Comerica Park
Detroit, MI
Review by Gary
When walking up to Detroit’s downtown ballpark, it is not difficult to determine who plays at Comerica Park, home of the Tigers since 2000. The navy blue and orange logo of the team adorns the light poles leading from every direction in the Motor City and the brick exterior of the stadium has no shortage of Tiger sculptures, sconces, and banners to inform you that you are in the right place to see Detroit’s American League team.
Detroit is the only city in America whose four major sports feature downtown stadiums and Comerica Park does not disappoint as a baseball venue. From the huge bronze statues of Tiger greats like Ty Cobb, Hal Newhouser, Hank Greenberg, and Al Kaline in action beyond the centerfield wall to the amazing towers representing each decade of Tiger baseball found along the concourse, there’s plenty to see, reminisce and learn about this storied franchise. The memorabilia displays are perched on four whitewall tires to pay homage to the automobile industry, which I thought was a neat touch.
From nearly every seat in the stadium, views of the Lions’ Ford Field can be seen beyond the left field fence and the downtown skyline fills the background from center to right. There are no high walls to hinder the view outside of the stadium and fans can walk entirely around the park to catch the action from every angle.
The toothbrush-shaped light standards are particularly impressive while the main scoreboard isn’t overly large as some of those found in newer stadiums. Twin Tiger sculptures stand guard atop the scoreboard and light up against the night sky, making for a quite remarkable scene, serving as a constant reminder of who plays here.
I found Comerica Park to be an excellent ballpark to see a game while also enjoying the great history of this storied franchise. On the night of our visit, longtime Tiger Miguel Cabrera was just two home runs short of 500 for his career. While he didn’t go deep, we did see him stroke his 2,945th hit. Cabrera would hit his 500th clout a month later.
2021
2021
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