Protesters attempt to save Tiger Stadium

DETROIT, June 4 (UPI) -- Individuals protesting outside Detroit's Tiger Stadium say they don't see why the former Major League Baseball site must be demolished.

Brian Plungis, one of the more than 30 people protesting the site's impending demolition, said the former home of the Detroit Tigers could be used for an alternative project rather than simply be demolished, The Detroit News reported Thursday.

"They're trying to tear down a piece of history," Plungis, 29, said Wednesday. "I was a

little kid coming for games... I hope it will be turned into something useful. Anything is better than it being torn down."

Tim Meloche of St. Clair Shores, Mich., agreed there was no need for the former professional baseball site's destruction.

"What's the rush?" Meloche told the newspaper, "you can look down the block and see there's all kinds of abandoned structures."

The Detroit Free Press said while preservationists and Tigers fans protested the planned destruction of Tiger Stadium, pieces of demolition equipment arrived at the site Wednesday.

The demolition of the remaining section of the ballpark, which stopped hosting Tigers games in 1999, was approved Tuesday by the Detroit Economic Development Corp. commission, the newspaper said.