Sad news out of Detroit, the demolition project to tear down the original Tiger Stadium has gotten underway. Despite the fact that a group is working feverishly to save a portion of the stadium, the bulldozers and wrecking balls have already started demolishing the famed park on the corner of Michigan Ave. and Trumball. Here are a few pics of the partially demolished stadium:
It’s a fight to the last out on whether a piece of Tiger Stadium will be saved. On Tuesday morning, as crews continued to demolish the north end of the ballpark, the board of the city’s Economic Development Corp. recommended that the entire stadium be torn down. Later in the day, the nonprofit Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy said it secured $200,000 for its preservation efforts, after The Detroit News broke the story online. The conservancy vowed to keep fighting, setting up a crucial vote at the Detroit City Council, which has final approval. The city’s EDC, a branch of the quasi-public Detroit Economic Growth Corp., is recommending to City Council that all of iconic stadium at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Trumbull Street be razed and sold for scrap. EDC officials say the conservancy group has failed to come up with a solid plan to raise between $12 million and $15 million to preserve the baseball diamond, 3,000 seats and build a museum that would house Hall of Fame Broadcaster Ernie Harwell’s collection of sports memorabilia, EDC officials stated Tuesday. “Unfortunately the Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy has not been able to demonstrate any commitments to funding for construction and operation or a feasible plan to obtain such commitments,” states an EDC letter sent to the City Council. The conservancy group has missed key financial deadlines during the past year, the letter points out. “There is no funding in place to take care of the building physically, or for operations,” said Scott Veldhuis, project manager of the DEGC. The conservancy also has failed to show the potential for raising money for operations at the preserved portion of the stadium, officials said. The hold-up is costing the city money, since it’s cheaper to demolish the entire stadium than to carefully dismantle it around a portion that must be retained, the letter to City Council says. The EDC wants the council to vote before its July 29 recess, which lasts until Sept. 8. “No, we don’t have the construction funding. No, we don’t have the operating budget. We are still working on that,” said S. Gary Spicer, Harwell’s attorney, and a board member of the conservancy group. But the group said it raised $200,000 from two foundations and a private donor on Tuesday after The News broke the story on the EDC recommendation to totally demolish the stadium. Harwell said the conservancy hopes to raise $400,000 in the next few days and prove that it has another $2 million secured for the first phase of the project. “It’s a sacred place and we’re going to do everything we can,” Harwell said Tuesday afternoon. But at least one council member is ready to approve the EDC’s recommendation. “Tear the thing down,” said Barbara-Rose Collins, chairwoman of the city’s planning and development committee. The hulking stadium is hurting future development in the area, she said. “There’s s no purpose you could use it for except a Dracula movie.”
This is very sad. I wasn’t aware that the demolition project had gotten underway last week … this is such sad news. I really hope that the group can raise the money to save a portion of the stadium … it’d be heartbreaking to lose it all.
[Source, Source, thanks Sarah]
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