The push to complete a Hamtramck Stadium renovation recently received a boost, as Comerica Bank donated $20,000 to the ongoing restoration effort.
An effort is underway to bring the venerable Negro Leagues facility in Hamtramck, MI back into working order through a renovation. As envisioned, the project would bring new life to Hamtramck Stadium by converting it into a multi-purpose recreation and community space.
Comerica Bank, the Dallas-based financial services provider and naming-rights partner for the Detroit Tigers’ Comerica Park, has come forward to help the effort by committing $20,000 to the Friends for Historic Hamtramck Stadium. More from Curbed Detroit:
Comerica Bank recently committed $20,000 to the Friends of Historic Hamtramck Stadium for the renovation. Future work includes the grandstand and the baseball diamond; both currently cannot be used.
“The Stadium represents one of five remaining locations where major Negro League teams once played home games and represents a historic period in the Detroit community,” said Gary Gillette, president of Friends of Historic Hamtramck Stadium. “As a field that’s welcomed at least 18 members of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, Hamtramck Stadium deserves the preservation efforts and attention it’s beginning to receive. We look forward to completing this project for both the Hamtramck and Detroit communities.”
Hamtramck Stadium opened in 1930 and was home to a variety of Negro Leagues teams, including the Detroit Stars and Detroit Wolves. Its preservation effort is notable in several respects, with one of them being that it is among a limited group of Negro League ballparks that remain standing today. Should the renovation be completed, Hamtramck Stadium would serve a wide range of sports as well as community events.
Image courtesy Hamtramck Stadium preservation group.
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