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Motor City's Misery Will Not Be Helped By Fan-Free Baseball

Brass Rail Pizza Bar is close enough to Comerica Park to hear the roar of the crowd when the Detroit Tigers play.

The proximity to the home of the Tigers, Lions, Red Wings, and Pistons makes the establishment a convenient choice for people to get a slice and a sip on game days.

MLB Opening Day postponed Due To Coronavirus
DETROIT, MICHIGAN - MARCH 25: An aerial view from a drone shows Comerica Park where the Detroit Tigers were scheduled to open the season on March 30th against the Kansas City Royals on March 25, 2020 in Detroit, Michigan. Major League Baseball has delayed the season after the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus (COVID-19) a global pandemic on March 11th. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

"That's something huge for us," said Mohamed Elmardi, the manager. "If it's not going on, our business is down."

The Tigers will be on the field for real games soon enough and the first home game comes Monday night against Kansas City. But there will be no fans as baseball and every other sport try to push ahead through the coronavirus pandemic.

"Tigers fans that may have season tickets and might come down for a 1:15 game on a Wednesday, they're not coming because they don't have a reason to," said Kenny Valentino, assistant manager at Delmar Detroit, a rooftop bar and restaurant a short walk from the stadiums.

A dozen years ago, a recession and the collapse of the U.S. auto industry hit Detroit hard. The past decade has seen the city claw back, with downtown and some urban neighborhoods attracting thousands of young professionals.

Tennessee Titans v Detroit Lions
DETROIT, MI - SEPTEMBER 18: Detroit Lions fans gather outside of Ford Field prior to an NFL game between the Detroit Lions and the Tennessee Titans on September 18, 2016 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Dave Reginek/Getty Images)

When Detroit's baseball team moved from decaying Tiger Stadium to newly built Comerica Park in 2000 and the Lions left the Pontiac Silverdome to play downtown two years later, it played a part in the city's comeback. The Red Wings built Little Caesars Arena nearby nearly three years ago. They convinced the Pistons to leave the suburbs to join them and development followed.

Downtown Detroit is now a sports fanatic's dream: The Lions roam next door to the Tigers at Ford Field while the Red Wings and Pistons are across Woodward Avenue at Little Caesars Arena.

With professional teams from four major leagues playing within a half-mile of each other, there's no other downtown in the United States that clusters stadiums so close together.

Coronavirus Pandemic Causes Climate Of Anxiety And Changing Routines In America
DETROIT, MI - APRIL 08: An empty downtown on April 8, 2020 in Detroit, Michigan. In an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), Detroit Department of Transportation buses will begin distributing surgical masks to riders. Nearly 19,000 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the state. (Photo by Elaine Cromie/Getty Images)

That means the pandemic hit a little harder here. Streets of the Motor City often feel desolate amid pandemic-related restrictions on sports and concerts and with many people working from home. Some businesses near Comerica Park, Ford Field, and Little Caesars Arena simply have not reopened since March.

"There's absolutely going to be businesses that you're not going to see," said Adrian Tonon, who serves as the 24-Hour Economy Ambassador for Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan. "Some legacy businesses, too, I'm sure, are not going to be here."

Bars and restaurants in the area, though, are desperately hoping people come to watch games on TV with social distancing guidelines in place.

US-HEALTH-VIRUS
Restaurants along Monroe St. in Detroit, Michigan are temporarily closed during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak on March 24, 2020. - At 12:01 am Tuesday March 24,2020 Governor Gretchen Whitmer ordered a 'Stay at Home and Stay Safe Order' to slow the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) across the State of Michigan which now has 1,791 confirmed cases and 24 deaths due to the virus. (Photo by SETH HERALD / AFP) (Photo by SETH HERALD/AFP via Getty Images)

"The real fans will still want to come out and be around other fans and not just watch the games at home," Valentino said.

Tonon has an upbeat view of the look and feel around the stadiums these days.

"If you look left and you look right, Detroiters feel like they got their downtown back," Tonon said. "That's our foundation and we have to build off that foundation. Eventually, the sports teams are going to come back. A lot of the businesses have pivoted whether they're going online or opening their patios.

"With all these things happening, we've created unity in Detroit."

Drone Photos of North American Sport Stadiums
DETROIT, MICHIGAN - MARCH 14: Aerial view of Comerica Park from a drone on March 14, 2020 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

In recent years, something else unites Detroit sports fan: The Lions, Tigers, Red Wings, and Pistons have generally underperformed and some of the teams were struggling to draw fans.

The Lions, who have a lone playoff victory since winning the 1957 NFL title, are coming off their worst season in a decade and yet the state's most popular team still regularly packs fans into Ford Field.

The Tigers dropped 114 games last season and have averaged 103-plus losses over the last three seasons. The Pistons have not been good enough to challenge anyone in the rare years they make the playoffs but not bad enough to get a No. 1 pick. And the storied Red Wings won an NHL-low 17 games last season and were handed another setback during the draft lottery, falling to the No. 4 pick.

Detroit pro teams weren't always this bad. The Red Wings won four Stanley Cups from 1997 to 2008 during a run of appearing in 25 straight postseasons. The "Bad Boys' Pistons won consecutive NBA championships in 1989 and 1990, and the team won it all again in 2004.

Buffalo Sabres v Detroit Red Wings
DETROIT, MI - DECEMBER 27: The 1997 Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings celebrate their 20 year reunion prior to a game between the Detroit Red Wings and Buffalo Sabres at Joe Louis Arena on December 27, 2016 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

The Tigers haven't won a World Series since 1984, but they won the AL pennant in 2006 and 2012.

The Lions went to the playoffs six times in a nine-year stretch just before the turn of the century and made it to three postseasons from the 2011 to 2016 seasons.

Few fans expect a title from a Detroit team any time soon but at least they know baseball is back to provide at a diversion and perhaps a dash of hope.

"Somehow or another, hopefully, baseball at least puts a smile on their face while we're playing here," Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. "And maybe, hopefully, sometime during this summer, they'll start opening up where our fans can get back in and some of the businesses are able to open up."

© 2020 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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