Development of the old Tiger Stadium site at Michigan and Trumbull seemed a step closer to reality on Tuesday.
Matt Helms of the Detroit Free Press reports that the Detroit City Council approved transferring the vacant lot at the old stadium site to the Detroit Economic Growth Corp.
Helms reports:
The transfer will allow the Detroit Police Athletic League to pursue building a new headquarters on parts of the site in a deal that would preserve the old playing field for youth sports activities. Detroit also is working with a developer to build housing and retail on other parts of the property at the historic corner of Michigan and Trumbull.
Detroit PAL reached a deal with the city in July 2014 to build a new headquarters and other facilities along the western and northern edges of the site. PAL’s new headquarters is to employ 30 people, with the agency maintaining the playing field for activities including high school and college baseball.
The issue had attracted controversy in recent months because Detroit PAL announced it wanted to rebuild the field with artificial turf, not grass. Groups including the volunteer Navin Field Grounds Crew, which has taken care of mowing and cleaning up the field for about six years, argued that artificial turf dishonors the stadium’s legacy and isn’t as safe as a grass field.
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