April 9 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Corp. will have a presence this season at Detroit’s Comerica Park after all, thanks to Tigers owner Mike Ilitch.

The U.S.’s largest automaker, facing potential bankruptcy, discontinued sponsorships with several Major League Baseball teams this season. Most significant was a partnership with the hometown Tigers, who for the past eight years put GM’s name and vehicles on a fountain beyond Comerica Park’s center-field wall.

While the prime location drew offers from other companies for between $1.5 million and $2 million over the next three years, Ilitch decided to lay down the business equivalent of baseball’s sacrifice bunt. Amid a recession that’s caused U.S. new-vehicle sales to plunge 38 percent in this year’s first three months, the Tigers this season will use the fountain area to honor Detroit’s three major automakers -- GM, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC -- for free.

“I kept asking myself, ‘What can I do to help?’” Ilitch said in an e-mail. “I’ve always viewed GM, Ford and Chrysler as pillars of strength in our community and I understand the ups and downs that a business must endure. To me, it’s a small way of showing our support and saying thank you for all the times they’ve been there for this community.”

When the Tigers play their first home game of the 2009 season tomorrow against the Texas Rangers, the General Motors name will still be prominently displayed across the top of the fountain. It’s one of the ballpark’s signature features and is used for water shows before the game, between innings and after home runs.

Tigers’ Support

Last season, GM displayed vehicles on either side of the fountain. This year, Chrysler’s logo will be on the left side and Ford’s logo will be on the right.

On a wall underneath the fountain is a sign that reads, “The Detroit Tigers support our automakers.”

Since the recession began in December 2007, 5.1 million Americans have lost their jobs, the latest Labor Department data show. The effects of the economic decline have been felt significantly in the Detroit area, where GM and Chrysler may be poised to file for bankruptcy.

GM, which has had losses of $82 billion since 2004, said ending its sponsorship of the center-field area at Comerica Park was part of the significant cuts the company has made to its advertising and promotional spending.

‘Necessary Decision’

“GM and the Tigers have had a long relationship and this was a difficult, but necessary, decision, as we work through the current business challenges,” the company said in a statement. “Thanks to Mr. Ilitch, we still have a presence in the park.”

Ilitch, 69, is 301st on Forbes Magazine’s list of the 400 richest Americans, with a net worth of $1.6 billion.

Ilitch and his wife, Marian, co-founded closely held pizza chain Little Caesars Enterprises Inc., which first opened in the Detroit area and this year is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Ilitch also owns the National Hockey League’s Detroit Red Wings.

“He’s very passionate about the community and Chrysler, Ford and General Motors have been an integral part of our region,” Duane McLean, the Tigers’ senior vice president of business operations, said in a telephone interview. “In the end, this was a community decision more than it was a business decision.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Matuszewski in New York at matuszewski@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: April 9, 2009 12:49 EDT