'Downtown Man': Billy Joel announces July concert at Comerica Park

The Piano Man is coming to the Park. 

Billy Joel will bring his catalog of hits to Comerica Park on July 10, promoters and venue officials announced at a news conference at the ballpark Friday. 

Tickets for the show go on sale at 10 a.m. Nov. 15 at tigers.com/billyjoel. A pre-sale for American Express card holders begins at 10 a.m. Monday. 

Detroit Tigers legend Kirk Gibson was on hand as part of the announcement, as was Tigers mascot Paws. Together they unveiled a Tigers jersey with Joel's name on the back. 

Live Nation's Rick Franks, who has been working with Joel for more than 40 years, said they've been trying to put together a concert at Comerica Park for four years. Around a year ago, they circled the July 10 date on the calendar, and made it official with Friday's announcement. 

The 70-year-old New Yorker's previous biggest concert in the area was his August 1994 show at the Pontiac Silverdome, a co-headlining outing with Elton John on the pair's "Face to Face" tour. 

Joel and John returned to Metro Detroit for a pair of shows at The Palace of Auburn Hills in May 2003 and a single date at The Palace in May 2009. 

Joel's last area solo show came at The Palace in February 2014 and marked his 14th Palace sellout. 

That's a far cry from Joel's ongoing and super-popular residency at Madison Square Garden, where his February 2020 concert will mark the 73rd show of his sold-out monthly concert series. Overall, the concert will mark Joel's 119th at the Garden. 

The Comerica Park show is one of several 2020 stadium outings for Joel. He's also booked shows at Notre Dame Stadium in June, Fenway Park in August and Cincinnati's Great American Ball Park in September. 

Following a concert-free summer at the Tigers' home in 2019, Joel's concert is the second on the books for 2020, joining the previously announced Green Day, Weezer and Fall Out Boy concert Aug. 19.

Joel's concert comes during a Tigers road trip that begins July 6 and leads into the All-Star break. The Tigers return to Comerica Park for a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox on July 17.   

agraham@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @grahamorama