Former Detroit Tigers great Al Kaline spoke at a community leadership forum Tuesday at Lakeland's Joker Marchant Stadium.
The topic was the future of the stadium and Tigertown, the longtime spring training facility for the baseball team.
Kaline spoke about the team's need for $37 million in renovations.
According to the Ledger, $20 million would come from the state, more than $14 million from county taxes and more than $2 million from the city.
The Tigers recently signed a 20-year agreement with the city of Lakeland to continue spring training at Joker Marchant. The new agreement will take effect when the current contract expires in 2016.
The 80-year-old Kaline, a Hall of Famer, played for the Tigers from 1953 until 1974.