A new conservancy formed by the Greater Corktown Development Corp. is working on plans to redevelop the baseball field at Tiger Stadium into a park for youth sports programs and is talking with the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame about making the site its permanent home — possibly in a piece of the existing stadium.

The Detroit Economic Growth Corp. has a letter of understanding for the project with Corktown Development serving as fiduciary for the newly formed Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy until it secures its own nonprofit status, said Corktown’s Project Manager Jeff Wattrick.

The conservancy, which has been quietly building its board and capacity for fundraising, plans to launch a campaign later this year to fund redevelopment of the field, some sort of memorial to the site and an endowment to pay for the park’s upkeep, he said. It’s uncertain what form the memorial might take.

Locating the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame at the site would be ideal, Wattrick said. “They have a 50-year history of this; there seems no reason to duplicate what they’re already planning to do.”

The hall of fame, which has been looking for a permanent home for several years, hopes to save part of the stadium for its permanent location, said President Jim Stark.

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People named to the board of the Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy so far:

• Richard Buss, vice president, National City Bank.
• Gary Gillette, editor, ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia and co-chair, Society for American Baseball Research Business of Baseball Committee.
• Kelli Kavanaugh, vice president, Greater Corktown Development Corp.
• Michael Kirk, self-employed preservation architect.
• R. Scott Martin Jr., former executive director, Greater Corktown Development and a partner in the Vinton Building loft and commercial project.
• David Mitchell, president, Greater Corktown Development.
• Angela Reyes, executive director, Detroit Hispanic Development Corp.
• Daniel Varner, CEO, Think Detroit/PAL.
• Kathleen Wendler, president, Southwest Detroit Business Association.

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Rod Nelson, SABR Research Services Manager