Comerica Park Review

Rwwaaarrr!

Sup peeps? Sorry it's been a sad week-plus after watching my team get curb stomped in the Frozen Four. I did get to party in a poorly lit tent in downtown Detroit (without being stabbed!!) before getting to take in the Tigers game last Saturday. Being it my first visit to Comerica, you know I had to give the people a stadium review.

Looks
It's a very pretty park. The excessive amounts of tiger-gargoyles (targoyles?) do detract some from the overall feel. There are big ones, small ones, ones in places you'd expect and others you wouldn't. I looked over my shoulder in the bathroom to make sure there wasn't a tiger-kitty peeping. The concourses were very open and wide, making it easy to walk through during crowded days. I thought the Ferris wheel and merry-go-round were tacky, but I'm sure I'd like it if I had kids running around. The grand entrance is very cool (pictured above) and the downtown area surrounding the park wasn't as abandoned as other parts of Detroit seemed to be.

Concessions
I had a Mucho Nacho. Delicious and sloppy. Thanks to the girls next to us who Jetered me with a pair of wetnaps I didn't have to . Yes, I did just use Jeter as a verb to mean 'come through in the clutch.' Get used to/over it. Prices weren't ridiculous and there were guys selling seeds, peanuts and Big League Chew for cheap outside. I really liked that The Jake had Brooklyn Lager for sale when the Yankees were in town and would recommend that other parks buy a few cases of a beer local to the visitors to pump up sales. There was none of that in Detroit, but I did have a LaBatts that was the coldest beer I have ever had at a ballpark. If they can keep that up - or down, rather - that's a huge bonus for July-August.

Seats
Not badly priced at all. $12 for some uppers. The market is off because of Detroit's main (only?) industry is up the river. There was nary a scalper with more than singles on 40 degree, windy opening day, but foul balls were clanging through empty sections all over the park during the gorgeous Saturday that hosted the second day of the game.

Other
The bathrooms were clean, but they were not very big. For a 60% capacity crowd, I didn't expect to have to wait to hit the head as long as I did. Fans around us were friendly and the PA guys were alright. The Chinese New Year celebration before first pitch was a little bit weird. Maybe because it had nothing to do with baseball, maybe because Tigers fans are a late arriving crowd and there were seemingly as many people on the field as in the stands.

Overall
Great ballpark in a city experiencing some very difficult times. I would go again, but only to see the Yankees. The tiger's roar sound effect after a HR is a little HSish.

-Jesse