Ernie Harwell: Save Tiger Stadium!

[PhilaYank36]

Couldn't agree more with the man. Such places like Tiger Stadium, Fenway, Wrigley, Yankee Stadium, etc... need to be preserved. So much history occurred in the confines of these building that it is shameful to even consider knocking them down. Harwell spits out some great quotes in this piece, but I think it's best that everyone reads them first within the story.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2985962

 

[Lyman_Bostock]

I hope I can make it to 89. And if I do, I hope I'm as sharp as Ernie Harwell.

It would be too much to ask, probably, but a guy can dream.

 

[wickedwritah]

To call the plan a PR gimmick is a stretch, but I will say this: Why have no other reasonable plans come up previously? It's not like Old Comiskey, which they knocked down almost right away. Tiger Stadium has been closed almost eight years and used a handful of times, for 61* and then for the All-Star Game a couple years ago.

 

[poindexter]

Harwell and lawyer S. Gary Spicer propose reducing Tiger Stadium's seating while adding music and sports memorabilia museums.

[blue]Yeah, that'll work.[/blue]

Reminds me of the old movie, Roger and Me - when Flint, Michigan tried to turn things around by opening a vacation center.

 

[TwoGloves]

Tear it down. It was a dump long before it closed. Half of the seats sucked because they were behind posts.

 

[black dude with pompano]

Tear it down. It was a dump long before it closed. Half of the seats sucked because they were behind posts.

The elimination of posts and the increase of luxury boxes is why upper deck seats are now six miles from the field in modern ballparks.

As for Tiger Stadium, Detroit is bleeding population every second. Land is not a scarce commodity, so I'm not sure why there is such an urgency to knock down the stadium for "redevelopment" purposes. That said, maintenance costs alone might make it costly for it to just sit there.

 

[RedCanuck]

I thought Tiger Stadium was in great shape, even when it closed - it's in much better shape than Yankee for example. I'd really like to see it preserved if possible.

 

[wickedwritah]

Tear it down. It was a dump long before it closed. Half of the seats sucked because they were behind posts.

The elimination of posts and the increase of luxury boxes is why upper deck seats are now six miles from the field in modern ballparks.

As for Tiger Stadium, Detroit is bleeding population every second. Land is not a scarce commodity, so I'm not sure why there is such an urgency to knock down the stadium for "redevelopment" purposes. That said, maintenance costs alone might make it costly for it to just sit there.

That's the problem: The city hasn't put the money into the stadium. It's now in hideous condition.

Budweiser held an event there when the All-Star Game was at Comerica. They wanted to use the structure itself, but the city only let them use the infield, since the building was in such bad shape.

Even after the automotive industry's downturn, there still are plenty of people in Oakland and Wayne counties who have money and could support a stadium preservation effort. Problem with Detroit is that most of the money flows out of the city, not into it.

 

[TwoGloves]

I'll always remember being pissed in '87, when I was 24 and paid what was then pretty big money for playoff tickets only to be stuck behind a freaking pole when I was only about 20 rows up. Couldn't see the mound. It was the game Darrell Evans got picked off third base against Minnesota. Tear it down.

 

[Starman]

The stadium was allowed (in fact, actively encouraged) to go to rot after about 1986-87, when then-owner Tom Monaghan decided he wanted the taxpayers to build him a new stadium. In order to get this done, being able to cite the ever-more-decrepit condition of Tiger Stadium was necessary.

Mike Ilitch continued this strategy after buying the team and finally succeeded in 1999-2000. After Comerica Park was built, Ilitch's company, Olympia Entertainment, received a yearly sum of $400,000 of city money for "security and maintenance" on Tiger Stadium, presumably to keep it in somewhat-usable condition for renovation projects. This $400,000 came out of a fund of $2 million, which was exhausted at the end of 2005.

The "security and maintenance" efforts mainly consisted of putting padlocks on the doors, walking away, and cashing the $400,000 checks every year. The physical condition of the stadium is simply rotting away. Vandals quickly busted past the padlocks and have stolen/destroyed virtually every single item in the stadium which might have been useful as memorabilia. The fabric-covered "Tiger Den" seats (with Olde English 'D' symbols) have all been chopped to pieces by vandals.

There is nothing left of the stadium now. It needs to be nuked tomorrow morning. The City of Detroit, mismanaged by an incompetent corrupt thug mayor in Kwame Kilpatrick, has barely enough money to turn on the lights at city hall. I suppose if the city agrees to pay Ilitch $2 million more, he'll be happy to have it done.

