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Micki Maynard · Opening Day, And Commerce Blooms Anew
April 11th, 2011
The Chicago Cubs and White Sox already had their turns. So have the Cleveland Indians. Last Friday, it was the Detroit Tigers’ turn. 
If there’s one common theme among Opening Days, it’s that they’ve become days to party. Fans arrived in downtown Detroit in a morning deluge and waited out the rain, wind and general gloom until game time. Business owners around Comerica Park in Detroit were glad to have them. For once the baseball season starts, the area around Grand Circus Park comes alive with activity.
In recent years, Grand Circus Park, long a center of movie theaters, concert halls and hotels, has again become the city’s liveliest entertainment district. New restaurants have opened, and summer weekends promise lots of festivities. A winning team (please!) only attracts more people to the city in the summer, even though many will come anyway.
As an extra bonus, the Detroit Red Wings are in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, meaning at least their first two home games coincide with the baseball season.
But there is some controversy surrounding the sports events. In Detroit, where the budget is strapped, some neighborhood leaders say downtown businesses should pay for extra police patrols, rather than see officers diverted from the rest of the city. In some cities, team owners pay off-duty police officers to patrol around the stadium streets, something Detroit has yet to seek.
On Friday, for example, fans had the possibility of a double header — the Tigers’ home opener in the afternoon, and a late season hockey game at night. On Saturday, there was another double header — the Tigers’ second game and the return of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra after their lengthy strike.
Friday was a red circle day for die-hard Tiger fans and celebrants alike. The Tigers got what hopefully won’t be a rare victory this season over the Kansas City Royals, although the Royals went on to sweep the series.
Comerica Park was bursting with fans, drawing 44,799, the fourth-largest crowd.
The venders were back, and so were the servers who look after executives from companies like General Motors, Lear Corporation and Jet Blue Airways in their private boxes. While fans bought beers and souvenirs below, officials from the Tigers stopped in to greet their upscale clients.
Take a look at the atmosphere, and tell us: did you go to Opening Day? What’s your favorite Opening Day memory?
