Tiger Stadium

Baseball has been played on this site since before 1900 and it has been the home of the Detroit Tigers from their start as charter members of the American League in 1901. Standing on the location of an early haymarket, the stadium has been enlarged and renamed several times. Once called Bennett Park with wooden stands for 10,000, it became Navin Field in 1912 when seating was increased to 23,000 and home plate was moved from what is now right field to its present location. Major alterations later expanded its capacity to more than 54,000 and in 1938 the structure became Briggs Stadium. Lights were installed in 1948 and in 1961 the name was changed to Tiger Stadium. The site of many championship sporting events, the evolution of this stadium is a tribute to Detroit’s support of professional athletics.