On Tiger Stadium
Detroit was one of the premier sports cities in North America back in the mid to late 20th century. Tiger Stadium was the home to the Detroit Tigers and the Detroit Lions. Tiger Stadium would host two NFL championships and two World Series Championships.
The seating capacity was 52,416. That was one of the largest seating capacities for a stadium in all of pro sports when it was constructed. The stadium dimensions were 340 ft to left field. 440 ft from home plate to center field. Right-center field was 370 ft. The ending to the Backstop was 66 ft. The reason why this was a big gap for the backstop was because this was a multipurpose stadium.
Tiger Stadium hosted many historical events for the city of Detroit. The stadium hosted the 1941, 1951, and 1971 MLB All-Star Games. All three games featured home runs. Ted Williams won the 1941 game with a walk-off three-run home run.
The Detroit Lions were a dominant football team before the Super Bowl era. The stadium hosted two NFL Championship Games in 1953 and 1957. The Detroit Lions would win the 1953 NFL championship against the Cleveland Browns by a score of 17–16. But in 1957 they would face off again. This time the Detroit Lions would eviscerate them by a score of 59–14.
Tiger Stadium was one of the oldest stadiums in use. Opening on April 20th, 1912, the stadium would become one of the most important buildings in Michigan’s history. The stadium closed on July 24th, 2001. The Lions and Tigers of Detroit would make some amazing memories at this stadium. It will be remembered as one of the most historical multipurpose stadiums.
Motown was a sports haven in the 20th century. Joe Louis Arena would host the Detroit Redwings for its tenure. On December 12, 1979, Joe Louis Arena broke ground. At the time it cost $57 million to build. That’s $239 million in 2023 dollars. The seating capacity for Joe Louis Arena ranged from 20,000 seats for hockey games and nearly 21,000 seats for concerts.
This Arena would be the home to several Redwings Stanley Cup Championship teams. Even the Pistons would play a brief part of their history in this arena. The Pistons would play one playoff game in 1984 and the first 15 games of the 1984–1985 season.
Other events hosted at Joe Louis Arena included the 2006 WNBA Finals championship game, which the Detroit Shock won. “The Joe” would be the home for the Detroit Rockers’ soccer games, World Wrestling Entertainment events, many concerts, the 1980 Republican National Convention, and three NCAA Frozen Four college hockey finals. Joe Louis Arena was also the site of the infamous Nancy Kerrigan attack just before the 1994 U.S. Figure Skating Championship.
Very few arenas had as much history as Joe Louis Arena. The “Joe” closed down in July 2017. The demolition would begin in early 2019 and would be completed by mid-2020.
