Progressive Field

Progressive Field

"The Jake"
Progressive Field
Former names	Jacobs Field (1994–2008)
Location	2401 Ontario Street Cleveland, Ohio, United States 44115
Coordinates	41°29′45″N 81°41′7″W / 41.49583°N 81.68528°WCoordinates: 41°29′45″N 81°41′7″W / 41.49583°N 81.68528°W
Public transit	Tower City-Public Square Station
Owner	Cuyahoga County
Operator	Gateway Economic Development Corporation
Capacity	42,865 (1994–1996)[1] 43,368 (1997–2003)[1] 43,389 (2004)[1] 43,405 (2005)[1] 43,415 (2006–2007)[1] 43,545 (2008)[2] 45,199 (2009)[3] 45,569 (2010)[4] 43,441 (2011)[5] 43,429 (2012)[6] 42,241 (2013)[7] 42,487 (2014)[8] 36,856 (2015)[9] 35,225 (2016–present)[10]
Record attendance	45,274 (October 4, 1997; Division Series Game 5)[11]
Field size	Left field – 325 feet (99 m) Left-center – 370 feet (113 m) Center field – 405 feet (123 m) Deep center field – 410 feet (125 m) Right-center – 375 feet (114 m) Right field – 325 feet (99 m) Fence height Left field – 19 feet (6 m) Center and right fields – 9 feet (3 m)[12]
Surface	Kentucky Bluegrass
Scoreboard	Daktronics 59 feet (18 m) high by 221 feet (67 m) wide
Construction
Broke ground	January 13, 1992[11]
Opened	April 2, 1994[11]
Renovated	October 2014–April 2015 October 2015–April 2016
Construction cost	$175 million ($279 million in 2016 dollars[13])
Architect	Populous
Structural engineer	Osborn Engineering[14]
Services engineer	Polytech Engineering[15]
General contractor	Huber, Hunt & Nichols[14]
Tenants
Cleveland Indians (MLB) (1994–present)
Website
Official website

Progressive Field is a baseball park located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is the home field of the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball, and together with Quicken Loans Arena, is part of the Gateway Sports and Entertainment Complex.^[16] It was ranked as Major League Baseball's best ballpark in a 2008 Sports Illustrated fan opinion poll.^[17]

The ballpark was named Jacobs Field after team owners Richard and David Jacobs, from its inaugural season in 1994 until 2008, when its name was changed to Progressive Field after its naming rights were purchased by locally based Progressive Insurance Company. The ballpark is referred to as "The Jake", based on its original name.^[18]

History

The Cleveland Indians previously played at Cleveland Stadium, which they shared with the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League. The Indians first played at the stadium, which seated nearly 80,000 people for baseball, for the 1932 and 1933 seasons, then returned to the smaller League Park. From 1936–1946, they played weekend and holiday games there, and eventually night games and other dates where larger crowds were expected, moving to the stadium full-time in 1947. Cleveland Stadium was the largest stadium in the American League during its tenure as a baseball facility and was the largest stadium in Major League Baseball for all but a few seasons.^[19]

Plans for a new stadium first began in 1984 when Cuyahoga County voters defeated a property tax for building a 100% publicly funded domed stadium, which would have been shared by the Indians and Browns. Later that year, committee leaders met to re-evaluate these plans, and a location was later agreed upon. The eventual site of the stadium, the location of the Central Market, was acquired in December 1985. In April 1986, designs for the new stadium were agreed upon and about a year later, demolition at the site started.^[11] In May 1990, Cuyahoga County voters approved a 15-year sin tax on alcohol and cigarette sales to finance the new Gateway Sports and Entertainment Complex, which included the ballpark, an adjacent arena for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and two parking garages.^[20] Construction started in January 1992, and by May of that year, the concrete construction had been poured. In June 1992, Mel Harder, who pitched the opening game at Cleveland Stadium in 1932,^[21] and contemporary stars Charles Nagy and Sandy Alomar, Jr., executed the ceremonial first pitch at the site of the new ballpark before construction began. The installation of seating was completed in October 1993. The ballpark, which was referred to as "Cleveland Indians Baseball Park" on blueprints, cost approximately $175 million to build, of which $91 million was provided by Indians owner Richard Jacobs. The remaining $84 million was raised by the sin tax.^[14]

