Meeting Will Bring Development Of Old Tiger Stadium Site One Step Closer
DETROIT (WWJ) -- A major step in the plans for the old Tiger Stadium site is getting some attention.
A meeting set for Monday night will be a chance to discuss plans that the city has to develop the old Tiger Stadium site. One group which is opposed to parts of the plan is hoping its members will attend and speak up.
The Navin Field Grounds Crew -- a group dedicated to preserving the old Tiger Stadium site at the corner of Michigan Ave. and Trumbull -- is questioning the plans for the proposed development on the site.
George Jackson, former president and CEO of the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation, said that multiple authorities -- including the Tiger Stadium Conservancy, Police Athletic League and the City of Detroit -- have signed a memorandum to start the planning process.
"(The deal) involves a memorandum of understanding in regards to the timetables in which they have to move to complete," Jackson said.
The process will include selecting a developer to present bids that will include retail, commercial and residential developments.
"This will not be a special interest-driven endeavor," Jackson said.
The site plans also include a youth ballpark, which led to one of the Navin Group's disagreements -- the possibility of replacing the field's natural grass with AstroTurf.
In an agreement reached in July, nonprofit youth sports organization Detroit PAL would build a new headquarters at the site near the youth baseball field, which would roughly cover the same area used by the Detroit Tigers for their field. Two additional areas will be kept open for possible future residential, retail or commercial redevelopment.
Tiger Stadium opened in 1912 as Navin Field. The Tigers left for Comerica Park after the 1999 season. The last portion of the stadium was demolished in 2009, but people still use the field.
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