matthewweaver.com | mlb ballparks

Ballpark:
Comerica Park, nicknames "The Copa", is Detroit's entry into the current era of retro styled ballparks with modern conveniences. It replaced historic Tiger Stadium, which had been home to the Tigers since 1912. While Tiger Stadium was a cozy hitter's park with home run porches down each line, Comerica Park is a massive pitcher's park. The lines are over 330 feet from home plate and center field is an astounding 422 feet from the dish! (To give some perspective, the center field wall at Coors Field in thin-aired Denver, Colorado is just 415 feet from home plate.)

The park's architecture is rather unusual, in that the upper deck seats are set far back from the field and pitched at a low angle. This makes the park's elevation quite low, which is good I guess, but it also keeps the upper deck fans far away from the action. The club seats surround the lower deck under the overhang and treat the ticket holders to real wood seats with plush cushioning. There are also several nice attractions, such as the brick "wall of fame" in left center and right center fields, the two floor team store and the old time merry-go-round complete with tigers instead of horses.

Unfortunately, there are several flaws that somewhat tarnish the image of the otherwise nice ballpark. The exterior of the park is laden with so many tiger statues that it is almost ridiculous. The concourses are wide, but cluttered with many kiosks. making navigation difficult in between innings. The aforementioned low pitch of the upper deck, as well as the lower deck, seats makes it hard for shorter people to see the game. Also, in a big architectural gaff, the scoreboard was built too far to the left and is partially obscured by the left field seats. That's a big screw up for a modern ballpark.

In the end, Comerica Park is a new, but not memorable park. Of the new ballparks built since 1990, only U.S. Cellular Field (Comiskey Park) is worse than Comerica Park in my opinion. It deserves no better than a "B" rating.

How to get there:
From Detroit Metro Airport (DTW), take Interstate 94 East into the city. Exit onto Interstate 96 East and follow it shortly until it gets to Interstate 75. Take I-75 North for about a mile and exit at the Comerica Park and Fox Theatre sign. The ballpark is at the intersection of Woodward Ave. and West Montcalm Ave., but it is hard to see with the surrounding office buildings. Parking is fairly easy to find.

City:
The suburbs of Detroit, such as Livonia, Rochester and Bloomfield Hills, are wealthy and attractive, but downtown Detroit has not held up well over time. There are some nice spots, but there is not much to do in Detroit and many of the buildings are run down. The city is rather dangerous compared to its Great Lakes cousins of Chicago, Cleveland and Toronto, and that limits the freedom of movement through the area.

The city sits along the Detroit River, connecting Lake Huron and Lake Erie and separating Detroit from Windsor, Canada. Recently expanded DTW Airport is also one of the heaviest traveled airports in the United States and a portal to Asia.

Detroit is known as "Hockeytown USA" as it is home to the best hockey fans in the United States. The beloved Detroit Redwings play in downtown Joe Louis Arena along the river.

Stuff to do while there:
The Fox Theatre is right next door to Comerica Park, but there is little else to do in the area. It is even difficult to find a place to eat before the ballgame as there are only a few restaurants in the neighborhood. The Hockeytown Cafe is one place to get some food and see the history of hockey in Detroit. Other than the neighborhood around the ballpark, you can golf at one of the great courses in the metropolitan area or head over to Windsor, Ontario to gamble.

Story:
My friend Mike, two of his friends and I drove up to Detroit to catch a game between the Cleveland Indians and the Tigers. Cleveland led most of the day, but lost on a game winning 2-run home run by slugger Juan Gonzalez (who ironically left Detroit to play for the Indians in 2001).

Fun facts:
The Comerica Park scoreboard is billed as the largest free standing scoreboard in the world.

Center Field at Comerica is unique in that the fan concourse runs right behind the green hitter's screen high above the center field wall. The screen is slightly transparent and you can actually watch the game from directly behind center field.

The Tiger mascot is named Paws and, in my opinion, is one of the better mascots in the league.

Old Tiger Stadium's center field wall was an astounding 440 feet from home plate! This was due to the park's rectangular shape.

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An 8-photo mosaic of Comerica Park from behind home plate
June 17, 2000

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Tiger pitcher Hideo Nomo fires to Indians left fielder David Justice
June 17, 2000

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Matt about to be mauled by a Tiger at the Comerica entrance
June 17, 2000

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The massive Copa scoreboard
June 17, 2000

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Tiger statue overkill
June 17, 2000

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Matt at old Tiger Stadium
May 11, 1997