The Tiger Stadium Fan Club will ask the MI Supreme Court to
review an appeals court ruling that approved the use of a $55M
grant from the Michigan Strategic Fund to help build a new Tiger
Stadium. According to the DETROIT NEWS. the Fan Club argues
that the grant should have been approved by the Legislature.
Court delays have already pushed the stadium's opening back from
'98 to '99 and the Tigers cannot begin construction until the
suit is settled. Tigers spokesperson Tom Shields: "Everyone is
just very frustrated -- we're ready to go. It's been an engine
revving up for the last year and a half, and we can't even put it
in first gear." Tigers President John McHale said he would be
"surprised" if the Court took the case which could begin no
sooner than October (Suzette Hackney, DETROIT NEWS, 7/18).
LIONS & TIGERS, NO BEARS: Should the Tigers and Lions
decide to share a stadium, it would push the opening date back at
least to 2000, according to David Barkholz of CRAIN'S DETROIT
BUSINESS. Lions Vice Chair William Clay Ford said he'd like to
"have a firm direction" by the start of the NFL season, but Louis
Beer, a MI-based consultant who has worked with the Lions, said a
multi-purpose stadium raises several problems: The Tigers want a
capacity of 42,000, but the NFL requires stadiums seat at least
60,000; the Tigers want an open-aired stadium, the Lions want a
dome; the compromise -- a retractable dome -- would add as much
as $125M to the price. Also, sight lines are different for
baseball and football (CRAIN'S DETROIT BUSINESS, 7/15).
