HAMTRAMCK, Mich. – Hamtramck Stadium will receive a facelift worth nearly $500,000 through a National Park Service grant approved on Thursday by the Wayne County Commission.
Hamtramck Stadium is a historic ballpark where baseball Hall of Fame members Turkey Stearnes, Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige and many other Negro League legends once played.
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The grant goes toward renovating the stadium, which is a 90-year-old facility.
“This is wonderful news and I’m sure this project will bring lots of people to Hamtramck,” said Commissioner Martha G. Scott (D-Highland Park).
The $490,729 grant will be used to demolish some seats and handrails, clean and strip paint from the metal grandstand and repair and replace other stadium structures as needed.
The grant involves no county money and is provided through the park service’s African American Civil Rights of the 20th Century grant program.
The stadium was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2012. A State of Michigan Historic Marker was added in 2014.
The Friends of Hamtramck Stadium, a local organization, has formed to help finance additional renovations at the site.
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