Detroit — The Detroit Tigers’ roster rebuild remains a work in progress.
But the ballclub is taking a significant step toward upgrading its 22-year-old stadium, which this winter will see the installation of state-of-the-art LED panels.
A helicopter was brought to Comerica Park on Monday morning to start removing the original light fixtures on its 16 light towers. In February, 472 new LED light fixtures will be installed, serving multiple purposes. Among the benefits, the Tigers said, will be a better-looking TV broadcast, hype opportunities for fans and energy conservation.
“I’ve been here three-and-a-half years, and I think it’s something we’ve entertained for quite a while. There’s been some things over the last couple years that have played into what we do and when” said Chris Lawrence, vice president of ballpark operations, speaking of the pandemic. “The opportunity was there to get it done.
“It’s an exciting thing I think the fans will notice.”
The LED technology didn’t exist, at least on this scale, when Comerica Park opened in 2000, but over the last decade, any Major League Baseball teams have begun retrofitting their lighting operations. The Seattle Mariners were the first, early last decade. The Tigers and Chicago Cubs are the most recent. All but a couple of teams have retro-fitted lighting systems and are retro-fitting this offseason.
Comerica Park’s old lighting system, using traditional bulbs, used to take several minutes to fire up, which proved problematic during the 2013 American League Championship Series, when an outage caused a lengthy delay.
“We don’t talk about that,” Lawrence quipped.
The new system will be able to switch the lights on and off in an instant, which will be key should umps order the lights on during a gloomy afternoon in April or September. It also will allow for light shows during key moments, like following a home run, or during a critical pitching change, for example.
Musco Sports Lighting is leading the project and will custom-build the LED fixtures on site, angling them as necessary. Detroit-based Bayview Electric Company will install the new LED lights in February, and there will be at least two weeks of testing — which will be completed well ahead of the Tigers’ home opener, April 6 against the Boston Red Sox. The Tigers’ first home night game of 2023 is set for April 14 against the San Francisco Giants.
The Tigers declined to publicly disclose the cost of the project or the exact amount of energy conservation that is projected. Lawrence anticipates energy conservation to be substantial, at least a double-digit percentage savings. An additional benefit, the Tigers said, will be less glare for the players, notably outfielders.
“We’re trying to do what’s right,” Lawrence said, “for the players and the fans.”
During Monday’s light-fixture removal — there were several panels on each of the towers — several stadium workers manned the towers (some wearing Go-Pros, at the request of the Tigers’ social-media staff). A 100-foot perimeter around the ballpark was blocked to traffic for security reasons, similar to protocols on game days.
The lighting project is the first major upgrade to Comerica Park since team CEO Christopher Ilitch promised “next-level” improvements back in 2018. The Tigers also are weighing whether to bring the fences in, a rallying cry for many fans, players and pundits since the stadium opened, and even since the fences were shortened in 2003.
tpaul@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @tonypaul1984