Tenant: Detroit Tigers (AL)
Opened: April 11, 2000 (against the Seattle Mariners)
Surface: Grass
Capacity: 40,000 (2000); 40,950 (2005)

Architect: HOK Sport (Kansas City); SHG Inc. (Detroit)
Construction: Hunt-Turner-White (a group consisting of firms Huber, Hunt & Nichols Inc., Turner Construction Inc. and White Construction Co.)
Owner: Detroit-Wayne County Stadium Authority
Cost: $300 million
Public financing: $115 million, or 38 percent, from 2 percent rental-car tax and 1 percent hotel tax, and money from Indian casino revenue
Private financing: $185 million, or 62 percent, from Tigers owner Mike Ilitch

Detroit Tigers tickets:

• Viewpoint Tickets - Best prices on Tigers tickets, MLB tickets and MLB All Star tickets.

Location: Home plate (N by NW), Montcalm; 1st base/right field (W by SW), Whitherell; center field (S by SE), Adams; 3rd base/left field (E by NE), Brush.

Dimensions: Left field: 345 feet (2000); left-center: 395 feet (2000), 370 feet (2003); center field: 420 feet (2000); right-center: 365 feet (2000); right field: 330 feet (2000); foul territory: small.

Fences: 8 feet, except in right-center field, where the fence is 11 feet tall.

Located in downtown Detroit, Comerica Park promises to play a major part in the revitalization of the struggling city. The $360 million ballpark has old fashioned touches, like brick and steel construction and assymetrical dimensions. However, there are many modern aspects, like a sunken playing field, rides for the kids, state-of-the-art facilities and one of the largest scoreboards in sports. The park could also eventually have a retractable roof.

Fans in Comerica Park have an open view of downtown over the right-field fence. They also have more room. Although the ballpark takes up more land than Tiger Stadium, it seats 12,000 fewer people. Comerica Park is not the only sports facility in the neighborhood. Ford Field, the new home of the Detroit Lions football team, is located next door.

In December 1998, Comerica Incorporated, a Detroit-based financial services company, agreed to pay the Tigers $66 million over a 30-year period for naming rights at the new ballpark.

A new, closer left field fence was added before the 2004 season. While the distance down the left field line remain unchanged, the distance from home plate to every other part of the left field fence was reduced. In 2005, the bullpens were moved into the gap between the old and new left field fences. The old bullpens in right field were replaced by bleachers, expanding the ballpark's capacity by 950 seats.

Comerica Park Trivia:

• Site of the 2005 All-Star game.
• The center-field flagpole was in play, like at Tiger Stadium, until 2003, when the fence was moved closer to home plate.
• The bullpens are beyond the outfield fences.
• When the Tigers hit a homerun, the two tigers atop the scoreboard roar and the fountain in centerfield shoots water in the air.
• Seats are 19-inches wide, and seats in the "club" section are cushioned.
• No player has to wait in line to take a shower. The clubhouses are large, but not too large.
• There are indoor pitching and batting practice tunnels.
• There are four to six "family" bathrooms where mom and dad can take their kids in together. These bathrooms have diaper changing areas, too. The regular restrooms have parity between men and women.
• The right field wall is higher than the wall in left.

More on Comerica Park:

• Seating chart

Recommended Reading (bibliography):

• Corner to Copa: The last Game at Tiger Stadium and the First at Comerica Park by the Detroit Free Press.
• Fodor's Baseball Vacations, 3rd Edition: Great Family Trips to Minor League and Classic Major League Ballparks Across America by Bruce Adams and Margaret Engel.
• The Ultimate Baseball Road-Trip: A Fan's Guide to Major League Stadiums by Joshua Pahigian and Kevin O'Connell.
• Joe Mock's Ballpark Guide by Joe Mock.
• Take Me Out to the Ballpark: An Illustrated Tour of Baseball Parks Past and Present by Josh Leventhal and Jessica Macmurray.
• The Ballpark Book: A Journey Through the Fields of Baseball Magic (Revised Edition) by Ron Smith and Kevin Belford.
• Ballparks: A Panoramic History by Marc Sandalow and Jim Sutton.
• Field of Schemes: How the Great Stadium Swindle Turns Public Money into Private Profit (2nd Edition) by Joanna Cagan and Neil deMause.
• Public Dollars, Private Stadiums: The Battle over Building Sports Stadiums by Kevin J. Delaney and Rick Eckstein.
• Sports, Jobs, and Taxes: The Economic Impact of Sports Teams and Stadiums by Roger G. Noll and Andrew Zimbalist.