| Detroit did not need a new
ballpark. Tiger Stadium was a classic, that with some renovations,
could have continued to be home to the Detroit Tigers. Yes, it may
not have been in the best neighborhood, but this is about the only negative
I can think of. From a fan's perspective, this was just a great place
to see a game. The seats were close to the field, no matter if you
were on the field level or in the upper deck. There were seats in
the upper deck here that were closer to the field than some in the lower
deck of Comerica Park. And almost all the
seats had a roof overhead. All the poles to support the roof
and upper deck may have caused some obstructed view seats, but the benefits
of having seats closer and a roof overhead outweigh this small problem.
The concourse area was dark and narrower than in newer ballparks, but it
had that great old time atmosphere. While it did have some commercial
concessions (like Little Caesars), there were also several large grills
going where sausages and hot dogs were being cooked. The exterior
of the park is like no other as it's completely white in color, making it
really stand out while driving along the highway. The Tigers moved
out after the '99 season but Tiger Stadium still remained standing for nearly a decade.
There had been talk of using it for other events like
football and minor league baseball. It would have been great to see it put
back in use because it is certainly was still a usable facility. Definitely
one of my favorite ballparks. It was sad to see it go, especially
after seeing a game in Comerica Park, which just doesn't compare. After being partially torn down in 2008, it was finally completely razed in September of 2009.
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