Comerica Park in Detroit, MI – Home of the Detroit Tigers

On my continued quest to visit all 30 MLB ballparks, in this post, I am going to share our visit to Comerica Park. We were in Michigan in May of 2021 and spent the first part of the trip seeing the beautiful Mackinaw Bridge near the Upper Peninsula. It was beautiful and enjoyed it there, but after our time there, we headed to Detroit for a few days. The main thing I wanted to visit while in the area was catch a game at a park I had never been to, and watch the Tigers play at their home park. It is a lovely park and it was a beautiful day. Even though it may have been a little windy at times, it kept it from getting too hot. It was a great day to catch a game.

This park is located in downtown Detroit and has been the home of the Tigers since its completion in 2000. Prior to the opening of Comerica Park in 1912, their home was at a ballpark named Tiger Stadium, and played there for 88 years. Groundbreaking for the new stadium happened on October 29, 1997, and the Tigers played their first home game on April 11, 2000, against the Seattle Mariners.

One thing I noticed before even getting into the park was that it is located across the street from the Fox Theatre. However, at the main entrance is a huge 15-foot tall tiger statue that definitely grabs your attention. Of course, I had to take a bunch of pictures of that, lol. Little did I know that there are actually eight heroic-sized tiger statues located throughout the park.  The two that are the most exciting to see are the ones that are prowling on top of the scoreboard in left field and light up after a Tigers home run or a victory. Happily for their fans, we did get to see those eyes a couple of times.

Here are a couple of interesting things to note about Comerica Park. The first thing is their home plate area. The plate area is in the shape of the home-plate itself, and not as a standard circle. Thought that was quite interesting. You can see a picture of it above. Secondly, this park is the only ballpark in the MLB to feature a distinctive dirt strip, also known as “the keyhole”, between home plate and the pitcher’s mound. This used to be more common but is not really used in the league anymore.

This Detroit team began as a member of the MLB franchise in 1901. Since then they have won four World Series Championships, eleven American League pennants, and four American League Central division championships. On April 25, 1901, they played their first game at Bennett Park against the Milwaukee Brewers in front of 10,000 fans. For the fans that stayed to watch the end of this game, they were treated to a nice comeback. Entering the ninth inning behind 13–4, the team staged a dramatic comeback to win 14–13. What a start! Welcome to MLB.

One of the most influential players the Tigers picked up in the early years was Mr. Ty Cobb. He was only 18, and had a mean streak, but became known as one of the greatest ballplayers of all time. He joined the team in 1905 and quickly yielded results for the team.  In 1907 they advanced to their first world-series appearance against the Chicago Cubs but lost the series 4-0. They had a few more appearances in championship games and other world series in the 1920s and early 1930s but never earned the trophy.

However, that changed in 1935 behind four future Hall of Famers, Hank Greenberg, Mickey Cochrane, Goose Goslin, and Charlie Gehringer. The team won 93 games and won the American League pennant over the New York Yankees, and Greenberg was named MVP. The Tigers eventually went on to win their first world series defeating the Chicago Cubs 4-2.

There is a lot of history for the Tigers between now and then, but I thought I would share a few of the players that I really enjoyed watching through the years. The first one is Justin Verlander who was the American League Rookie of the Year in 2006. Verlander was the first rookie MLB pitcher in history to win 10 games before the end of June and went 17-9 with a 3.63 ERA striking out 124 batters in 186 innings. Then on June 12, 2007, he recorded his first no-hitter against the Milwaukee Brewers. It was quite an impressive start to his career.

Then in 2008, the Tigers added Miguel Cabrera from the Marlins. He found his home and in 2010 hit .328 with 38 home runs, earned the American League Silver Slugger Award, and finished second in the American League MVP race. I have enjoyed watching him play through the years, and was happy to be able to see him play at home.

As with each ballpark I visit, I enjoy looking at the numbers of the retired players and seeing how many I remember or recognize. At Comerica Park in the left-center field concourse, there are statues of all of the players whose numbers have been retired by the Tigers, including Jackie Robinsons, whose number was retired in every MLB park in 1997. A statue of Ty Cobb is also there, but he does not have a number, as he played baseball before players began to wear numbers on their uniforms. This was really interesting to see and different than other MLB parks. I was very impressed and we spent some time checking out the statues in between innings.

We had a great time catching a game between the Tigers and the Kansa City Royals while in Detroit. The Tigers won the game 8-7 which was exciting as it did go back and forth a lot.   Actually, the Tigers swept the series, sorry Royal fans. Comerica Park is a beautiful stadium and I would love to go back and check out another game in the near future.  Here is a link to their website with more information about the Tigers and their home stadium. Play Ball! p.s. Always an Angels fan 🙂

Comerica Park Visitor Information

Address:

2100 Woodward Ave. Detroit, MI 48201-3474

Phone:

313-471-7000

Tours:

Game Days

*Days:
*Only Tuesdays and Fridays

Tour Times:
11 am – 1 pm.

