Tigers and Chiefs: MLB Baseball 23 September 2016

So, continuing my tour of the USA with my son, we left Cleveland after 6 days there and today headed via Michigan towards London Ontario in Canada.  We planned to stay there the night before a short drive to Toronto where we were spending the Saturday night.

Well, that was the plan of course. Now, there were a number of issues to remember:

1. We had no road maps.
2. We were crossing from the USA to Canada and had not arranged a Visa etc, nor had we advised the US authorities of our plan to leave and later re enter USA.
3. We had no hotel booked for tonight.
4. I had to put up with Tom's choice of music, as I was driving he had the control of the music.

Well, the first one was not a problem. Thanks to modern technology and the THREE mobile network, I was able to use my mobile phone in the USA and the Google Maps application to guide us on the way. ( More about this later,).

The second issue turned out not to be a problem today as we never left the USA after all! Explanation to follow.

This again turned out to be not a problem, indeed it proved to be a blessing. More again later.

The latter was not a problem as Tom has the good taste to like the same music as me. A 23 year old who is into 70s/80s/90s music!

We made great progress up the interstate. In fact before lunchtime we we approaching Detroit. We had plenty of time, so decided to drive into downtown Detroit and have a look round Downtown Detroit. Now, I checked and the motor was armour plated and our insurance policies covered us being shot!

We found a car park on a derelict plot of land in centre of Detroit. When we went to pay for the parking. The attendant said if we wanted to stay beyond 5pm we would have to pay more because there was a higher rate when there was a baseball game on! We didn't know there was a game or where the stadium was. The parking attendant put us straight on both.

Tom and I went for a walk round downtown Detroit and visited  the baseball ground and the nearby NFL stadium. Tickets for the baseball were only $15 upwards. Do we go to the baseball? This is where things started to come together. As we had not booked a hotel in London, we could rearrange our plans. Next up, it was  finding a hotel in Detroit. This is where the technology came in handy. I was able to use my mobile phone and via hotel booking apps, identify suitable hotels in downtown detroit to stay at for the night. We booked a hotel on the Riverfront at Detroit and only a few steps from the light rail system that runs around the downtown area for only cents a go.

Hotel booked, we purchased tickets, then went for lunch at a Wings restaurant of course a beer or two was consumed. We then drove the short distance to the hotel, dumped our bags, showered etc and headed back out for the baseball.

The Americans are good planners, and immediately opposite the ground was a bar with a huge car park that was turned into several stalls selling food and several serving alcohol. None of the British attitude of closing pubs near a ball game.

A couple more beers before the game and we headed into the ground.  This is a new ground built in the heart of Downtown Detroit. The centre of Detroit is an interesting place. It is run down and shows sign of serious decline, but looking at the buildings it is clear to see this used to be a very rich City. There are some magnificent buildings. Sadly, many have seen better days. As the US car industry declined so did the fortune of this city and its inhabitants.

The development of the NFL Stadium and Baseball Park are clearly attempts to regenerate the centre of Detroit. It is showing some early signs of paying off, but this City has a long battle ahead.

The first thing I noticed when inside the ground was the extortionate cost of merchandise in the club shop, despite it being a “fans appreciation “night and 25% discount on many products. Never again will I think English football clubs overcharge for merchandise. Actually, I will, but just remember the US are even worse for over charging.

The game itself was a rather one sided affair. Kansas never showed up and it was obvious from the 2nd or 3rd innings that it would be an easy win for Detroit. This time at least we saw plenty of runs. Detroit winning 8-3 in the end.

The ground afforded a great view over Downtown Detroit and of a band playing at some posh corporate event at a nearby hotel. Free entertainment as well as the game? Not really, the band were I have to say bloody awful. I would call them tone deaf, but that is an insult to those who are tone deaf.

After the game, we left the ground hoping to go back to the bar we were in before the game for food, but... the kitchen was closed!!!! It was only 2300 and the bar was not serving food. Tom and I set off to find another food place near the rail stop. We did find a really nice tapas style restaurant that did a very interesting blackberry ale! I have to say it was rather nice.

Walking from the ground the couple of hundred yards to the restaurant we did see another side of Detroit. There were lots of homeless people around the nearby park/ green area. Detroit looked a lot less safe after the ball game than it did before the game.

Fortunately the rail station had police keeping undesirables out. Fortunately it was only a few yards from the restaurant to the Station and the Station to the Hotel. On the short train ride, we passed a reminder of one of the most famous sportsmen to come from  Detroit, namely the Joe Louis Arena , named after the famous boxer.

It was only that night when I did a bit of research I remembered Detroit is the most dangerous city in the USA!


Look ,a whole piece about Detroit and no mention of its musical significance being the home of Motown...... D'oh!