The old crumbling red brick row is chipping away as every moving car passes by Michigan and Trumbell. Weeds fill the sidewalks where vendors sold hot dogs for over 90 years, and the parking lot, usually accustomed to street vendors clad with min-bats and Tigers hats has long been emptied.

Nine years ago the white baseball mansion otherwise known as Tiger Stadium still carried the smell of hot dogs and the crack of wooden bats into the overhanging bleachers in right field.

A lot has changed since 1999 when the Detroit Tigers took to the hitter's park for the last time.

            Old friends named Alan Trammel, and Kirk Gibson came back, and left, again. A singing hot dog vendor emerged, as did new landmarks of three story high prowling tigers, baseball bats, and a dolphin swimming on a building side overlooking the center field wall.

            As Comerica Park became christened as the new baseball Mecca in Detroit, Old Tiger Stadium with it's long Wrigley like concrete ramps, MLB pennants, and throwback Tigers logos was forgotten.

            Last week, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick met with members of the Detroit City Council to discuss the future of one of baseball's most historic landmarks.

            After the meeting, ideas of demolition swirled and plans to turn the corner of Michigan and Trumbell into a shopping center, or another parking lot emerged.

            But is demolition for the future home of compact cars, or a Super K-Mart really the proper burial Tiger Stadium deserves?

            For nine decades Tiger Stadium was home to players like Ty Cobb, Hank Greenberg, Jack Morris and Al Kaline, home to Ernie Harwell, the '84 World Series champions and the culture of Detroit sports.

            Many advocates and Detroit baseball die-hards have created websites and lobbied to restore the building that was once home to so many great baseball memories and records.

            But without the man power or will to restore and maintain Detroit's most coveted sports landmark it is merely a lost cause.

            Instead of half-heartedly leading an effort to restore the now peeling and crumbling sports stadium, Mike Illitch and the Detroit Tigers organization need to give Tiger Stadium a proper burial by bringing back one more series to where baseball previously thrived.

            For just one weekend series, either this season or next, the Tigers should give the place a face lift and one last hoorah. They could play a division series against an old-rival, and bring back the old players to raise the excitement level of what would be an already historic weekend.

            They could pull the weeds, paint the chairs, and remove the tree that is growing in the outfield. They could bring back the vendors, the hat stands, and the old crowd that used to watch baseball back when baseball was America's pastime.

            Money shouldn't be an object. Never mind the fact that Detroit Tigers owner Mike Illitch is rolling in wads of cash from his other business ventures: Olympia Entertainment which encompasses Comerica Park, Joe Louis Arena, The Fox Theater, Hockeytown Cafe, Hockeytown Authentics, the Tigers, the Red Wings and so much more.

            Besides, fans young an old would no doubt eat the cost of an inflated admission ticket, or a hot dog and a box of Cracker Jack's just for a shot of that old time baseball nostalgia.

            The idea is feasible from an economical standpoint because it is certain baseball fans would still care enough to see one last home stand at the corner. In terms of man power and restoration efforts, the lobbyists would help because they already pushed to refurbish the tiring eye sore that hovers over Interstate-94.

            To the casual fan it may be over the top, but to long time, old fashioned baseball enthusiasts it's the proper send off Tiger Stadium has earned. After weekend series, turned Tigers celebrity alumni weekend party, mayor Kilpatrick can bulldoze the old white walled structure as soon as he can.

            Sure it will be sad. Sure it will signal the dawning of a new era for the corner of Michigan and Trumbell - an era that will either involve 24-hour one stop shopping, or five dollar easy out parking, but that's okay, because old Tiger Stadium will have gotten the it's ride into the sunset.