Detroit Tigers: Comerica Park to stay Comerica Park even longer
By Zac Snyder
The home of the Detroit Tigers will keep the Comerica Park name at least five years longer after Comerica Bank triggered a naming rights extension.
In 2000, the Detroit Tigers made the move from Tiger Stadium into a building with all that comes with a modern facility – including a corporate name. Comerica Bank, then a bank headquartered in Detroit, signed on for the naming rights in a 30-year, $66 million deal.
That would have seen Comerica Park’s name expire at the end of 2034, but one bit of news coming out of the start of the Tigers’ Winter Caravan is that Comerica has exercised an option in their deal to extend the naming rights an additional five years.
The company had the following statement regarding the news (via Crain’s Detroit Business):
"“We decided to exercise it now as a showing of support for Detroit and the Detroit Tigers,” Kathy Pitton, a vice president of communications for Comerica, said via email. “Our Comerica Park sponsorship has increased our name recognition in our primary markets as well as across the country. It’s also given us an opportunity to deepen our relationships with customers and to support the revitalization of the city in which we were founded almost 170 years ago.”"
Extending the total naming rights duration to 35 years puts brings Comerica Park into an interesting spot in Detroit sports stadium history. The Pontiac Silverdome was the Detroit Lions’ home for just 26 years while Joe Louis Arena hosted the Detroit Red Wings for 37 seasons.
The Atlanta Braves stayed just 19 seasons at Turner Field after it was converted from the 1996 Olympic Stadium. The Tigers will begin their 19th season at Comerica Park on March 29 when they host the Pittsburgh Pirates on opening day.
The Braves are an extreme example of poor stadium longevity. Baseball, perhaps more than any other sport, has a strong track record of staying in stadiums for long periods of time and there is no reason to think Comerica Park’s life will be winding down even when the naming rights are set to expire at the end of 2034.