Who went to the Tigerfest today?

[Dusty]

What did you think of the setup at Comerica? Was it better than how it was set up at the Joe?

I didn't go, but thought this actually may be better at Comerica due to the lack of parking near Cobo due to the auto show. There wouldn't be the long lines for the shuttle to Comerica to take the tour, either. Plus, the Tiger Fest just seemed to have outgrew Joe Louis.

So, let's hear some reviews from those who went.

[mattie]

I took my daughter and we were there for all of about 20 minutes. It was freezing and the "heated" tents weren't all that heated. The organization made it sound as if the majority of the concourse was going to be heated tents and that wasn't the case. The tents I came across were relatively small and it wasn't much warmer in them. The only difference that I could tell once inside the tent was a lack of wind. You really couldn't tell where anything was. We took a ride in the elevator to the service level and there were lines of people everywhere. There were signs for what was going on in each room but you couldn't really see them because of the lines of people standing infront of each sign. I did not see one single player or coach due to them being in the rooms. You couldn't enter the room just to look around due to the swarms of people that were waiting in line.

I was highly disappointed in the event and will not attend in years to come if it is at the ballpark. I think that it was perfect at the Joe. It still boggles me that the Tiger's organization would think it is a great idea to have Tigerfest OUTSIDE in the middle of WINTER!

That's my take on Tigerfest! There are probably some that attended that loved it at the ballpark but it was just way too cold for my daughter and I. By the time I put my daughter back in the car her face was bright red and her poor little eyes were watering from the wind. It just wasn't worth the trip.

[TigerToes]

My husband and I went, and didn't enjoy it very much. I've lived in Metro Detroit my entire life, and know how to dress for the cold, but it was flippin' cold! The heated areas were few and far between. We didn't see a single player or coach, either, and we were there for close to four hours. You couldn't even get a glimpse of a player unless you stood in a line that stretched for nearly a 1/4 of the concourse. There was even a line to get upstairs! And the tours were a joke - much too crowded and confusing, with hundreds of people all milling about in the same areas. I much preferred the set-up at JLA. It didn't feel as crowded, you could sneak peeks of players, the tours were more enjoyable due to being more "controlled", and it was warm. I'm Diabetic, and my blood testing meter wouldn't work today due to the temperature! Not good!

It's sad, though, because I'll probably still go next year. Ill be so "starved" by December/January, that I'll conveniently forget my own complaints...

[Tigeraholic1]

It was terrible! Cold looong lines and no players to be seen outside of the tents. The AL Trophy was down stairs but the line was so long and cold that I did not even try to go down there. If Tigerfest is like this next year I will be sure not to show up.

The one good thing that happened once my buddy and I left the ice bucket. We went to Nemos and had a few cold ones and then walked around Tiger Staduim for probably the last time.

[mckibbka]

I went to Tigerfest today and I had a good time. However, the majority of the "good time" was from 10 am to noon (Don't hate me but I had the season ticketholder early entrance) because it was not crowded at all. I only waited 20 minutes for Granderson's autograph, 35 minutes for Verlander's, talked to Vance Wilson for about 2-3 minutes because we were the only ones getting his autograph at the moment, and got Craig Monroe's picture with us. After noon, it was so packed, the lines were ridiculous, etc. However, I did wait in one line for about an hour and got Bonderman's autograph. I was hoping to see Guillen, Maggs, and Inge at some point today but you can't have everything. I did really enjoy seeing the Tigers clubhouse and everything though. All in all though, I definitely preferred it at JLA because it was very cold and things just didn't seem as chaotic at JLA.

[Tigeraholic1]

Originally Posted by mattie

I took my daughter and we were there for all of about 20 minutes. It was freezing and the "heated" tents weren't all that heated. The organization made it sound as if the majority of the concourse was going to be heated tents and that wasn't the case. The tents I came across were relatively small and it wasn't much warmer in them. The only difference that I could tell once inside the tent was a lack of wind. You really couldn't tell where anything was. We took a ride in the elevator to the service level and there were lines of people everywhere. There were signs for what was going on in each room but you couldn't really see them because of the lines of people standing infront of each sign. I did not see one single player or coach due to them being in the rooms. You couldn't enter the room just to look around due to the swarms of people that were waiting in line.