The ballpark opened on April 4, 1994. It was the first new major sporting facility in the city of Cleveland since Cleveland Arena opened in 1937. President Bill Clinton threw out the ceremonial first pitch, and the Indians defeated the Seattle Mariners 4–3 in 11 innings.^[11]

In 1995, the Indians qualified for the World Series for the first time since 1954; it was the first time the World Series was played at Jacobs Field. The Indians lost to the Atlanta Braves in six games. Two years later, Jacobs Field hosted its first All-Star Game and the first All Star Game in Cleveland since 1981. Later that year, the Indians hosted the 1997 World Series, which they lost to the Florida Marlins in seven games. On July 3, 1999, Jim Thome hit the longest home run in Jacobs Field history, with a 511 feet (156 m) hit to center field.^[11]

On October 5, 2007, in the eighth inning of a playoff game against the New York Yankees, a swarm of insects believed to be midges from Lake Erie, enveloped the playing field, distracting relief pitcher Joba Chamberlain. Chamberlain walked Grady Sizemore, who later scored the tying run on a wild pitch. The incident became known as the "Bug Game". However, this was not the first time the insects plagued Jacobs Field.^[22]

An event called "Snow Days" debuted at Progressive Field in November 2010. The first day, called "Snopening Day", was held on November 26 and the event continued until January 2, 2011. An ice skating track called the "Frozen Mile" was installed around the warning track, the "Batterhorn" was a snow tubing hill on the bleachers and other events were staged around the field and home run porch.^[23] "Snow Days" returned in November 2011, and closed on January 16. The Batterhorn was moved to the Toyota Home Run porch and the Frozen Mile was rerouted. The park also added the "Frozen Diamond", an ice rink covering the infield. On January 15, 2012, the park hosted its first ice hockey game, a match between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Michigan Wolverines, the first outdoor college hockey game in Ohio.^[24] On June 1, 2012, it was announced that "Snow Days" would not run in 2012 due to low attendance in 2011. In part, this was caused by the warmest winter on record, with temperatures of 60 °F (16 °C) on "Snopening Day."^[25]

Attendance records

Progressive Field set a major league record between June 12, 1995 and April 4, 2001 by selling out 455 straight games.^[26] Demand for tickets was so great that all 81 home games were sold out before opening day in five separate seasons.^[11] The Indians retired the number 455 in honor of the sellout record. The Boston Red Sox later surpassed this record when Fenway Park recorded 456 straight sellouts on September 9, 2008.^[27] The record for the largest attendance at Progressive Field was set on Game 3 of the 1997 ALDS when 45,274 people attended the game.^[11] On Saturday, April 2, 2011, the Indians' lowest attendance record was broken by a crowd of 9,853,^[18] and again the following day with an attendance figure of 8,726.^[28]

Naming rights

View from Right Field

Naming rights were acquired in 1994 by team owner Richard Jacobs, who paid for rights until the end of 2006. The Jacobs Field name gave rise to the nickname "The Jake" for the ballpark.^[29]

The Indians announced on January 11, 2008, that naming rights to the park had been purchased by Progressive Corporation, an insurance company headquartered in nearby Mayfield, Ohio.^[29] Removal of the iconic Jacobs Field sign on the front of the building began the morning of January 18,^[30] and the replacement sign was installed on March 25.^[31] Progressive agreed to pay $57.6 million for the naming rights for 16 years.^[32][33] There were discussions about instead naming the ballpark "Progressive Park", but it was later realized that this name belonged to a picnic facility in Council Bluffs, Iowa, so the name "Progressive Field" was used instead.^[33]

