From Deseret News archives:
Price of progress
New Comerica Park, while much-needed, lacks atmosphere of old Tiger Stadium
Comerica Park is what Tiger Stadium wasn't — and that is both good and bad.
Boston manager Terry Francona — who will lead the American League against the National League in the All-Star game Tuesday at Detroit's 5-year-old ballpark — raved about the look and feel of old Tiger Stadium after coaching third base there for the Tigers in 1996.
Then, when asked about Comerica Park, he summed up the opinions many locals seem to share.
"It's new. It's nice," Francona said.
Tiger Stadium opened in 1912, and over the following eight decades many fell in love with the cozy park known as "The Corner" at the intersection of Michigan and Trumbull in Detroit's Corktown neighborhood.
"The field itself was one of my favorites," said Arizona manager Bob Melvin, who made his major league debut with the Tigers in 1985. "The whole stadium smelled like baseball, similar to Wrigley and Fenway.
"Ernie Harwell and the fans were right on top of you, so close you could hear them talk. I loved the upper decks, and the overhang in right. The old place had so much character."
After waxing nostalgically about Tiger Stadium, even its supporters acknowledge it had to be replaced because of its crumbling infrastructure, obstructed views and lack of many luxury suites.
Tigers manager Alan Trammell, who played for 20 years at Tiger Stadium, said the franchise needed to have a new home.
"It was time to move on because the old stadium was falling apart," Trammell said behind his desk at Comerica Park, with a mural of the new stadium behind him and a framed picture of the old one to his right. "My first two years as manager here, I visited two times each year and even though the field was full of weeds, it didn't do anything to my memories. I went about a month ago, but I couldn't get in through the door where I could usually go and knock and somebody would let me in. Nobody was there.
"I hope it can be preserved in some way, but I realize that's unlikely because somebody would have to really step up financially with a plan to use the place."
The city of Detroit, which owns Tiger Stadium, requested proposals for reuse of the ballpark in 1999 and for redevelopment in 2002, and says it has continued to market the site over the past few years.