I was highly disappointed in the event and will not attend in years to come if it is at the ballpark. I think that it was perfect at the Joe. It still boggles me that the Tiger's organization would think it is a great idea to have Tigerfest OUTSIDE in the middle of WINTER!

That's my take on Tigerfest! There are probably some that attended that loved it at the ballpark but it was just way too cold for my daughter and I. By the time I put my daughter back in the car her face was bright red and her poor little eyes were watering from the wind. It just wasn't worth the trip.

I saw alot of little ones today. The ads made it sound like the event would be mostly heated but those poor kids looked miserable. The vendor area did not even have heat!

Poor showing today...

[Oblong]

that's a real bummer. I hope they go back to Joe Louisl. I thought this would happen.

[estrepe1]

Sorry to hear that. I think the Tigers honestly thought it would be cool for people to be able to tour the facilities and see the portions that you can not see during normal parts of the season.

I don't think they were simply being cheap since Ilitch owns the team that plays at the JLA.

Hopefully they move it back over there.

[IdahoBert]

I wondered how 12,000 people could be accomodated by some heated tents on the field. I guess they weren't.

[tiger337]

I was highly disappointed in the event and will not attend in years to come if it is at the ballpark. I think that it was perfect at the Joe. It still boggles me that the Tiger's organization would think it is a great idea to have Tigerfest OUTSIDE in the middle of WINTER!

When I first heard that it was going to be outdoors, I could not believe it. It sounded like a recipe for disaster and apparently it was.

[Oblong]

I've never seen nice weather at Tigerfest. It's either been snowy, raining/windy, or sunshine with a piercing windchill of around zero.

But knowing you'd soon be walking around Joe Louis was comforting. What I liked aobut it was they'd have stuff on the main floor you could walk around and see, plus clinics and the radio show where you could sit back in a seat and relaz and watch, or you could walk around the concourse to see the players sign autographs (they'd be in the beer booths). The way they did the autograph lines was to use the upper bowl seats. That way if you didn't want to wait in line they weren't bugging you. You could still get up close to the players for pictures.

Was anything going on at Joe Louis today?

[TigerToes]

Originally Posted by Oblong

But knowing you'd soon be walking around Joe Louis was comforting. What I liked aobut it was they'd have stuff on the main floor you could walk around and see, plus clinics and the radio show where you could sit back in a seat and relaz and watch, or you could walk around the concourse to see the players sign autographs (they'd be in the beer booths). The way they did the autograph lines was to use the upper bowl seats. That way if you didn't want to wait in line they weren't bugging you. You could still get up close to the players for pictures.

Scary. It's like you channeled my thoughts.

The guy leading the tour that we took today talked about how "confusing" it was to find what you were looking for when TigerFest was at JLA. Huh? We didn't have any problems figuring stuff out. It did, however, take us close to an hour today to find the staircase that would take you up to Level 2. Silly us! We should have just been looking for the 100 yard line snaking around the fast pitch cages! DUH!!!

[bigred]

Hey, was Rodney one of the players at TigerFest? Just curious.

[markmeista]

The only reason that I enjoyed it was because I had a pass to get in at 10 a.m. when the place was still pretty empty. Once it filled up at around noon, though, the congestion was unbearable. I left at about 1:30.

[TigerToes]

His name wasn't on the list of participants.

Players:
Jeremy Bonderman
Brent Clevlen
Chad Durbin
Curtis Granderson
Jason Grilli
Carlos Guillen
Brandon Inge
Todd Jones
Kody Kirkland
Mike Maroth
Andrew Miller
Zach Miner
Craig Monroe
Magglio Ordonez
Placido Polanco
Nate Robertson
Ivan Rodriguez
Kenny Rogers
Gary Sheffield
Chris Shelton
Jordan Tata
Marcus Thames
Virgil Vasquez
Justin Verlander
Vance Wilson

Coaches:
Jim Leyland
Rafael Belliard
Jeff Jones
Gene Lamont
Lloyd McClendon
Andy Van Slyke

Front Office:
David Dombrowski
Al Avila

Broadcasters:
Rod Allen
Dan Dickerson
Mario Impemba

[estrepe1]

I would make sure to voice your concerns to the Tigers in some way. I don't know if they will listen but it couldn't hurt.

