2 new gathering spaces, multiple food items unveiled at Progressive Field for 2024 (photos)
The Cleveland Guardians unveiled new concession items as well as two public-gathering spaces in Progressive Field. Progressive Field is undergoing a major renovation, with the opening of the home season on April 8, when the Cleveland Guardians open. Major changes include the creation of two new gathering spaces, the Terrace Garden and the Paul Davis Pennant District. Despite the loss of seats, capacity will remain between 33,000 and 35,000. The team's assistant director of communications, Austin Controulis, said these spaces are offset by additional ones brought in when the team removed the gray shipping-container structures along the left-field upper-deck space that held more spider webs than people. Food and drink offerings are also being expanded, with over half a dozen items being added for the 2024 season.
Published : 4 weeks ago by mbona, Marc Bona | [email protected], Marc Bona in Entertainment
CLEVELAND, Ohio – What’s the similarity between Northeast Ohio roads and Progressive Field? Both remain under construction.
The ballpark is in the midst of a soup-to-nuts renovation, and fans will see a few changes – some complete, some unfinished - beginning Monday, April 8, when the Cleveland Guardians open the home season.
Two major changes will hit fans right away: The Terrace Club area along the third-base side is now the Terrace Garden, and the Paul Davis Pennant District has been created in the right-field area. The garden is adorned with flower boxes and has enough room for kids to scamper. The Pennant District has vertical plaques detailing team history by season.
Both areas share a theme: Gathering spaces at baseball stadiums continue to be a trend.
Despite the removal of seats for the spaces, capacity will remain between 33,000 to 35,000, said Austin Controulis, the team’s assistant director of communications. That’s because the loss of seats is offset by additional ones that came in when the team removed the pleasing-to-no-one, gray shipping-container structures located up high along the left-field upper-deck space that held more spider webs than people.
“There will be some construction; it will look different in here,” he said. “There will be some ‘Pardon our dust’ in here that you usually don’t see.”
But the physical changes on opposite sides of the ballpark – the new gathering spaces – will offer a key change for fans.
“Even when we’re done in 2025, a lot of the renovations were focused on public gatherings, social gatherings,” Controulis said. “(It’s) the idea of mixing summer in Cleveland and baseball and being able to combine a social outing with a baseball game.”
This part of the multi-year renovation project is an architectural offshoot of the Corner Bar near the right-field foul pole. That space was developed in 2015 and has been a hit, especially with younger fans who don’t shy from standing-room-only tickets and drink rails, who don’t want to be tied down to a specific seat.
This season, any standing-room-only ticket for any game – including the Ballpark Pass in April for $49 - allows fans to roam throughout the public spaces. And in 2025, Controulis said, a beer hall is slated to open under the Terrace Garden, adding to the public-gathering spaces in the ballpark.
The physical spaces are not the only changes. The team has continued to evolve its food and drink offerings, with more than half a dozen items being added for the 2024 season:
Montgomery Inn pulled pork with hot sauce and topped with Flamin’ Hot Cheetos and jalapeño on a Kaiser bun. Location: Throwin’ Smoke BBQ (third-base concourse); BBQ stand (right-field district).
Boneless wings served with choice of sauces, featuring smoky barbecue and extra medium. Location: Fat Head’s (right-field district).
Crispy fries with diced chicken, crumbled bacon and drizzled with ranch dressing along with yellow queso. Location: Fry Box (inner concourse between home and first base).
Crispy, crusted mozzarella sticks with marinara dip. Location: Fry Box (inner concourse between home and first base).
Choolaah, the Indian barbecue concept, will offer its signature bowl served on a bed of fragrant basmati rice with spiced chicken or paneer (Indian-style cottage cheese) and tikka masala sauce or yellow lentil dal. Location: Concourse (near first base).
A playful twist on a classic, featuring Montgomery Inn pulled pork, diced ham, white cheese sauce and a pickle spear served with a vegetarian sausage on a hot dog bun. Location: Happy Dog (third-base concourse).
Delaware North worked with James Beard-nominated chef Vinnie Cimino of Cordelia on East 4th Street for these Midwest-style fried chicken drumsticks and jojos – the potato wedges popular especially in Akron. Location: BBQ stand (right-field district).
Throughout the park, non-carbonated Surfside drinks will be available. Cans contain 100 calories.
Vishwatej Nath, executive chef with Delaware North, said his team and Cordelia – which opened in 2022 - had been working since last year on a ballpark option.
It was a question of “Can we push this relationship further? Let’s support you guys, you support us,” Nath said.
It’s good timing, too: This week, Cimino learned he is a finalist for a James Beard Award.
The new items are coming at a busy time for Nath: Delaware North has a new kitchen space, a commissary on East 9th Street, so expect to see the occasional ballpark concessions rolling down the street during the season.
He said two goals were paramount with the new creations: Prioritize local partners, and offer shareable items.
Speaking of shareable, Guardians fans might disagree on who should start and who should be sent down, but when it comes to beloved drummer John Adams, who graced the bleachers with his presence for decades, Clevelanders are unanimous. The team renamed them the John Adams Bleachers. Signage is coming in the section as a tribute to Adams, who died in 2023.
• The ballpark is cashless. The team urges fans to use Guards Wallet via the MLB Ballpark app.
• The bet365 Parlay Plaza will be located in section 164 and adjacent to the Fat Head’s bar.
• Bark in the Park is returning Tuesday, April 23; Monday, May 20; and Tuesday, June 18. And in a no-brainer deal, Bark in the Park is sponsored by Milk-Bone and Pup-Peroni.
• Portable phone-charging stations called Zappy will be set up for fans for a fee.
I cover restaurants, beer, wine and sports-related topics on our life and culture team. For my recent stories, here’s a cleveland.com directory. WTAM-1100′s Bill Wills and I talk food and drink around 8:20 a.m. Thursdays. Twitter and IG: @mbona30. My latest book, co-authored with Dan Murphy: “Joe Thomas: Not Your Average Joe” by Gray & Co.
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