The City of Hamtramck calls itself “the world in two square miles.” Now, this diverse community where more than 30 languages are spoken wants to be the recreation destination for Michigan residents.
“A place for the kids to play baseball, soccer, cricket, tennis. A place to bike,” Hamtramck Public Schools Superintendent Tom Niczay says without taking a breath. “Walking paths; a place where people can exercise; a venue for music concerts; movies in the park – or in the stadium; a place where we can have local art shows. To make it a true destination, not only for Hamtramck residents, but for the entire area.”
“I want there to be so much activity that it’s a freeway sign: Hamtramck Recreation District, this exit.”
The community is well on its way to achieving that vision, thanks to support from the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation and a group of unlikely partners. An $807,000 grant from RCWJF will allow the community to create a master plan and community engagement process for Hamtramck’s 26-acre Veterans Memorial Park, which includes Keyworth Stadium and historic Hamtramck Stadium.
The project also created a special partnership between the MML Foundation, City of Hamtramck, Hamtramck Public Schools, the Michigan Municipal League, Detroit City Football Club, and the Friends of Historic Hamtramck Stadium.
The project will include meaningful community involvement
on how to best develop the Veterans Memorial Park area. That
could include updating the Historic Hamtramck Stadium, which once hosted the Negro National League Detroit Stars baseball team, to include a cricket pitch, creating bike paths, and setting aside open areas for pick-up soccer. It also includes replacing the Keyworth Stadium turf, which is about a decade past its expected life span.
Lifelong resident Thomas Jankowski, 59, envisions walking paths, public restrooms, landscaping with trees and shade, and a cricket pitch at the current ball field. Jankowski owns two businesses in Hamtramck, the Whiskey in the Jar bar and Empire Disposal, which hauls waste from construction demolition projects. The bar already sees more business on days when the Detroit City Football Club plays at Keyworth and he hopes improvements envisioned in this project will draw even more people to the city–both as customers and residents.
On game days, “it looks like it was 40 or 50 years ago when I was younger,” he said. “Hamtramck has a lot to offer. It’s got a lot of potential. It’s a walking community; a friendly community.”
It’s a vision that will inevitably create opportunities for play and attract visitors for games and other events, said Dan Gilmartin, the League’s CEO and executive director. “The League strongly supports the concept of placemaking and creating safe spaces for people to gather and enjoy,” Gilmartin said. “That’s exactly what this project does, and we’re pleased to be a part of it.”