[estrepe1]

So far here are some of the Detroit News Photo's from the event:

[TigerToes]

Originally Posted by estrepe1

I would make sure to voice your concerns to the Tigers in some way. I don't know if they will listen but it couldn't hurt.

My husband and I were joking that I should sue them for not being able to test my blood. I wouldn't ask for money, just a private autograph session with all of today's participants. I'm greedy, so I also want my 27 game package upgraded to the full season. I'll still keep my crappy seats, though - I'm greedy, but not unreasonable!

In all seriousness, I do plan on drafting a letter.

[DET Mr Malefic]

Originally Posted by Oblong

I've never seen nice weather at Tigerfest. It's either been snowy, raining/windy, or sunshine with a piercing windchill of around zero.

I agree with everything you said in your post, but I wanted to highlight this. Not only have I never seen nice weather at Tigerfest, but it seems like Tigerfest weekend is always one of the two or three worst weekends of the entire year.

I remember one of the years they held Tigerfest the same weekend that they were holding the Winter Blast. This was the first year that they ever had the Winter Blast. And it snowed so badly, that they had to cancel the winter blast!

This is the first year since 2001 that I haven't gone to Tigerfest - Entirely because tickets sold out before I got mine, because I wasn't aware that it was even possible for the event to sell out - But from the sound of things, I picked a good year to snap my streak.

[THECATMAC]

We got there at noon, got in pretty quick and got my grandson's face painted. It seemed like every minute we were there it got colder. The lines for every and I mean EVERY signing venue was just packed. I never seen one Tiger..........until we left at 1:30p.m. We seen Pudge driving his Black Buick Mountaineer out onto Woodward. That was kinda funny he left so early he must of thought it was a joke too!

[Frink]

What others said. It was cold, but the bigger deal was that it was terribly confusing to find things, the employees were not particularly helpful, it was absolutely packed, and if you did find what you were looking for, the lines were so immense that it wasn't any good, anyway.

As an autograph seeker, it was horrible. I will not be going back unless the format changes. Going back to the Joe, or splitting the twelve thousand up over two days are two immediate solutions I'd suggest.

[DaYooperASBDT]

Resisting the urge to inject my Yooper machismo, on the cold weather issue ....

Aw screw it. Wimps !!

But all kidding aside, I had a feeling it would be too cold to pull this off, without bringing in about 300 "salamanders" to warm up the place. Then you have the issue of fumes.

Isn't the issue of 12,000 people at Tigerfest kind of a nice problem to have, though? How many showed up in, say, 2002, I wonder?

Yeah, they better scrap this format.

[Oblong]

The previous Tiger Fests were plenty packed. Enough to warrant lines over an hour for autographs.

[Tigertown Rats]

It was horrible. Not only was it crazy cold, but it was at least a 2 hour wait for everything. I was there with my brother and his 7 year old. We got there at 1:30, looked at the ice sculptures and bought him some overpriced baseball cards and were back on the road to Toledo by 2:15.

We did like laughing at the tent selling stuff from players past, like Randall Simon's broken helmet and Mitch Meluskey's bat for $50 each. What a joke.

[Oblong]

I bet for $50, Mitch Meluskey would come to your birthday party.

[Tigeraholic1]

Originally Posted by Tigertown Rats

We did like laughing at the tent selling stuff from players past, like Randall Simon's broken helmet and Mitch Meluskey's bat for $50 each. What a joke.

LOL yeah I did find a Jeff Weaver Bobblehead for $5.00! The bats for $50.00 what a joke for a Devi Cruz broken bat??

[Casimir]

Originally Posted by Oblong

I bet for $50, Mitch Meluskey would come to your birthday party.

With Randall Simon's broken batting helmet?

