The Detroit Economic Development Corporation has approved a project plan that calls for the dismantling of a significant portion of Tiger Stadium. Meanwhile, the non-profit Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy has been given until the end of July to come up with a plan and the financing necessary to preserve the field and a portion of the Michigan Avenue and Cochrane corner of the stadium.

Jeff Wattrick, the conservancy's project manager says his group is "fully supportive" of the city's plan-to-date. "The idea, by preserving the stadium and the field especially, is to harness the history and legacy of the stadium without hindering the economic development of the site."

Wattrick acknowledges that to some, anything short of total preservation is not enough. He counters that by saying, "The reality is that this is a 50,000 seat professional sports venue -- there's really no other use for it." He believes, "This is the only realistic way to save any of it at this point. After nearly a decade it's time to move on and be more pragmatic, less ideological."

Because many vacant lots in Corktown are privately-owned former parking lots, the community views the redevelopment of the stadium site as a boon to even more development. Wattrick: "It is sitting fallow now. It is an impediment to development in Corktown, on Michigan Avenue and in Southwest Detroit. [The redevelopment of the site] has tremendous spinoff value for the neighborhoods around it."

Wattrick credits the city with its creative approach to the demolition process. All items with collectible value will be auctioned off and all steel will be harvested and sold. "This isn't going to be a situation where a wrecking ball swings into the side of the building," he says. The city "is maximizing the use of the structure even as it is being taken away from the site."

The city will select a developer or developers for the site this winter. If all goes according to plan, demolition will be complete in September 2008 and construction would begin in spring of 2009.

The conservancy's goal is to program the field with youth baseball and to utilize the preserved portion of the stadium for a heritage center and office space. Their efforts are being funded by the Hudson Webber Foundation.

Source: Jeff Wattrick, Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh (Full disclosure: The writer sits on the board of directors of the Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy.)

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