've stood on the Supporters side, singing the songs with the "Capo"s who lead the crowd cheers and movements.

At each game, fans have the choice of some half dozen food trucks plus additional local food and beer vendors. It's nice to know that when attending a DCFC match, we can also support local businesses and brands.

DCFC supporters also buy a wide variety of team merchandise at the stadium. They recently opened a new store in Capitol Park to buy merch all year round.

Being a Detroit City FC supporter and attending matches is an experience different from any other Detroit sports game that I've known since my first Tigers and Lions games in the late 1960s. We highly recommend attending a match!