Opened: April 4, 1994
Capacity: 35,051
Progressive Field
Camden Yards may have been the first but this park was next. I remember as a kid watching the first game played there on TV. I don’t remember exactly why I had off of school but it must have been Easter time. I watched more because they were playing the Mariners with Randy Johnson and Ken Griffey Jr but I still watched. At that time I was wondering what the big deal was. The only major league game I had seen was at Camden Yards. I had not ventured to the Vet or Three Rivers yet to make a comparison.
How did I get there?
I visited here the first time on my way back from Chicago in 2009. I had tickets for the Pirates and Astros series that weekend and Cleveland was playing the Devil Rays for a Thursday matinée. I wound up there in time for the Wednesday night game too. I stayed in a hotel downtown so it was easy to walk there. I later visited in 2017. I parked in Ohio City and rode the Fatty Wagon from Great Lakes Brewing for $1. The only problem with that was that it left 45 minutes before the game so it didn’t give me much time to get my tickets and get to my seat. It also didn’t pick up passengers until the game was over so I had to stay for the entire game rather than beat traffic.
Ticket prices
When I walked up to the ticket window in 2009 I was told that lower level tickets were “on sale” and were $25. I wound up 9 rows from the field for that price. You can’t beat that for a big league game. The Indians were not particularly good at the time and the Rays are not a draw. In 2017, after the Indians had been in the World Series I paid $17 to sit in the grandstand in left field. Not bad seats at all but much further from the field.
Finding my seat and amenities
Nothing hard about finding my seat in 2009. Food was available as a value meal and for a major league game it was not bad pricing. I did not walk around the park in 2009 which I regret not doing so I did not see what all was offered. I did so in 2017, mostly because I did not know where my seat was and wound up giving myself the grand tour of the stadium. I found my seat right before first pitch once I realized I bought a ticket in the grandstand and not in the upper deck.
In game experience
The Wednesday night game in 2009 featured a long rain delay and did not end until after midnight so not a lot of people were left. The Thursday game had a massive thunderstorm hit in the middle and cleared the stadium. The visit in 2017 was much better weather wise but sitting in the grandstand I could not see the jumbotron. That was my only gripe. They seemed to have the usual in game entertainment and in 2017 I sat near the guy who drums the entire game.
Getting out
Since I only had a two block walk back to the hotel this was easy in 2009. In 2017 the Fatty Wagon arrived when the game was over and 10 minutes later I was in my car. Nice and easy. I’d have preferred to leave around stretch time but oh well.
Wrap
Cleveland and Pittsburgh are very similar. Similar architecture and they use the same style of street signs. They are both blue-collar cities and are passionate about their sports teams. There is a part of me that likes Cleveland more. As someone who likes to visit breweries there were 5 breweries in the Ohio City area to visit and the shuttle that was offered to the game was just icing on the cake. It’ll be awhile before I’m back. I can’t justify a 5 1/2 hour drive just to visit.