The home of the Cleveland Indians is Progressive Field, which was opened on April 2nd, 1994. Recent renovations to the field were finished in April 2015, updating the field after a couple of decades of use. This stadium took over for Cleveland Stadium, which served the Indians for nearly 60 years. Progressive Field cost $175 million to build and was finished in just over two years after ground broke on January 13th, 1992.
When it first opened, the stadium was named Jacobs Field after the previous owner, Richard Jacobs, who paid to name the stadium until 2006. In 2008, Progressive Corporation purchased the naming rights for $57.6 million over 16 years.
Similar to the famous Oriole Park, which was designed to fit in with the aesthetics of downtown Baltimore, Progressive Field was designed to incorporate into the overall style of downtown Cleveland. As a result, Progressive has a retro feel that includes light towers and exposed steel. The ballpark was also situated in order to give fans and visitors and superb view of downtown Cleveland. It’s close to the Cuyahoga River, which flows south from Lake Erie.
Cleveland Indians Stadium
After challenging for the wild card spot for much of the 2014 season, the Cleveland Indians have regressed in 2015, finishing well off the playoff pace. Their 2014 home record kept them in the hunt, finishing with a 48-33 record compared to their 37-44 road mark. In 2015, the Indians have played much better on the road, earning more wins away from Progressive than they did at their home venue.
The 2015 MLB Park Factors statistics for Progressive Stadium are highly atypical. This field is in the top five in terms of the rate of hits and home runs produced and tops in double, yet the amount of runs produced are just below average, which is opposite of what one would expect with significantly higher than average hitting metrics. The amount of walks that take place are also in the top five of MLB stadiums while triples happen at an average rate.
Fans love Progressive Field, setting a record between 1995 and 2001 for the number of consecutive games sold out, which was eventually bested by Fenway Park fans in 2008. In 2008, ESPN listed Progressive Field as the best ballpark in Major League Baseball. Similar to Fenway, Progressive has a “Little Green Monster”, which is a left field wall that’s 19 feet tall, compared to the real Green Monster, which is over 37 feet tall. The dimensions of the field are slightly different than most fields, with the center field fence slightly farther away than most stadiums at 410 feet while the left and right field wall are located 325 feet away.
Stadium Vitals
Date Opened: April 2, 1994
Construction Cost: $175 million
Architect: Populous
Ballpark Type: Retro Modern
Capacity Attendance: 38,000
Playing Surface: Kentucky Bluegrass
Previous Cleveland Indians Stadiums
League Park; Cleveland Stadium
Other Major Events
1997 MLB All-Star Game
The 1997 All-Star game was played at Progressive, which was known at Jacobs Field back then. It was a pitcher’s duel, resulting in a 3-1 win for the American League and a combined 10 hits between the two squads.
College Hockey
The first hockey game ever played at Progressive Field took place on January 15th, 2012, between the Michigan Wolverines and the beloved Ohio State Buckeyes. This was also the first outdoor college hockey game ever played in the state.