Ballpark Roadtrip: Progressive Field

Progressive Field logo in the Indians dugout. The ballpark opened under the name Jacobs Field but in 2008, it was announced that naming rights to the park had been bought by Progressive Corporation, an insurance company headquartered in nearby Mayfield Village. Progressive agreed to pay $57.6 million for the naming rights for 16 years.

Progressive Field is a ballpark located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. On April 4, 1994, the Indians played their first game at the new stadium. President Bill Clinton threw out the ceremonial first pitch, and the Indians defeated the Seattle Mariners 4-3 in 11 innings.

View of Progressive Field from the Indians dugout. The tour of the ballpark will take you in the Indians dugout and on the field; but you have to stay off the Kentucky Bluegrass field.

New York Mets players Jeff Francoeur, Jason Bay and David Wright check out the field before taking some early batting practice at Progressive Field. While on the ballpark tour we encountered the players along with several others.

The New York Mets take batting practice prior to their game against the Tribe. This is the view from the press box.

A statue of former Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller stands outside one of the outfield gates at Progressive Field. Feller played for the Indians from 1936-56 and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.

Up the aisle looking at the seats on the field level. The seats at Progressive Field are among the most comfortable in the game with more leg room due to wider aisles. In addition, better elevation between rows means clear and unobstructed sight lines to the field.

Indians fans watch batting practice while wearing shirt showing team loyalty. The ballpark set a major league record between June 12, 1995 and April 4, 2001 by selling out 455 straight games.

View of the toothbrush-shaped light towers at Progressive Field.

New York Mets pitcher R.A. Dickey and bullpen catcher Rafael Arroyo do some grounds keeping in the visitors bullpen under the watchful eye of pitching coach Dan Warthen.

Located in the center field area of Progressive Field, adjacent to the Market Pavilion, Heritage Park is available to fans before and during games.

In Heritage Park, plaques honor some of the greatest players in baseball and Indians history like hometown hero Rocky Colavito and "Shoeless" Joe Jackson.

Heritage Park includes three distinct areas honoring the club's past - the Indians Hall of Fame, 38 memorable moments in club history and the Top 100 Indians Roster as selected during the 100th Anniversary Celebration in 2001.

View of the Progressive Field as the Mets take batting practice prior to the start of a game against the Tribe.

Cheeseburger and waffle fries with a lemonade - the food of choice at Cleats in Progressive Field.

Panoramic view of Progressive Field.

Slider - the Indians fuzzy, fuschia-colored mascot - has been entertaining fans since 1990. I was asked if I knew what Slider was? I don't and neither did they. Slider is one of only three Major League Baseball team mascots to be inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame.

Cleveland Indians DH Travis Hafner belts a home run off New York Mets pitcher Johan Santana at Progressive Field.

Indians fans cheer behind the team's dugout after left fielder Shelley Duncan belted a two-run homer off the Mets Jonathon Niese in the 4th inning.

A vendor sells peanuts and cracker jacks in the field level seats during a game between the Tribe and Mets at Progressive Field.

Indians catcher Carlos Santana moves towards the ball that he dropped while warming up Indians pitcher Mitch Talbot in between innings. Santana was just brought up a few days earlier after tearing it up in Class AAA Columbus.

John Adams bangs the drum in the left field bleachers at Progressive Field. He's been doing this since August 24, 1973 when the Indians played at Municipal Stadium.

View of Progressive Field at sunset with downtown Cleveland in the background. The Terminal Tower, left, was the tallest building in Cleveland for 61 years, from 1930 until 1991 and tallest building in North America outside of New York City until 1964.

No that's not Julio Franco leg kicking at the plate, but one of the newest Indians, first baseman Andy Marte.

The hot dog race at the end of the fifth inning can get rough as mustard and ketchup hot dogs seek the attention of the diva onion hot dog who won the race.

Cleveland Indians first baseman Russell Branyan takes a handful of sunflower seeds during a break in the action of a game against the New York Mets.

The New York Mets give congratulations after they defeated the Cleveland Indians, 8-4 at Progressive Field on June 16, 2010. The Mets went on to sweep the three game series.

Ballpark - A +, Great tour and baseball environment. Too bad they always sell off young talent and rebuild. Tour guide knew his team history unlike other guides who were not as knowledgeable.
Fans & Atmosphere - Great ballpark, much like Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Plenty of places to go to after game. Felt the pain of one fan next to me. As many Met fans as Tribe fans there. My seats were 9 rows from Mets dugout, $47.00.
Food - Cheeseburger with lettuce and tomatoes, waffle fries, large lemonade for $10.25!
Mascot - Slider. What in hell is he?
Staff - Team store and tour leader were very nice. Vendors and ushers were kind and friendly,
Team Tradition - Very Good; Small market team can't compete with other teams in larger markets. Cleveland is one of the city's oldest baseball traditions, dating back to 1869.
Location: Downtown Cleveland, Ohio. Walked everywhere, even to Rock-N-Roll Hall of Fame.