Official Road Trip Stop #14: Comerica Park Detroit, MI

9/14/2009

Blue Jays 5 @ Tigers 6 (10 Innings)

Comerica Park in Detroit was another very, very pleasant surprise. I again didn't have much expectations for this park, and was delighted to find a very under-rated jewel in the Motor City.

Before I arrived at Comerica Park, I went to see the site of the old Tiger Stadium, the long time former home of the Detroit Tigers. It was a rich and historic ballpark at the corner of Michigan Ave. and Trumbull Blvd. Tiger Stadium was beloved in Detroit, but its time had come, and in 2000, the Tigers moved into Comerica Park. A very, very small portion of Tiger Stadium was still standing today, but will be gone soon. There were efforts to save the structure of the Stadium as an historic site, but the efforts have finally failed, and it will soon be completely gone, so I felt very fortunate that I was able to see such a place, even if just a sliver of it, before it was too late.

After checking out Tiger Stadium, I experienced the Canada debacle, and by the time I arrived at Comerica Park I was just happy that I was finally allowed back on American soil. (Which is really a feeling no American citizen should ever have, but I digress.)

Comerica Park is a park that was burdened with huge expectations, as it was replacing such a beloved place, and I believe that the Tigers managed to meet and exceed those expectations. Comerica beautifully manages to pull off the perfect balance between "old time feel" and modern amenities. It probably doesn't have the charm or history that Tiger Stadium had, but I'm told it smells much better.

I have two favorite things about Comerica Park. The first is the open view of the Downtown Detroit skyline, something that is becoming standard for downtown stadiums. I also absolutely love all of the giant tiger statues that are all over the park. Everywhere you look, you are reminded that you are in the home of a team called the Tigers, which is really cool. In fact, the tiger statues that are on top of the scoreboard roar and have eyes that light up whenever the Tigers score a run. A very, very cool touch.

Center field has a Bellagio-esque fountain that dances and shoots off whenever the Tigers do something good, and there is a baseball themed ferris wheel and carousel that features all tigers. Again, normally these kind of things annoy me at a baseball stadium, but it works here. The ferris wheel and carousel are hidden from game view, so they aren't that much of a distraction, and look kind of fun to do before a game.

Comerica Park also has great food options, including a stand that sells Big Boy burgers. As in, Bob's Big Boy burgers. They even have a big boy statue! There's also standard ballpark fare, but the food court surrounding the carousel has chinese food, greek food, italian food, just about every ethnicity in Detroit is covered, basically. Oh, and they have stands named things like "Gameday Grrrrill" and "Tigers ReTAIL." Too. F'ing. Cute.

The Tigers are even playing good baseball, and are currently holding off the Twins for first place in the Central Division. Consequently, the atmosphere and fans around the park are great, even though most of the fans seem to realize that they're in for a date with the Yankees, and that it most likely will not end well for Detroit. No matter, as Red Wings season is about to start. This is Hockeytown, USA after all.

Being downtown, there are plenty of things to do before and after the game. There is the Hockeytown bar and restaurant and Chris Chelios' Bar across the street. Ford Field also looms over the left field corner, which is where the Lions play football. Or try to, anyway. Comerica Park is also right across the street from the historic FOX Theater and the Fillmore, which was hosting a Snow Patrol concert this night. This led to an interesting dynamic of drunk overage male Tiger fans hitting on giddy underage emo-girl Snow Patrol fans in the streets after the game. Fun to watch.

Comerica Park is an excellent, excellent ballpark and I highly recommend a trip to see the Tigers play if you ever happen to be in the area. Great ballpark, great atmosphere, and great prices too! In a city that's hurting, its a great way to forget about the problems.