Comerica Park is conveniently located downtown on the site of an old law school. Seems like no one uses that name; everyone I heard referred to it as “Tigers Stadium”. Maybe the block of land the place is on is the “Park”, while the building itself is the “Stadium”. Whatever. What I do know is that it’s still very appropriate to call it “Tigers Stadium”; there are plenty of tiger statues around.

Photo (tweaked by me to bring out details) of one of the many tiger-head “gargoyles” around the stadium exterior. Note the baseball in its mouth.

There’s enough in the way of parking in the area, and mass transit access – both the Q Line and the People Mover have stops / stations within a block or two.

As with many modern downtown stadia, the main concourse is at street level, and it is quite wide and spacious with clear signage. There’s also plenty of room for displays about the team’s history, which you can take the time to read without blocking traffic. And a row of statues honoring some of the team’s all-time greats.

With proper honors given to the city’s Negro Leagues team

The food and drink selections are pretty decent, but the place is a bit lacking in areas with chairs and tables where you can sit and nosh without having to juggle things in your hands or lap. Then again, I didn’t explore the upper level, so I’m sure I missed something (like the press level and luxury box area).

They do have a Ferris wheel (the cars are made to look like baseballs) and a carousel (where all the animals are tigers, obviously) where one can presumably keep the kids entertained and occupied before the game.

Do the tigers turn to melted butter if it spins around too fast? (VERY old children’s story reference)

As far as the “in game experience” goes, there are the usual things like giveaways and trivia quizzes on the scoreboard between innings. Cheerleaders tossing out cheap t-shirts, and all that. None of it was a distraction, and it kept me entertained and engaged. I also liked the “Fan Cam” views on the scoreboard, where they’d elicit giggles by putting emojis on people’s faces.

(begin rant)

It is kind of convenient that advance tickets are all handled electronically, but can you make sure that the free stadium WiFi is really available to everyone? It can’t be my phone, since I was able to access my tickets both at home and in my hotel room. But at the stadium? Nope. Couldn’t detect the Tigers WiFi at all. I could get the (secure) WiFi at a couple of local businesses, but not the official Tigers one. After being directed to the main ticket office by the helpful and friendly staff (who couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t able to access the WiFi – even after tinkering with my phone), I eventually did get access when I wandered over there, but I think that was through the Detroit Opera House!

(end rant, begin lament)

In a way, it’s kind of sad that we’ve moved away from paper tickets. You can take all the photos and selfies you want, and even keep score or buy souvenirs, but there’s nothing like a paper ticket stub to show that you actually WERE at the game – and prove to people that You Were There for that special event (like a no-hitter or a number retirement ceremony).

An electronic receipt doesn’t cut it.

Getting ready for the Jim Leyland Number Retirement Ceremony

(end lament)

More things to See and Do in the Motor City later – none of which involve cars or popular music. Well, only tangentially…..