Guardians Start Work on First Phase of $202.5 M Progressive Field Renovations

Construction starts on Progressive Field renovations, a VAA project.

CRAINS CLEVELAND - 10/3/2023: Tuesday, Oct. 3, was such an achingly beautiful day in downtown Cleveland that you half-expected Bob Feller’s bronze statue to step down from his pedestal and start pitching batting practice to Jim Thome, Larry Doby, Frank Robinson and Lou Boudreau.

But on the day the MLB postseason began, the main activity at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario was on the “Hickory Highway,” a series of wood boards lining Progressive Field’s third base line that allows construction vehicles to move around the field without damaging the dirt.

The Guardians actually started work immediately after their final home game on Sept. 27 and are on track to complete two renovation projects by Opening Day 2024: the "Upper Deck Experience" and a new building on East Ninth Street.

The projects are part of the first phase of $202.5 million in renovations planned for Progressive Field over the next two years, part of the $435 million renovation package passed by the city and the county at the end of 2021. The other $232.5 million will go to capital improvements (concrete work, seating, new boilers, etc.).

The Guardians have already torn out the stadium's grass and have started removing outfield seats, as well as those upper deck shipping containers that were about as popular as the free agent signings of Josh Bell and Mike Zunino.

The new-look upper deck will feature a beer garden down the left field line, a new group outing space in right field and new concession spaces, including two new "View Box" bars that will flank home plate and allow for more open sightlines from the upper deck concourse.

The new four-level East Ninth Street building in right field will include a new kitchen and commissary for the Guardians concessionaire, as well as additional storage facilities for the ballpark. The rooftop will connect to the upper concourse and serve as a new group space.

The Guardians expect four other projects to be completed by Opening Day 2025:

• The Terrace Hub, which will replace the enclosed Terrace Club that overlooks left field. The open-air hub will have terraced-ticketed seating on the 200 and 300 levels, and a Cleveland beer hall food and beverage experience on the 400 level that will be open to all fans. The ticketed seating sections will have their own private club space on the 300 level.
• The Dugout Club, which will keep the current field-level seats while adding a new exclusive lounge behind home plate. The club will also feature seven private lounges for groups.
• Clubhouse and service-level renovations. The clubhouse will be updated for the first time since Jacobs Field opened in 1994 and will focus on player amenities in performance, training and recovery.
• The administrative offices, which will also be fully renovated for the first time since 1994. The Guardians will add a fifth floor to the current four-level structure.

For fans, the biggest in-season disruption will involve the main team shop, which will close in mid-December and remain closed throughout the 2024 season due to construction happening on the floors above it. 

The team shop — which is accessible from Ontario Street during the offseason — is expected to remain open until Dec. 16, although the exact date could change.

Although that team shop accounts for about 50% of merchandise sales on game days, fans can buy merchandise at up to 10 other locations inside Progressive Field, depending on that day’s attendance. There are two major walk-in stores on the lower level and the team will lean on those during the 2024 season.

“We are working on some type of alternative (team shop) for next season, but we’re not ready to unveil the exact plans as of yet,” said Brian Tillinger, the team’s assistant director of retail operations. 

When asked if the main team shop will look the same in 2025, Tillinger said that’s still to be determined.

“There are some things that don’t align, timeline-wise, with what’s going on with the upper deck and on the field, so that’s why there’s not 100% answers on that,” he said. “Some of it is a ‘not needed to be decided right now’ type of thing.”

This winter’s renovations will be the first at Progressive Field since a $26 million facelift in 2015, when the team revamped the right-field and bullpen areas, and added The Corner bar and neighborhood food options. That project was privately financed by the team and the club's concessionaire, Delaware North.

This project is much bigger, and it’s aimed at reaching a younger generation of fans who are just as likely to come to the ballpark to socialize as they are to watch baseball. 

“We have one of the most beautiful ballparks in baseball to watch and enjoy baseball games,” said Chris Antonetti, the team’s president of baseball operations. “If we can put a compelling team on the field, and marry those two things, hopefully more people will continue to come.”



Read the original article on Crain's Cleveland .