Remainder Of Tiger Stadium To Be Demolished

Detroit (WWJ)  -- The effort to save a portion of Tiger Stadium has been thrown out by the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation.  Members voted 7-to-1 Tuesday morning in favor of tearing down what's left of the ballpark at Michigan and Trumbull. 

Speaking live on WWJ, Gary Gillette of the Tiger Stadium Conservancy, says the vote is a bombshell, adding that Michigan Senator Carl Levin was able to get federal money to help turn part of the park into a museum.

"We had no idea they were voting on it, we got a letter from them yesterday stating that we failed to fulfill the conditions....It's apparent they're not interested in progress, they're interested only in demolition," Gillette told WWJ's Greg Bowman.  Gillette said the group is preparing a response and wants to meet with Detroit officials. 

The conservancy had a $33.4 million proposal to preserve and renovate the old ballpark.  Gillette said the group had financial support from the Kresge Foundation. 

View demolition photos.
 
Waymon Guillebeaux, executive vice president for the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation said there should have been no surprises because the conditions were set in March. 

"We've had community feedback stating 'how many extensions are you going to give this particular development'," Guillebeaux told Bowman.  

Guillebeaux said negotiations already are under way with the two Detroit-area companies that carried out last year's partial demolition under a joint venture allowing them to sell the stadium's steel and materials for scrap.  The city didn't pay for the project but forfeited a $300,000 payment from the companies by not authorizing the complete demolition of the ballpark.
  
Guillebeaux says demolition, costing 400-thousand dollars, will begin as soon as possible.  He said he wasn't sure if there was any other development offers on the table. 

Listen to more from Gillette and Guillebeaux:  

Tiger Stadium opened in 1912 as Navin Field. The Tigers departed for nearby Comerica Park after the 1999 season.
  
Demolition of the ballpark began at the end of June 2008, and much of the stadium was torn down by last fall.
  
But the Detroit City Council voted 5-3 last October to spare - for the time being - the remaining wedge of ballpark in the city's Corktown neighborhood.  Council members said at the time they wanted to give the Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy more time to raise funds for a proposed redevelopment of the site.
  
The group submitted a plan earlier this year to renovate the stadium into a commercial building with a working ballfield for youth and amateur baseball.