Ferretti: Historic Hamtramck Stadium’s offseason may finally end
From Christine Ferretti at the Detroit News on December 29, 2016, with mention of SABR member Gary Gillette:
This new year could mark the start of a new life for the historic Hamtramck Stadium, one of the nation’s few remaining Negro League ballparks.
A nonprofit dedicated to preserving the site on Dan Street off Jos. Campau said it is launching a crowdfunding campaign in early 2017 in hopes of raising $50,000 to restore the field’s baseball diamond, stripe out a soccer field and include a cricket pitch for area youth.
By June, the Friends of Historic Hamtramck Stadium intend to embark on a capital campaign to help repair original brick structures, renovate the grandstand and add new bleachers and railings, said Gary Gillette, founder and president of the group.
“It’s really important for us to see the stadium and field get a new life. We’d like to have kids playing on a renovated, restored field there next summer,” Gillette said. “What we also want to do is honor the heritage of the Negro Leagues.”
Gillette, president of the Detroit Chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research, said he began looking into the stadium’s history in 2008, when he learned it could be razed. Soon after, he formed a partnership with city officials to ensure the site and its history were preserved.
Read the full article here: http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/wayne-county/2016/12/29/historic-hamtramck-stadiums-season-may-finally-end/95984700/
Originally published: December 30, 2016. Last Updated: December 30, 2016.