 

[slappy4428]

Star,
You're giving thugs a bad name by lumping them in with Kwame...

 

[Starman]

Star,
You're giving thugs a bad name by lumping them in with Kwame...

I play my part, Kwame plays the game...

 

[wickedwritah]

Detroit is a city that is in ruins. It is a shame. There was so much there, and it's like the Berlin Wall -- everyone came and stripped every piece that they could. There's basically nothing left now.

 

[Pete Incaviglia]

The stadium was allowed (in fact, actively encouraged) to go to rot after about 1986-87, when then-owner Tom Monaghan decided he wanted the taxpayers to build him a new stadium. In order to get this done, being able to cite the ever-more-decrepit condition of Tiger Stadium was necessary.

Mike Ilitch continued this strategy after buying the team and finally succeeded in 1999-2000. After Comerica Park was built, Ilitch's company, Olympia Entertainment, received a yearly sum of $400,000 of city money for "security and maintenance" on Tiger Stadium, presumably to keep it in somewhat-usable condition for renovation projects. This $400,000 came out of a fund of $2 million, which was exhausted at the end of 2005.

The "security and maintenance" efforts mainly consisted of putting padlocks on the doors, walking away, and cashing the $400,000 checks every year. The physical condition of the stadium is simply rotting away. Vandals quickly busted past the padlocks and have stolen/destroyed virtually every single item in the stadium which might have been useful as memorabilia. The fabric-covered "Tiger Den" seats (with Olde English 'D' symbols) have all been chopped to pieces by vandals.

There is nothing left of the stadium now. It needs to be nuked tomorrow morning. The City of Detroit, mismanaged by an incompetent corrupt thug mayor in Kwame Kilpatrick, has barely enough money to turn on the lights at city hall. I suppose if the city agrees to pay Ilitch $2 million more, he'll be happy to have it done.

Sadly, this is true. And well said, Starman.

I grew up in that stadium. I was at the last game. I've driven been often since then. It's in absolute ruin.

Apparently, according to a story on MLB.com a while back, there are still some seats in the stadium worth saving - and selling.

I'm all for flattening the place, but not until I've purchased two seats from the corner of Michigan and Trumble.

 

[wickedwritah]

Why was the stuff not sold off to begin with?

 

[Pete Incaviglia]

Why was the stuff not sold off to begin with?

As far as I know, it was owned by either Illitch or the City of Detroit. And both were hoping to save everything for whatever reason (take you pick: museum, independant league baseball park, novelty, shopping centre, whatever).

 

[Starman]

Why was the stuff not sold off to begin with?

As far as I know, it was owned by either Illitch or the City of Detroit. And both were hoping to save everything for whatever reason (take you pick: museum, independant league baseball park, novelty, shopping centre, whatever).

The stadium is owned by the city; until 2005, Ilitch had unconditional control over what (if anything) was done with it. Ilitch has never had any interest whatsoever in converting the stadium, or the site, for any alternative use (ESPECIALLY not an independent-league minor league park), and in fact has moved to block all such plans.

The memorabilia (seats, etc.) has not been removed/sold because of inertia and a moronic belief on the part of the city that the items would "appreciate" in value over time, so they wanted to drag out the process as long as possible. As stated above, most of the truly valuable items have been destroyed by weather/neglect and, in many cases, vandalism, and are now effectively worthless.

The one thing that should REALLY be done before they flatten the place is they need to make a movie about Bobby Layne and the rollicking Detroit Lions championship dynasty (yes you read that correctly) of the 1950s.

 

[Pete Incaviglia]

VERY good call, Starman!

I never thought of that aspect of the Stadium (or Lions, for that matter!).

 

[Bubbler]

What a shame. Of all of the old stadiums I've been to (haven't been to a game at Fenway), Tiger Stadium was my favorite. I liked it much more than Wrigley.

 

[Captain_Kirk]

It will be a shame if all the old stadiums get levelled at some point. They really do offer a glimpse into our past. When I was in Comiskey Park, I always could feel or sense the past of Ruth, Jackson or Veeck having played/worked there.

I know the land these stadiums are built on are worth a lot more if something else is there. But, it sure would be nice if maybe just one of the old ballparks was maintained almost as a museum piece for baseball of the first half of the 20th century.

Wishful thinking, I know.