Ballpark Review: Comerica Park

We went into our game at Comerica Park in Detroit with no expectations whatsoever. We didn’t know anyone who had been there, and no one mentioned it much in online ballpark travel forums. All we knew was that it was in Detroit, it was drivable from Cleveland where we had spent the night before, and that we should pack our Royals gear from Kansas City because they happened to be in town playing the Tigers.

What we found was a gem, one of the best ballpark experiences we’ve had.

There wasn’t an enormous crowd, but a beautiful Sunday afternoon against a good division rival still brought nearly 26,000 people to the game. Despite that, we had no traffic issues at all, and found parking easily in the stadium garage. Then we were pleasantly surprised to find the streets around the ballpark blocked to vehicle traffic, so it was a wonderful pedestrian zone for a few blocks.

The existence of massive Ford Field right next door limited the number of bars and restaurants in part of the area, but there were still plenty, and it was a nice, lively atmosphere around the park. Since it’s right across the street from both the Fox Theater and The Fillmore, I can only imagine the atmosphere for a night game when those historic venues also have shows.