The Indians extended their lease agreement with Gateway Economic Development Corp. for the stadium in August 2008 from 2013 to 2023. The agreement gives the team four five-year renewal options after 2023.^[34]

Design

Pregame festivities at game one of the 2007 American League Division Series

The ballpark was designed by HOK Sport, now known as Populous, a division of Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum. HOK designed it as the second retro-modern ballpark,^[35] with asymmetrical fences of varying heights, a smaller upper deck, and stepped tiers. It is similar to HOK's Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, which was the first retro-modern ballpark. The ballpark was sited to give a favorable view of Cleveland's downtown skyline. The structural engineering was done by a Cleveland company, Osborn Engineering, which helped design League Park, Cleveland Municipal Stadium, "Old" Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park.^[36] It was designed to blend in with the city of Cleveland with its exposed steel design and the vertical light towers.^[37]

Features

A view from the lower deck, with Quicken Loans Arena and the Terminal Tower in the background. The Terrace Club is behind the windows to the left of the foul pole.

The ballpark has numerous unique structural features. The field is situated on 12-acre (4.9 ha) of Kentucky Bluegrass.^[11] It is illuminated by 19 white vertical light towers; three behind the scoreboard, six behind first base, six behind third base and four in right field, which stand 200 feet (61 m) above street level and 218 feet (66 m) above the playing field and are said to resemble toothbrushes. The distinctive light towers were incorporated into a version of the original Jacobs Field logo and the 1997 MLB All-Star Game logo.^[38]

The park features distinctive dimensions; left and right field are both 325 feet (99 m) from homeplate, but left field has a 19-foot (6 m) high wall, known as the "Little Green Monster".^[39][40] The center and right field walls are 9 feet (3 m) high. The park features traditional hunter green seats angled at 8-12° on three tiers around the park except for center field which has no seats and left field which uses bleachers.^[12][41]

The bullpens, reconfigured between the 2014 and 2015 seasons, are raised above the playing field, which allows fans to see players warming up. Both bullpens are located adjacent to section 103 behind right-center field, with the Indians' bullpen closer to the field.^[11][42] Unlike most ballparks, the Indians' dugout is along the third base line and the visitors' dugout is located along the first base line.^[12] When the ballpark was built it contained 121 luxury boxes. A remodel and renovation between the 2014 and 2015 seasons removed six of them for a total of 115, the second most in Major League Baseball.^[43]

The corkscrew shaped wind turbine at Progressive Field was located in right field

Prior to the start of the 1997 season, two sections with 480 seats were added onto the ends of the bleacher section.^[44] In 2004, South Dakota-based company Daktronics installed the then-largest video display at a sports venue in the world, measuring 36 feet (11 m) high by 149 feet (45 m) wide. The out-of-town scoreboard along the left field wall was also replaced.^[45] A new scoreboard system was installed for the 2016 season. The main scoreboard above the bleachers measures 59 feet (18 m) high by 221 feet (67 m) wide with 13,000 square feet (1,200 m²) of screen space.^[46]

In 2007, the Indians became the first American League team to install solar panels on their stadium.^[47] They also spent $1.1 million to convert a picnic area behind the center field fence into "Heritage Park", which features 27 plaques honoring the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame and 38 bricks, representing the team's most memorable moments. There is also a memorial plaque commemorating Ray Chapman that was originally installed at League Park. The area is shielded by plantings so it does not interfere with the batter's eye.^[48] Prior to Opening Day 2012, the Indians installed a corkscrew-shaped wind turbine atop Progressive Field, the first major league team to do so. The corkscrew–shaped wind turbine, however, was subsequently removed prior to Opening Day 2013.^[47]

Amenities

Pabst Blue Ribbon concession stand at Progressive Field.

