DETROIT -- Rumors to the contrary, the Detroit Tigers say they are not necessarily planning to join the exodus to the suburbs.
Bill Haase, the team's vice president for operations, said Thursday that Detroit is still the first choice as a location for a new stadium and they hope to announce a site by this summer.
'Our preference is to stay in the city,' he told the Detroit News.
But he added: 'If we can work out something that is workable for everybody. That's our first preference and we're going to work hard to accomplish that.'
Haase confirmed that the organization definitely has decided to build a new stadium as soon as possible, despite efforts to save the 78-year-old Tiger Stadium.
The new ballpark would be built for baseball and its design would not be like many of the newly built circular stadiums, with identical dimensions in both left and right fields, he said.
'We've looked at numerous sites, most of which are in the city of Detroit, he said.
Haase acknowledged that the Tigers also have looked at a site in suburban Dearborn, the subject of reports last week. But he denied that Dearborn, or any other side, already had been selected, as had been reported.
Tigers owner Tom Monagham recently purchased a large tract of land in Washtenaw County, about seven miles east of his Domino Farms, fueling speculation it might be used for the Tiger Stadium.
Haase said there have been no problems in discussions with Detroit officials about a stadium site.
'The ony reason I use caution is if should we not be able to work something out, I don't want people to believe we're not looking at other sites,' Haase said. '... I think our discussions (with Detroit) have been very fruitful.'
The Detroit Lions and Detroit Pistons left Detroit for suburban locations years ago. The Tigers and the Detroit Red Wings are the only major professional teams still playing in Detroit.
