This post was authored by Serena Maria Daniels
Last night a curious union hall full of Corktownians (including Detroit City Councilwoman Raquel Castaneda-Lopez) got an update on the vague sketches of development planned for old Tiger Stadium (RIP Stadium: 1912–99). The Old Tigers Stadium Conservancy, which was awarded $3.8M to redevelop the field and a swath of land along Cochrane, says the site will get a new headquarters for the Police Athletic League, who will take care of the field. The current plan is to give the current baseball diamond a makeover and allow youth leagues and amateur adult softball teams to continue to play ball. But that's only a portion of the giant lot. For the rest of the site, the city is considering four proposals from developers who want to build dense mixed use properties at Michigan and Trumbull. Among the bidders is the Roxbury Group, which sent its development vice president James Van Dyke to Monday's meeting to gauge the crowd's input.
Last night's meeting largely focused on plans for developing and running the baseball diamond, for which OTSC hired Zachary and Associates to study the logistics of the plan, estimated to cost between $7-$10M. The best case scenario is that it could take at least a year to complete. Funding has not yet been secured but expect a hefty fund raising effort over the next several months.
An organization called the Police Athletic League (PAL) is going to be running the ball field, where where leagues from throughout Metro Detroit will pay to reserve playing time. There will be locker rooms, bathrooms, a ticket booth, PAL offices and a loungey meeting room inside a two-story pavilion.
The field is now open and occupied by sports teams, dog walkers and the occasional wedding party (a volunteer the Tigers Stadium Navin Field Grounds Crew recently got hitched on the field) who come and go as they please. Concerned citizens at last night's meeting said they are in favor of the openness at the current site and don't want to see that changed.
— Serena Maria Daniels
· Foot-Dragging Continues on Vague Plan For Tiger Stadium [Curbed Detroit]
· All Previous Tiger Stadium Coverage [Curbed Detroit]
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