The ballpark features several eateries from which spectators can watch the game. A glass-enclosed multilevel restaurant named the "Terrace Club" is located along the left field foul line on the suite level. Spectators need a valid game ticket and a pass to enter to the Terrace Club. On non-game days it is used for private and corporate events, such as business meetings, parties and weddings.^[49][50] The "Budweiser Patio" is a buffet eatery used mostly for corporate or private parties, located just behind the right field foul pole between the visitors' bullpen and section 117.^[51] A new children's play area named "Kids Clubhouse", located on the mezzanine level, opened in May 2012. It includes arts and craft areas, a climbing wall, a mini field where children can practice sliding and fielding, and a batting cage. There are large windows where adults can watch the game from the Kids Clubhouse.^[52]

Awards and honors

• 2008 - named Best MLB Stadium by Sports Illustrated^[17]

Ballpark firsts

All firsts are by the Cleveland Indians unless otherwise stated

Statistic	Person(s)	Date
First game	vs. Seattle Mariners	April 4, 1994
First ceremonial first pitch	President Bill Clinton to Sandy Alomar, Jr.	April 4, 1994
First batter	Rich Amaral (Seattle Mariners)	April 4, 1994
First hit	Eric Anthony (Seattle Mariners), home run	April 4, 1994
First Indians hit	Sandy Alomar, Jr.	April 4, 1994
First double	Manny Ramirez	April 4, 1994
First home run	Eric Anthony (Seattle Mariners)	April 4, 1994
First Indians run	Candy Maldonado, scored on a Manny Ramírez two-run double	April 4, 1994
First winning pitcher	Eric Plunk	April 4, 1994
First night game	vs. Seattle Mariners	April 7, 1994
First triple	Ken Griffey, Jr. (Seattle Mariners)	April 7, 1994
First Indians home run	Eddie Murray	April 7, 1994
First stolen base	Omar Vizquel	April 7, 1994
First save	Hipólito Pichardo (Kansas City Royals)	April 15, 1994
First grand slam	Paul Sorrento	May 9, 1995
First inside-the-park home run	David Bell	April 15, 1998
First triple play	Casey Blake-Asdrúbal Cabrera-Víctor Martínez (5-4-3)	August 27, 2007
First unassisted triple play	Asdrúbal Cabrera	May 12, 2008
First no-hitter	Ervin Santana (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim)	July 27, 2011

^{[11][53][54][55]}

References

1. Lowry, Phil (2006). Green Cathedrals: The Ultimate Celebrations of All 273 Major League and Negro League Ballparks Past and Present. New York, NY: Addison Wesley Publishing Company. ISBN 0201622297.
2. Musselman, Ron (June 15, 2008). "Pirates, Indians Struggle With Lack of Attendance". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
3. Peticca, Mike (October 13, 2009). "Ticket Prices Keep Strong Majority of American Sports Fans from Attending Pro Games, Survey Shows". The Plain Dealer (Cleveland). Retrieved April 3, 2012.
4. Brown, Tony (May 6, 2010). "Unwary Ticket Buyers Pay Extreme Prices as Online Brokers, Bogus Outfits Muddy the Internet". The Plain Dealer (Cleveland). Retrieved April 3, 2012.
5. Manoloff, Dennis (January 15, 2012). "Michigan defeats Ohio State, 4-1, in Frozen Diamond Faceoff at Progressive Field". The Plain Dealer (Cleveland). Retrieved April 3, 2012.
6. "2012 Cleveland Indians Preview". The Columbus Dispatch. April 1, 2012. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
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27. "Fenway Park Sellout for Record 456th Straight Game". International Herald Tribune. September 9, 2008. Retrieved September 9, 2008.
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52. Meisel, Zack (May 2, 2012). "Tribe Unveils Indians Kids Clubhouse". Major League Baseball Advanced Media. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
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55. Associated Press (July 27, 2011). "Ervin Santana Throws No Hitter". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 12, 2012.

External links

• Ballpark Digest: Progressive Field (then listed as Jacobs Field)
• Cleveland Indians: Progressive Field
• Flickr Photo Group: Jacobs Field