Wayne County Circuit Judge Prentis Edwards lifted a temporary injunction earlier today, allowing the demolition of Detroit’s Tiger Stadium to resume. In roughly two-three months time, there will be nothing left of the Tigers’ former home writes the Detroit News’ Gregg Krupa.
“There will be no appeal,” said Rich Ruffner, a member of the board of the Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy. “This is a very sad day. We really regret that the city didn’t allow us to go forward.”
The city appeared this morning before Wayne County Circuit Judge Prentis Edwards to oppose a court ruling that would have allowed the conservancy to proceed with two years of planning for the rehabilitation of the property.
“It appears that the plaintiff has been given every opportunity on this project,” said Edwards. “The plaintiff has simply failed to come up with the requisite funding.”
Within a half-hour of the judge’s ruling, a crane began knocking down portions of the second deck along the third base line of the historic ball park, removing about 200 box seats.
Shortly before noon, two cranes, a bulldozer and a water cannon had moved onto the site, and workers with hard hats began to work on the demolition.
Members of the conservancy said they have been seeking a meeting since Friday with Mayor Dave Bing to discuss what success they said they have had in obtaining financing for the project and their success in the future.
It was not immediately clear if Bing would respond to the request for a meeting, but Bing said he will honor the judge’s ruling.
“While I remain sensitive to the concerns of those who wish to preserve Tiger Stadium, I also must honor the decision of Judge Prentis Edwards to move forward with the recommendations of the DEGC relative to the demolition of Tiger Stadium,” he said.