Rates:
Adults – $5.00
Children (4-14yrs) – $5.00
Children Under 4 – FREE

Non-Game/Non-Event Days

*Days:
*Only Tuesdays and Fridays

Tour Times:11 am, 1 pm, and 3 pm.

Rates:Adults – $6.00
Children (4-14yrs) – $4.00
Children Under 4 – FREE

Here is what you will be able to see on the tour – Please note that tour stops are subject to change at any time without any advanced notice

• Home Dugout
• Visiting Clubhouse
• Visiting Batting Tunnel
• Champions Club
• Ernie Harwell Media Center
• Detroit Tigers Walk of Fame
• Party Suite

Private Group Tour

• Private tours are offered year-round on non-game/event days for groups of 15 or more.
• All group tours must be booked and reserved two weeks in advance. Each group is scheduled for its own personal tour time.
• Lunch facilities are available. If you plan on bringing a lunch, please let us know in advance.
• Rates:
• Adults – $6.00
• Children (4-14 yrs) – $4.00
• Children Under 4 – FREE

To book a group tour or request more information, please email us at ballparktours@tigers.com or call the Comerica Park Tour Hotline at (313)471-2074.

Directions:

From the North

Option 1 (M-10, M-5, I-75)

• Use southbound M-10 into downtown Detroit
• Follow southbound M-10 and exit at Grand River (M-5)
• Head south on Grand River to the northbound I-75 service drive
• Use northbound I-75 service drive to Brush Street
• Take a right on Brush to access Ford Field and Comerica Park parking

Option 2 (I-75, M-8, M-10, I-75)

• Use southbound I-75 into downtown Detroit
• Exit from southbound I-75 onto westbound M-8 (Davison Freeway)
• Follow westbound M-8 and exit onto southbound M-10 (left lane exit)
• Follow southbound M-10 and exit at Grand River (M-5)
• Head south on Grand River to the northbound I-75 service drive
• Use northbound I-75 service drive to Brush Street
• Take a right on Brush to access Ford Field and Comerica Park parking

Option 3 (I-75, I-375)

• Use southbound I-75 into downtown Detroit
• Follow southbound I-75 until it merges into southbound I-375
• Use southbound I-375 and exit at Madison Ave (left lane exit) or Lafayette to access Ford Field and Comerica Park parking

From the South

Follow northbound I-75 and exit onto one of the following state roads depending upon your point of origin.

From the Monroe area (I-75, I-275, I-94)

• Exit northbound I-75 onto northbound I-275
• Northbound I-275 to eastbound I-94
• Use westbound I-94 into downtown Detroit

From areas south of the US-24 connector (I-75, US-24, I-94)

• Exit northbound I-75 onto the northbound US-24 connector
• Follow northbound US-24 and exit onto eastbound I-94
• Use eastbound I-94 into downtown Detroit

From the downriver area (I-75, M-39, I-94)

• Exit northbound I-75 onto northbound M-39
• Follow northbound M-39 and exit onto eastbound I-94
• Use eastbound I-94 into downtown Detroit
• Follow eastbound routes below

From the East

Option 1 (I-94, I-75, I-375)

• Follow westbound I-94 and exit onto southbound I-75
• Follow southbound I-75 until it merges into southbound I-375
• Use southbound I-375 and exit at Madison Ave (left lane exit) or Lafayette to access Ford Field and Comerica Park parking

Option 2: (I-94, M-10, M-5, I-75)

• Follow westbound I-94 and exit onto southbound M-10 (left lane exit)
• Follow southbound M-10 and exit at Grand River (M-5)
• Head south on Grand River to the northbound I-75 service drive
• Use northbound I-75 service drive to Brush Street
• Take a right on Brush to access Ford Field and Comerica Park parking

From the West

Follow eastbound I-94 into Detroit and use one of the following routes:

Option 1 (I-94, M-10, M-5, I-75)

• Exit eastbound I-94 onto southbound M-10.
• Follow southbound M-10 and exit at Grand River (M-5)
• Head south on Grand River to the northbound I-75 service drive
• Use northbound I-75 service drive to Brush Street
• Take a right on Brush to access Ford Field and Comerica Park parking

Option 2 (I-94, I-75, I-375)

• Follow eastbound I-94 to southbound I-75.
• Follow southbound I-75 until it merges into southbound I-375
• Use southbound I-375 and exit at Madison Ave (left lane exit) or Lafayette to access Ford Field and Comerica Park parking

Option 3 (I-96, I-94, I-75, I-375)

• Follow eastbound I-96 into Detroit
• Exit from eastbound I-96 onto eastbound I-94
• Follow eastbound I-94 to southbound I-75
• Follow southbound I-75 until it merges into southbound I-375
• Use southbound I-375 and exit at Madison Ave (left lane exit) or Lafayette to access Ford Field and Comerica Park parking

Parking:

There are numerous parking lots in the District Detroit that are open to the public on a first-come first-served basis. Parking facility access is generally two hours before game time. Vehicles will be directed into spaces, and reserving spaces is not allowed. Tailgating and in and out privileges are not allowed in any of the parking facilities.