[DaYooperASBDT]

Mitch Meluskey? Was he around long enough to have any broken bats? Must have been in mint condition !!!!

[estrepe1]

I remember when we were excited about Melusky around here. Thought he had a decent bat just needed a chance.

Oh how things have changed for the better.

[BFK]

Originally Posted by Oblong

I bet for $50, Mitch Meluskey would come to your birthday party.

That's great.

On a serious note, everyone should attach a link to this thread when they e-mail the Tigers with their complaints.

I haven't been to a Tigerfest since they left Cobo. They were great fun.
But I looked at this years plan and decided no, right off the bat. To me, it had 'Too cold, too crowded' written all over it.

[CMRivdog]

With 12,000 plus people Tigerfest has outgrown JLA. Maybe they ought to consider moving it next door to Ford Field. (Its not like the Lions would be using it in January)

[Casimir]

Originally Posted by CMRivdog

With 12,000 plus people Tigerfest has outgrown JLA. Maybe they ought to consider moving it next door to Ford Field. (Its not like the Lions would be using it in January)

[Dusty]

Wasn't there a Monster Truck show at Ford Field last night? Why does the TigerFest have to be in January? If it was held in February, they could have it at Cobo after the autoshow clears out.

[keglerv]

I enjoyed Tigerfest immensely last year and was sad that I would not be able to attend since moving out of town. I thought this was a lousy idea to have it at Comerica and it seems that is the way it played out. I feel sorry for all the kids who couldn't enjoy themselves and the parents who shelled out money trying to have an enjoyable family experience. I am sure the players would much rather have been in a more fan friendly indoor environment as well. Hopefully the Tigers get it right next year.

[dadair6]

Originally Posted by Dusty

Why does the TigerFest have to be in January? If it was held in February, they could have it at Cobo after the autoshow clears out.

I checked the Cobo schedule and the boat show is next and runs from Feb 10-18. Figuring a week for auto show teardown (through Sun 1/28) and a week for boat show setup (start Sat 2/3) that doesn't leave a free weekend between the two. It looks like the auto and boat shows take up most of January and February. Plus, the boys report to Lakeland around February 15th.

[juiceman]

Originally Posted by dadair6

I checked the Cobo schedule and the boat show is next and runs from Feb 10-18. Figuring a week for auto show teardown (through Sun 1/28) and a week for boat show setup (start Sat 2/3) that doesn't leave a free weekend between the two. It looks like the auto and boat shows take up most of January and February. Plus, the boys report to Lakeland around February 15th.

It could be done. They had to tear down the auto show last year within a few days so that they could set up the NFL Experience for the Super Bowl. The NFL Experience took place the week after the auto show left. Besides, I don't think the boat show is really that difficult to set up. You don't have all of the elaborate displays like at the auto show.

[DaYooperASBDT]

Originally Posted by CMRivdog

Maybe they ought to consider moving it next door to Ford Field. (Its not like the Lions would be using it in January)

Only for pity parties!

[whitecapwendy]

Originally Posted by Dusty

Wasn't there a Monster Truck show at Ford Field last night? Why does the TigerFest have to be in January? If it was held in February, they could have it at Cobo after the autoshow clears out.

February the team is heading south or getting ready to

[The Ronz]

Originally Posted by THECATMAC

We seen Pudge driving his Black Buick Mountaineer out onto Woodward. That was kinda funny he left so early he must of thought it was a joke too!

LoL! My brother went and said he knew that Tigerfest was going to suck when the first thing he saw was Pudge leaving the event.

He was told that autograph lines were a minimum 3 hour wait. When he inquired on the price of an "Official World Series Ball" and was told $250 he knew it was time to go.

[iceteebone]

Originally Posted by The Ronz

LoL! My brother went and said he knew that Tigerfest was going to suck when the first thing he saw was Pudge leaving the event.

He was told that autograph lines were a minimum 3 hour wait. When he inquired on the price of an "Official World Series Ball" and was told $250 he knew it was time to go.

longest i waited inline was an hour and 20 minutes, and the players were supposedly rotating.