The Death of Detroit

How a Major League Team Contributed to a City's Decline

On October 27, 1997, the Detroit Tigers announced a plan to build a brand new stadium, Comerica Park, to be opened in time of the third millennium. The public (city of Detroit) paid $189,000,000 out of the $300 million allotted for construction of the stadium.

The city, deeply in debt, is now realizing the pain.

The "Era of Expansion" has taken Detroit as it's victim. The historic stadium, built in 1912 and demolished back in 2008, could have been restored instead, with the majority of costs for stadium restorations paid for by the Tigers.
We are entering a new phase in baseball. In this year alone, Fenway Park turned 100 and Dodger Stadium turned 50. In two more years, Wrigley Field will also reach the century mark.

Preserving history not only saves the culture of days gone by and presents it to newer generations; it also saves the money of the cities and organizations that would otherwise pay for these new ballparks.

The money that Detroit spent on Comerica Park could (and should) have been spent revitalizing the downtown area and helping the city, not wasted on a new ballpark that the Tigers' didn't need.

Tiger Stadium (top) and Comerica Park